An Interview with James Blake

4/2/02 4:08 PM

Q. How is the mood out there and how are the thing going these first two days?

JAMES BLAKE: Good. My mood is a little worse since I just lost a hundred bucks to Pete (laughter). We are having a good time. We’re looking forward to playing on the grass. I think it suites all of our games pretty well. Hopefully it makes Patrick’s decision easy. He can pick any of us.

Q. How do you read the grass as it is playing?
The center court felt a little quicker than the practice courts. It felt really good and it looks very well taken care of, but again, it’s the beginning of the week. We are probably going to chew it up a bit until the matches start.

Q. How do you lose a hundred bucks to Pete?

JAMES BLAKE: Stupid bet. (laughter) Don’t bet against Pete on grass.

Q. You were here in Houston at the Challenger two years ago and it was just a brutal week with heat and such and you came through. You have really taken off since then. How much bearing did that week have?

JAMES BLAKE: A lot. For me, that was a time when, for about a year, I didn’t make it past the second round of a Challenger. After that US Open (1999), I felt like I was playing really well. I lost a close match to Harold Levy who at the time was playing really well. I worked really hard for two or three weeks and felt great, but not understanding why I was losing all of those matches. Then I came in their (Houston) and my confidence definitely wasn’t high from all of the matches I had been winning, because I hadn’t been winning, but I felt great and to finally put together some matches wins and to actually go through a challenger and win it was great. From then on, I started having a lot more confidence in Challenger events and I won another one later that fall. It felt really good. So that was definitely a point where I was down for over a year before that and really not playing very well until finally I did. It was great to win a bunch of close matches too.

Q. The conditions were brutal. You had IV’s on two days didn’t you?

JAMES BLAKE: Just one day, but the second day I actually probably needed it, but I didn’t’ get it because I was going to have a day off.

Q. From Oklahoma City to here, obviously for you and Andy (Roddick), that was quite a 3-setter (ATP final in Memphis won by Roddick in 3 sets). What was it for you guys emotionally?

JAMES BLAKE: I generally don’t have a whole lot of fun on the court when I am losing, but still, I am getting to point where I understand that I have to lose out here sometimes because other guys are fighting just as hard as you and they are very hard working. I played a really good match there. Obviously I was very disappointed at the time as I wanted to win my first tour event. Every match you want to win, but looking back, we played a great match. I thought I played one bad game in the third set where I got up a break and I let it get to my head that I could actually win this match and he took advantage. He is younger than me, but he has been in a lot more big matches and finals than me and it showed there. He played great through to the end. He broke me at 5-6 and played a really great game. I can’t complain too much about that. It’s fun to have to play your Davis Cup teammate in the finals of a tournament, and a good friend, and when you both play well it makes it more fun.

Q. When you look back to a year ago when you played Andy and won the first set and he just demolished you in the next two, then you compare to this last three setter, for you this is a huge leap isn’t it? From 2001-2002?

JAMES BLAKE: Yes, definitely. When we were playing in the finals of a Challenger the year before and we both improved so much from then. I feel like I have improved at such a great rate and then seeing him, every time you watch him he gets better. It’s great to see someone else improving that’s a young American improving that quickly. I am not ever going to compare myself to him because that not good to do to yourself, but for me I have improved at a rate that is very rapid and I think I am still improving which is a lot of fun and I am having a great time seeing how far I can go. Hopefully that was just another stepping stone to getting better and better.

Q. Pete and Todd both kind of sent out a warning this afternoon to be very careful on grass because things can get away from you very quickly.

JAMES BLAKE: Definitely. You probably see that every day in practice. I was just out there hitting with Pete and we were both hitting pretty good, but he got on a role and just rolled me for about four or five games. I got down on myself, but you can’t do that. Pete’s probably the best in the world at that. He has proven it time after time at Wimbledon that he doesn’t let that happen or if he does, he regroups better than anyone. We will learn from people like Pete and Todd Martin, because I think they are two of the best in the world at it.

Q. Asking about Todd. I have read some thing about how you admire Todd a lot. You have been able to be around him a lot in Davis Cup. What does Todd bring to the table and what do you admire about him?

JAMES BLAKE: Well, without blowing up his head too much, he is a really good confident professional. He is prepared. He has had so many injuries that he needs to warm up a lot before each proactive. He makes sure to stretch and does a lot of the little things that a lot of the guys don’t feel like doing. He eats right and everything. He is very smart about all of these things. He analyzes the game better than anyone. I think he really knows how to make the court smaller for the other guy and to make them really play to his strength. He has maximized his strengths. That is something that is a goal of mine, to maximize my potential. I feel like he has done that. He is also just a nice guy on tour. He got an award in Memphis. I was at the dinner with him and Justin afterwards and Justin Gimelstobe getting these “I’m the nicest guy in the world awards” is making us sick (laughter) now to see how many he gets. But they are well deserved and to accomplish just being a nice guy in this sport that is inherently selfish is something that’s impressive and that’s something that I have looked up to even when I was a kid. I remember when I was 11 or 12 years old I watched him with my parents. I think he started around 80 or 90 in the world and ended up around 20 and I said this guy is going to be someone that’s really good. From then on I really followed his career.