By Liza Horan

New York—James Blake was the most visible player around town this year. From an Evian promotion at Duane Reade drug stores and Heineken ads on bus shelters to live events, Blake was truly a man about town. On Aug. 21, he and Men's Vogue launched an online auction to raise money for the Thomas Blake Sr. Memorial Cancer Research Fund, which Blake launched in July with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Blake, the best dressed of all, hung out with high school buddy John Mayer and others at the intimate gathering. Among the auction winnings on CharityFolks.com are a Hugo Boss VIP shopping experience, a $5,000 watch by Christian LaCroix, a $1,000 shopping spree at Niketown with tickets to the first round of the 2009 U.S. Open, and a trip to the Evian Resort in France with a one-year supply of Evian water. The coolest "item" though, is Blake himself; rather, the opportunity to "hang out with Blake at finals weekend at the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla." Click for photos.

The next day, Blake was spotted holding two giant checks—each for $10,000 and to benefit good causes. One time was at the World Financial Center, where Heineken presented Blake with a check for the cancer research fund in his father's name; the other was at the Evian booth at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, accepting a $10,000 check from Evian for USTA Serves and Harlem Junior Tennis & Education Program. Former pro Katrina Adams runs the Harlem operation.

By night, Blake was joking around with Bob Bryan and Maria Sharapova in midtown. They were at the Empire Hotel's rooftop party space (below) for the official U.S. Open Player Party, sponsored by Heineken Premium Light. Blake was sporting a LaCroix watch just steps from the icy racquet.