WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP MASTERS

August 11, 2002

Todd Martin

James Blake

TODD MARTIN: Well, I think James' strategy is about the same every day - grip it and rip it.

JAMES BLAKE: And Todd - play conservative, be smart.

TODD MARTIN: You have sort of a "Laurel and Hardy" show going here.

JAMES BLAKE: Try to hit every return down at their feet, make a lot of first serves . Real simple. Almost boring, methodical tennis. It seems to work for him, I guess.

TODD MARTIN: I think there's a general strategy that we have to employ every day. Then, you know, against different teams I think there are tendencies that they have, and we need to capitalize on those and understand them. Today, I think it was really nice for me in the first set because the guy with the firepower on our team was also the consistent one, whereas most of the week I think, you know, I'm sort of just floating along in the middle. James has got a few ups and downs, but his ups are extraordinary, and his downs are getting less and less. But today he was real solid right from the get-go and gave me a chance to shank every return I hit the first four games and get into the match.

JAMES BLAKE: I thought he ripped a few.

TODD MARTIN: I think they're a very, very good team. Individually, they're both very good players. They pose huge threats, they both serve very well, they both return pretty well. I think they're generally pretty solid at the net. It just so happened that the two games we broke them, they didn't volley all that well and we were real solid on our serves. When we did make our returns, the games got longer, which was nice to see.

JAMES BLAKE: We're done. We're over. We're splitting up (laughing). Next week I'm actually playing with my brother.

JAMES BLAKE: Washington D.C. He (indicating Todd Martin) wants to just concentrate on singles.

TODD MARTIN: My body wants to concentrate on singles.

JAMES BLAKE: He's tired of playing with me (laughing). I really love the chance to play with my brother, just because we have a good time together. And any time I get a chance to hang out with my brother and be at the same tournament with him, it's a lot of fun for me.

TODD MARTIN: Which doesn't say much for this week, but....

JAMES BLAKE: Not that I don't have fun with Todd, but ... Geez. Like a jealous girl, geez. We're hopefully going to be able to play or get an opportunity to play over in France in Davis Cup, but that's up to Patrick. I think it's good that we got a lot of matches here together so we know each other's tendencies even better. Maybe we'll play, have a good chance to win that match in September.

TODD MARTIN: No, I don't think so. Personally, I can't afford to try to play five sets of singles and then try to come back out and play three sets in the same day possibly. I try not to hold much information - or advice - back from James. I call myself "USA," or "The Provider of USA," Unsolicited Advice. My advice to him would be never to play doubles in a Grand Slam. James is in the situation now where he should be able to progress late into the tournaments. He doesn't need anything slowing him up on his off days or having to play twice in the same day.

JAMES BLAKE: Todd's usually busy at The Open, you know, giving everyone that heart-wrenching match - night match, you know, coming back from down two-sets-to-love.

TODD MARTIN: I think I officially answered the question (laughter).

JAMES BLAKE: Takes a lot out of him when he comes back and he makes it a thriller for everyone. The crowd gets into it. That takes a lot out of him. He can't come back the next day and play doubles. It's tough for him when you're winning those five-setters.

JAMES BLAKE: Which one is the good-looking one (laughter)?

TODD MARTIN: That was the first time you said anything funny (laughing).

JAMES BLAKE: Thanks, I appreciate it. I'll be here all week.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, definitely. It's my first win in a finals in a long time - since the challenger level. So I'll take it. I'll take it. I'm happy with that. I mean, I've had two pretty tough losses in singles finals this year, and it's just good to win matches any time you can. To win a tournament like this, it was definitely nothing I expected. I mean, I feel like I can play some pretty good doubles. Having a partner that complements your style really well makes, obviously, a big difference, playing with Todd. But I never really came in with any expectations in doubles, just we were having fun, we got a wildcard. I mean, we probably didn't even know we had the wildcard until a few days before. We just started rolling. It feels good. I mean, when you can win a match like that, it gives you confidence. I feel like it even carries over to your singles. I feel like I'm rushing really well, I made a lot of first serves. I'm hoping that confidence is going to carry over to my singles next week and continue in the doubles with my brother.

JAMES BLAKE: I think we played pretty well that first match.

TODD MARTIN: We got down early in the first match.

JAMES BLAKE: We got broken.

TODD MARTIN: I think after that, I think I was pretty dejected from my singles match and I don't think you had played your second round yet. We came out a little bit sluggish. I think James' mind was probably a little bit on his singles, and I was a little bit out in Never-Neverland. nce we got through that first set of our first match, I felt like we played very well except for one set in the...

JAMES BLAKE: Quarters.

TODD MARTIN: Was that the quarters, against Black and Ullyett?

JAMES BLAKE: That was the second round, my bad.

TODD MARTIN: That was the second round. Then we never really looked back too much. Today I thought matchup-wise was our toughest matchup. But I also feel like after the first game of the first set where I was down breakpoint, I thought we both served very well, especially in our more critical times.

JAMES BLAKE: Uh-huh.

JAMES BLAKE: The first time.

JAMES BLAKE: He was doing me a favor. I asked him kind of jokingly. That was still when I was really struggling with the singles.

TODD MARTIN: "Really struggling." Been out here for a year and a half...okay, that's realistic.

JAMES BLAKE: I was really happy with any opportunity to play, just to play in a big tournament like this. I knew Todd, being a Midwesterner, having a little bit of success in his career, I figured they'd be happy to give him a wildcard. I could hop on his back, and they'd let me in there, too.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah. He said he'd play with me in Cincinnati and give us a shot. We played great. We won our first round. Then he got hurt in his singles match, so he couldn't play. He said he'd make it up to me and we'd play again this year.

TODD MARTIN: So I tanked my first-round singles match so I could focus on the doubles (laughter).

JAMES BLAKE: So he made it up to me this week. I was, you know, happy with it.

JAMES BLAKE: I think he felt bad because there was nothing he could do. But I always feel bad when I don't play well in doubles - I feel worse usually than in singles. I feel like I'm letting down a partner. I think he just said, "I'll make it up to you at some point." I took that as, "We'll play again this year." But I don't know if that's actually what he meant.

TODD MARTIN: I threw you a few bones early in the year, too.

JAMES BLAKE: He did.

TODD MARTIN: Honestly, after last year, I was disappointed on a number of levels: One, I was hurt; Two, I lost my singles; Three, I thought James and I matched up very well, you know. You never know what's going to happen with a doubles partner until you get out there and take a few swings together. I had never played James in singles; I still haven't. But at that point in time, I'd never really been on a court with him in a match situation. I thought we matched up much better than I was expecting, and I'm not at all surprised that we've had some success in our time on the court together.

JAMES BLAKE: No, I hope not. We've always had a good time on the court. We never have any pressure when we're playing, especially since I think my parents are going to come down. They love just seeing us on the court together. It's a lot of fun. We don't take it as a real pressure-packed situation.

TODD MARTIN: Not a lot of nerves in the Blake family, I don't think (laughing). At least not among the two sons.

TODD MARTIN: Definitely not today. I think, you know, sometimes early in the tournaments when you got guys who are not standard doubles players and you go out against, you know, the doubles teams that play week in and week out together and view this as their livelihood, I think there can be a little tension there sometimes just because, you know, I don't think all the singles players pay as much respect to the game of doubles as we should. With James and me, you know, right from the get-go we were serious about how we wanted to play the game, but also relaxed about the importance the result had in our minds. I think that really allowed us to play very well, I thought. Never once during the week did the pressure get to us. Certainly, as you get later into the tournament, it increases in importance, the result. Especially coming in today, knowing that James hadn't won a tournament yet, and I have certainly gone quite a number of weeks in a row losing - at least once - I was pretty excited and in some ways a little nervous going into the match. But once the match started, I thought we held to our games pretty well and seemed pretty well relaxed until James threw those three points away at 40-love in the last game (laughter).

JAMES BLAKE: I wasn't sure if you'd point that out. I appreciate it.

TODD MARTIN: Do you mind? I've enjoyed spending time with James for the last couple of years. For a while, I had a little bit more "USA" than I do now. But today, at 40-love in the last game, he goes -- do you mind?

JAMES BLAKE: No, not at all.

TODD MARTIN: He says, "So should I be cocky and go for the big ace out wide, or should I slide it into the body?" I didn't answer him, and I just walked to the net. I think he understood what I thought.

JAMES BLAKE: So I tried to do that.

TODD MARTIN: He tried to do that and did the right thing but didn't execute it properly, which, I think, is just fine. Then he went for the second serve ace, and then he tried --.

JAMES BLAKE: He didn't tell me what to do on that one! I'm lost out there without him telling me what to do (laughing).

TODD MARTIN: Then he tried the hack-forehand- slice-angle-drop-volley (laughter).

JAMES BLAKE: Which usually works.

TODD MARTIN: Then they played a very good point, and then he got lucky and won the next two points (laughter).

TODD MARTIN: Yes, it is.

JAMES BLAKE: Two sides to every story. But, yeah, it was similar.

TODD MARTIN: I think in those situations the best players and best teams rise to the occasion. We were both very relaxed at 40-love, I think we were both relaxed at 40-15, but I think we both understood that as soon as one point goes, they look at it as being a momentum swing and being an opportunity to get another point. And, in fact, at deuce, Max hit a great return that just caught the tape. Had it not, we would have been --.

JAMES BLAKE: You were all over that, though, right?

TODD MARTIN: As usual. But it can get a little bit hairy if one of those go by, especially when as much is riding on it as today.

TODD MARTIN: I think in situations like that, and especially situations where you feel like your partner is right on top of things, I stay out of his way. I was pretty pleased with myself this week...

JAMES BLAKE: Yep.

TODD MARTIN: ...as most weeks...

JAMES BLAKE: I gave you the warning shot.

TODD MARTIN: ...in staying out of his way. I've seen a lot of noticeable maturation in James' game, but also in his disposition on court. And I think, you know, he's being rewarded justly for it.