Q. Beating a player like this who has a game perhaps unlike very few players on the Tour, do you count this as a big step in your maturing process?

JAMES BLAKE: Definitely. He's, I mean, his game is definitely unique. But I just beat a Top 20 player today, so I feel great. I mean, I think no matter where I'm ranked, no matter where I am in my career, any time I beat a Top 20 player, I'm going to feel really good about it. I think Lleyton Hewitt, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, they go out on a day and they play a Top 20 player and they get a win, they're probably going to be pretty happy.
For me, just kind of still learning and being a learning process every time I get on the court, to beat a player like that really helps my confidence and hopefully helps me move along a little quicker.

Q. To beat a player that has a different kind of game that maybe you're not going to run into, isn't there a maturity there, to be able to overcome that?

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, I'd like to think so. Because his game is totally different. There's really no way to prepare for it. It caught me -- I mean, I knew what to expect, but it still caught me by surprise, the beginning there. I got down quickly and had to fight back. I think six months ago I would have then tried to rush and tried to go for too much and just tried to win points quickly and been frustrated.
Today, I calmed down and my coach, you know, he really told me that he was proud of me and thought I was going to start rushing. He was very impressed that I slowed it down a little bit. I got up in the second set, let him break back, then still didn't panic or anything. So I feel great about that, which really makes me feel good about my game, that I still had confidence even when I was losing, even when I got beat pretty badly in that first set. I still had confidence just playing my game. If I had lost, then I could come off and say, "I just played my game."

Q. You had confidence. I'm wondering from the mental angle, do you say anything to yourself in particular? Any self-talk going through your head out there on the court? Or is it just an overall feeling?

JAMES BLAKE: Well, I mean, in between points I just, if I am -- if I get down on myself a little bit about a way I lost a point, I try never to get mad about just missing execution. Obviously that's going to happen because I'm so competitive, I want to win.
But if I played the right point, I try not to get mad then. I try to just, you know, say, "Execution, if you don't make it, you don't make it. That's your best play."
When I do get mad and frustrated with myself is when I try to do too much too early, or end up getting tentative and pushing a little too much. If I just play not a smart match is when I get frustrated. I try to just tell myself, "Have confidence in your game. Go out there and play the way that you know you should." I feel like I did that pretty well today.
He's someone that makes you think about a lot of things on the court. And, I mean, he does so many different things that it really confuses you and it makes you work hard. I think Todd Martin wrote an article about the perfect player, and he put him as his smartest player. I'd never played him, so I kind of questioned it. I didn't know -- I didn't really understand. And now I do. I full, wholeheartedly agree with him. I mean, you never know what you're going to get. Any point, he can play it totally different. He can play 20 different types of points.
I mean, I usually have scouting reports on guys I write in a little book. I mean, I really have no idea what I'm going to write today. I might as well just leave it blank because I could come out and play a totally different player next time I play him.

Q. Has he got the best hands of any player?

JAMES BLAKE: Unbelievable hands. They're so -- he's got such good touch. He can hit a dropshot from anywhere. I think one time, I feel like my forehand is my biggest weapon. I ripped a forehand return at him. He somehow managed to stop it. He hit a dropshot off of it.
I also feel like I'm pretty fast. I couldn't get there. I mean, I hit -- those are my two biggest weapons, I feel like, my forehand and my speed. He just made them both look silly on one point, I think. That's a credit to his great hands.

Q. What's the key to beating him?

JAMES BLAKE: Staying mentally tough is one thing that's very, very key. Also I tried to attack his forehand a little bit more, coming in to that side. And just being patient. He's not going to hurt you from behind the baseline. He's going to make you move a lot and make you hit a lot of balls. I tried to be patient.
Once you get your opportunity, you really take advantage. Not going for too much and trying to hit a winner, but maybe trying to win it within the next three balls. Try to get him running and get into net and keep making him pass you. Because I think, I mean, he's going to come up with some great passing shots.
But you got to make him do that every time. If he does, it's too good.

Q. You've had this more of a slow, steady rise than Andy who just went to the top. Are you happy with that?

JAMES BLAKE: I'm very happy. I never expected any of this. I can't really -- I learned a while back not to try to compare myself to anyone else. You can't do that. I mean, I can find 100 people that are doing worse than me. I can find 100 people that are doing better than me. That's never going to be a healthy attitude. I'm just very happy for Andy. He's done great things. For his rise, I can't even imagine how quickly that came for him.
But for me, I'm very happy with the way I progressed. I had goals of just getting better and improving certain things. Today I feel like my backhand was, after the first set, I was hitting it the way I needed to hit it. A year ago I wouldn't have been able to do that. I feel like my mental toughness was a lot better than a year ago. I know that I'm improving. I'm always going to be happy with what.

Q. Where are you training?

JAMES BLAKE: Saddlebrook.

Q. What's on the docket after this?

JAMES BLAKE: Going to Houston for the Davis Cup.

Q. Staying there for the tournament?

JAMES BLAKE: Stay there for the tournamnet?

Q. There's a tournament in Houston.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, that's about three weeks away. I'll be coming back for that, but not staying there the whole time. I like Houston, but not quite that much.