Fomer tennis star mistaken for criminal suspect, tackled by five cops

James Blake says he was "slammed to the ground, handcuffed and detained". Photo / AP

Former tennis pro James Blake has been tackled by five plainclothes police officers in New York after being mistakenly identified as a suspect in an identity crime.

Blake, who won 10 titles before retiring in 2013, told the New York Daily News that he was thrown to the ground just hours before attending the US Open today.

He told the Daily News that he was "slammed to the ground, handcuffed and detained" in front of the Grand Hyatt on East 42nd Street.

The officers apparently thought Blake was a suspect in an identity theft scam that often operated around the midtown Manhattan hotel.

It was released after being in handcuffs for 15 minutes, once the police officers realised they had the wrong person.

Blake, who is African-American, told the Daily News he is not sure if believes he was racially profiled:

"To me it's as simple as unnecessary police force, no matter what my race is. In my mind there's probably a race factor involved, but no matter what there's no reason for anybody to do that to anybody," he said.

"I have resources to get to the bottom of this," Blake told the Daily News. "I have a voice. But what about someone who doesn't have those resources and doesn't have a voice? The real problem is that I was tackled for no reason and that happens to a lot of people who don't have a media outlet to voice that to."

Blake reached the quarter-finals of the US Open in 2006 and 2007 and reached as high as fourth in the world rankings in 2006.