Tennis Star James Blake Joins Full Tilt Poker

Full Tilt Poker has pulled off another major coup in the battle for celebrity endorsements after announcing the signing of American tennis star James Blake.

The former world number four, who boasts career earnings of almost $7 million, is just as well known for his exploits off the court as an author and poker player.

His New York Times best-seller Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life, was released in 2007, and told of his tennis comeback after a horrific year in which he broke his back in an accident and lost his father.

As for his poker experience, Blake participated in the second season of Celebrity Poker Showdown and has also played in World Series of Poker events.

The announcement of this latest deal follows the signing of world heavyweight title challenger Audley Harrison to the Full Tilt stable just a week ago.

Meanwhile, in other tennis-related news, Roger Federer has rejected vicious allegations made against him by celebrity gossip website TMZ that a lawsuit had been filed against his management company IMG over supposed inside information Federer gave its owner about a tennis match.

According to the allegations, the match in question is the 2006 French Open final, in which Federer lost to arch-rival Rafael Nadal.