James Blake returns a shot to Fabrice Santoro. Blake won his match in five sets at the U.S. Open on Thursday in New York.

New York ? James Blake finally managed to win a fifth set.

Blake ended his 0-for-9 drought in matches that go the distance, outlasting Fabrice Santoro, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, in the second round of the U.S. Open to win a 3-hour, 25-minute struggle that began Thursday evening and ended after midnight.

“There used to be a big monkey right there,” Blake said, pointing to his back, “and now it’s gone. I got the monkey off my back. I got a five-setter.”

Santoro, at 34 the oldest man left in the tournament, faded down the stretch. He sat with an old-fashioned ice bag perched atop his head while a trainer massaged his left foot and both thighs in the final set, then asked for a medical timeout in the middle of a game after double-faulting. Later, Santoro opted not to sit at all during changeovers, worried about cramping.

The No. 6-seeded Blake is seven years younger and was far fresher, even clear-minded enough to switch hands for a lefty shot that helped win a point. He complained about Santoro’s delay tactics, which included deep-knee bends and stretching.

It ended when Blake broke in the final game with a cross-court backhand winner that Santoro could only toss his racket at. They met at the net, Blake put his arm around Santoro and told him, “You played so hard.”

“I would love to play for two more hours,” a sweat-soaked Santoro said, “because I had a lot of fun tonight.”

Blake’s U.S. Davis Cup teammate and poker pal, No. 5 Andy Roddick, advanced earlier Thursday when his opponent quit because of a knee injury, and defending women’s champion Maria Sharapova won in 51 minutes.

Sharapova overwhelmed 90th-ranked Casey Dellacqua of Australia, 6-1, 6-0.

Roddick turned 25 on Thursday and marked the occasion by reaching the U.S. Open’s third round, although not before losing the opening set against Jose Acasuso of Argentina. But Acasuso eventually succumbed to injury.