Blake, who later reached two US Open quarter‑finals, was in Augusta undergoing a sweat test after struggling with cramp during the tournament.
His father remained in New York, where he worked, and with mobile networks overloaded there was an anxious wait to learn he was safe.
At the time Blake lived in Florida; with all flights grounded, he rented a car in Augusta and drove back to Tampa.
Two weeks later his next event was in Hong Kong, and he recalls boarding that flight was far from easy.
“It was definitely scary,” he said. “In tennis you become so insulated in your own little bubble, treating the tour like a travelling circus, that it feels normal.
“When you see how restricted travel can become, it snaps you out of that dream and reminds you how quickly everything can change.
“We lived as if there were a safety net, chasing the dream of playing a sport for a living—something that can vanish in an instant.”
Many domestic sporting events were halted after the attacks, and the Ryder Cup, originally slated for later that month at The Belfry in England, was postponed by a year.
Blake believes the return of competition played a huge role in healing the nation.
“I think that was one of the things that helped bring the country back,” he said.
“Sports stopped, but when they resumed—like when President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch at a Yankees game—I wasn’t a Yankees fan, nor a particular Bush supporter, yet I almost teared up.
“Seeing a sitting president do that was special; it signaled we were back, that sports would continue and we would move forward with our lives.
“For a moment the world felt like it was back on track.”
