US OPEN

September 7, 2005

James Blake

JAMES BLAKE: Well, never feel great after a loss, but I guess it's about as good as I can feel. I fought my heart out. I did everything I could. Played as well as I could those first couple sets. Even got up a break I think in the third and the fifth. He played a little too good. He really started going for broke on some of those, and, you know, champions make those when they're going for broke in the fifth set and down. And he stepped up, played great. I'm, you know, happy for the game of tennis. I think this match was hyped from about four or five days ago, and, you know, I feel like at least it lived up to it. We both played a pretty high level of tennis. If there's anyone I'm cheering for, it's Andre. You can hear it in the crowd. I had the crowd on my side for the first four matches, unbelievably strong. And to see how much they reacted to him and still want to see a champion like him advance is really great for tennis. I thought it was done all with class, and they, you know, they cheered him to victory and he just played too good for me at the end.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah. I missed the first serve. Really, really would have liked to get that in. He's obviously got some of the best returns in the world. He doesn't have the longest wingspan, so sometimes you can get a few more aces on him than some of the other guys. But I went for it, missed it. Then second serve I was thinking, I mean, "I got to roll it in. Give yourself a chance. I'm not going to go for too much." I gave myself a chance. He took a chance. And it worked for him. I mean, he's great at taking calculated risks. He kind of figured I was going to roll it in, he stepped around, ripped it up the line for a winner. Got to take your hat off to him for that. It's just too good at a big moment. He went for it. You know, I went for it, too, in the tiebreaker. I went for a few big forehands, especially that 5-All one I missed, then the 6-5 one I made. So I would have liked to have made a few more, but he kind of forces you to go for lines at times.

JAMES BLAKE: Well, in your stomach, it's just disappointment. Your head, you're just thinking about kind of anything that had gone wrong or could have gone right in the match. And then, then it's just up to the net to congratulate him. Your legs are relieved that they don't have to run anymore. But it's just after that, there's nothing you can do. That's unfortunately what I've learned. No reason to get mad. Nothing, no reason to smash a racquet, fire a ball, scream and yell, anything like that, because there's nothing you can do. None of that's going to change anything anymore. You got to accept it and the best way to accept it is go up and congratulate your opponent and, you know, I'm happy to congratulate Andre because he's earned it. He's worked so hard for I think they said this is his 20th year in a row being here, which is impressive in its own right. But to be in the semifinals as well is even more incredible. So just go up and congratulate him and wish him the best.

JAMES BLAKE: No, not against Andre. Maybe against someone else I might have. But I feel like I have gotten better at not allowing myself to do that. Even at 3-2, I was worried about holding that game. Unfortunately I missed a few first serves that game. He started ripping them. That was the first time I saw him really, really put the foot on the accelerator. He started ripping my second serve. Before that he had been kind of letting me get into the points, and then he started going after it. Maybe he felt like he needed to do that to get back into the match. Maybe he felt like he was just going to start going for it and take his chances. If he's going to down, he's going to go down swinging, but it worked for him. I wasn't ready for the pace he was bringing at that point. And I didn't get ahead of myself. I know one break or anything against Andre Agassi is nothing. He can return better than anyone in the world at times. So I knew it wasn't anything, and it was still a long way away. Even my coach talked about it, if I'm down two sets and a break, still a long way for them to go. If you start winning 55% of the points, you're going to come back and win. He did that. He came back and played great in that third set. That fourth set he played unbelievable. Fifth set, we had up and down match. We both served pretty well until that 5-4 game. And I still don't even feel like my serve let me down. I feel like he came up with some pretty great shots and I missed a forehand or two. And that's the way it goes, unfortunately.

JAMES BLAKE: I mean, I think you saw it tonight. Down two sets and a break, never stopping, always thinking. Thinking of what he needs to do. He changed his game at that point. A lot of guys, much younger, would have just kept bashing, or kept doing the same thing they'd been doing and not adjusted. He adjusted. He put me on the defensive. Even though I like to run, I feel like I'm pretty good on the run, he still ran me enough to the point where it was uncomfortable. So he figured out a way to do that, and that shows someone willing to adjust, willing to do whatever it takes to win. I mean, it could have looked bad. He could have gone out there and started going for broke and missing and losing that set 6-2. And if he went down 3, 3 and 2, someone would have said, "Why did he do that?" Second guessing is always what, I'm sure you know the commentators, media is going to do, "Why would he do that?" But he knew percentage-wise I gave him the best chance to win and he did it. I think that's impressive. The inner Andre is a very, very bright man, very conscious of what's going on on the court, very analytical. And also inner Andre is an unbelievable humanitarian and a great person.

JAMES BLAKE: No, definitely not in the third set. I felt great at that point. Then I kind of laughed a little bit when I got the break in the fifth. I got up from the chair and my legs felt great. I was thinking, "You know what, when you're winning, for some reason your legs feel great." They did feel great through the end of the match. I mean, if matchpoint hadn't come at that point, I felt like I would have been able to keep running, which is a really good feeling. At times I've had problems with cramping. I've had problems in the heat sometimes. I feel like I've gotten a lot better. I've dealt with some nutritionists and also put in a ton of hard work. I've always felt like I've been one of the hardest workers, but for some reason my body has a tendency to give out on me at times. I didn't feel that at all. I felt great. I can't use that as an excuse or anything like that. He flat-out beat me.

JAMES BLAKE: Just that I've matured a little. I think I learned that a little while ago, but now it's translating to my game, the maturity. Just picking my spots to go for my shots, picking better opportunities, and not losing patience too quickly. And I just feel good about that. I feel like maybe the beginning of this year, I might have felt like I'm not sure where the career's going, if I'm going to get back. And now I know that I can play pretty darn good tennis. And I'm hoping I've got a lot more matches like this that go my way in me in big moments, in quarterfinals and semifinals and in second weeks of Grand Slams. And this shows I can do it and I'm pretty happy about that. But I've just learned that there's no reason to panic anymore. I'm not going to worry about every single point, every single match, every single breakpoint missed, every single double-fault. I'm just not going to panic. I didn't tonight, even though obviously I didn't come up with the big shots at the right times. But I didn't panic and I still went for my shots and, you know, next time they're going to go in, I think.

JAMES BLAKE: I've always believed I can based on the fact that I have had some pretty good wins. I've beaten some top players. I've beaten guys like Agassi before. So I believed I could. But it definitely helps confidence to know that you're into the second week now, in the quarterfinals. I was a couple points away from being in the semifinals. That definitely helps your confidence. But I think earlier in my career, probably before last year, I felt like I would have had to really play above myself to get there. I would have had to, you know, rip a few winners, really go for more than I might have thought I was capable of. Now I feel like I can do it with playing within myself, and that's a much better feeling because I know I don't need to panic, like I said. I can just go out there, play my game and wait for my opportunities, go for them when I have them. And I think that's going to be good enough to beat a lot of top players. And I can't wait to test it over and over and over again, because, I mean, today, obviously, could have gone either way. I mean, two points, I come up with two aces, this match is mine. So I could have been in the semis. But I want to test it again. I want to get to 5-All in the fifth-set tiebreaker again. I want to experience these kind of matches over and over and put myself in the right positions, because that's all you can do. It's just like giving yourself enough breakpoints. You give yourself enough, play it smart, you're going to win with the percentages. I want to keep testing it.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, just, "Life's good, man. Doesn't get much better than this." What I actually thought of was the tape that's replayed about five million times every time there's a rain delay here at the Open when Jimmy Connors sits down and says, "This is what they came for. This is what we'll give them." That's what they came for. They had hyped this match so much. The people stayed until 1 in the morning, that's what they came for. Coming down to a do-or-die situation, a fifth-set tiebreaker, being the only Slam that does that, the US Open crowd against possibly the biggest name in tennis for the last 15 years or however long. I mean, it doesn't get any better than that. Having my friends watching me, my coach, all my buddies, I mean, it just -- I was just thinking, "This is what I play tennis for. This is what I missed last year. This is what," I mean, "Right now, this is what I live for, is playing those kind of moments." You know, win or lose, I had a good time at that point. At that moment I couldn't have been happier. I wish it had gone my way, but I think in a year or even in a day or two I'm going to look back and say, "You know what, that was a lot of fun." I have a memory of that moment, and it's not going to go away. That's all I thought, was, "Life is good," and, "It doesn't get much better than this." For most people, they're never going to experience that in their life, and I wish they could because, you know, I've seen the other side. I've seen last year kind of what normal life is like without these kind of adrenaline rushes. And having them and then not having them, you miss it a little. I'm so lucky and so fortunate to have ever had that one moment, and I really hope I have a lot more.

JAMES BLAKE: '91, I don't remember. I'm sure I did. I came just about every year. I don't remember specifically. I never watched him in the stadium; I would have remembered that. But I assume I came. I was probably, what, 11 years old then. Yeah, I probably came.

JAMES BLAKE: Not for a little while. I know my coach will, and most likely what will happen is he'll -- if he finds something that we really need to address or something that he saw that I could have done better, he'll probably sit me down and have me watch part of it. But right now, I probably don't want to watch it. I remember it too well right now.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, the third set was a little disappointing, but it really didn't seem like it was that much my fault. He came out just ripping after 3-2, and, you know, that's what I guess a champion does when his back's against a wall. He started ripping and they were going in. That wasn't that bad. Then he really continued at a very high level in the fourth set. There wasn't a time I could do -- my serve let me down a little bit. That was disappointing because I felt like I had been serving really well up until then. That letting me down hurt a little bit. I wanted to really focus on that in the fifth set. It did kind of pick back up again. That gives me more opportunities to go and be more aggressive on his serve. That's what I did. That's how I got the break in the fifth, being a little more aggressive. I was happy about that. But the third and fourth set, besides my serve letting me down a little bit, he played, I mean, unbelievable tennis. He's still Top 10 in the world. Everyone keeps asking when he's going to retire. But, I mean, I don't see too many people asking some of the 10 best baseball players or basketball players when they're going to retire. He has no reason to retire. He's one of the best in the world. He's still chasing Grand Slams, obviously, chasing Masters Series titles. If he's still enjoying it and still, you know, finding ways to motivate himself, I'd say let him play forever.

JAMES BLAKE: I think we already had that question. But basically, you know, heart dropped a little bit. Obviously, you want to win. But you feel that in your stomach, once you realize it's over, they're not going to call that one out. You got to just walk up there and congratulate Andre. That's all I could do, is think about how proud I am of him and, you know, move on. Think about anything that could have gone my way, anything that I did wrong, anything technically I could have done better, or was it just execution. That's what I thought about. And then I just thought, you know, he played a great match, he's a champion, he deserves it, and I'm glad the crowd had a good time.

JAMES BLAKE: I'd like to think so. I mean, I've always thought so, but now I feel it's a little more attainable because I've proven it a little bit here. I also, like I said, I feel much more within myself when I'm playing now. I don't feel like I have to play a level above myself to win these kind of matches. Contrary to what I believe Skip Baylis had to say, I don't feel like I'm a fluke or one-hit wonder or anything like that. I definitely feel like I'm going to be around here for years.

JAMES BLAKE: Sure. I think Robby, you know, I'm so happy for him. He's had a great summer. He was struggling on the clay, he was struggling even on the grass where he usually plays pretty well. And he's done unbelievable this hard court season, and I'm so proud of him. He's a great kid. I like him a lot. You know, I'm looking forward to playing him for many years. His matchup, I think, is interesting. He's played Andre a couple times - I remember I think once or twice here, actually - and Andre has gotten the better of him. But Robby is a much smarter player now. I would like to think I might have taken a little something out of Andre's legs tonight. Robby obviously had a long match, too, so that's going to be interesting to see how they both react to that. I think Andre has had a little more experience coming back from five-setters and being this deep in a Slam. I think it's going to be Andre's experience that will help him a lot. But Robby has that youth on his side where he just, you know, he's respectful, but he also, once he gets out there, he doesn't care who he's playing - if it's Roger Federer, if it's Andre Agassi, if it's Pete Sampras, you know, if it's Jesus Himself, he's going out and just ripping and having fun. And he's got a good game because he runs well, he stands pretty close to the baseline a lot of times, like Andre. He's got a big forehand, he can attack crosscourt with that, and he's been serving a lot better than he ever has, I think, this summer. So that's going to be interesting. If he can keep his serve up, Andre is a guy that you can get aces on, but he puts so much pressure on you when he does get his racquet on it that it sometimes forces certain guys to serve worse, it sometimes forces certain guys to serve better. I think that's going to be probably one of the biggest turning points or one of the biggest keys, is whether Robby can serve as well as he has been against Andre.