TMS MONTE CARLO

April 17, 2003

James Blake

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, it's frustrating to lose anyway. If I had lost that 6-love, 6-2, it would have been frustrating because the first set and a half I know I just didn't move my feet, which is something that can be corrected and really should be corrected. I was a little worried. My shoulder was a little sore going into the match. I think I was thinking about that and just forgot to move my feet for some reason. He played well. I am happy I fought back and showed that I can play with one of the best clay court players in the world, I think. Played a good rest of that second set, then just played one bad game in that third set at 3-4, whatever, double-faulted, two forehands that should have been put away. That was the difference in the match. But he's a great player, and I'm happy I fought back but very, very frustrated that I lost because I felt I could have won it.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, you know. I played an exhibition on clay, but in America the clay's a little different. This is the first tournament. Generally, Americans have a tough time here - I think besides Courier, who can do well on any kind of clay courts probably still. But I think, you know, last year I lost first round here, so I'm improving on that. I definitely think it will take a little while, but I'm not -- it's not like I played terrible today. I lost to a good player. So I think it will take a little more time, yes, but I also think I can do well at this tournament in the future. But, hopefully, I can do better than this in Rome, Hamburg and the French Open. So we'll see. This will get me ready for it.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, that is actually the one question that was asked (laughter). Yeah, I mean, I'll say the same thing. Yeah, I'm disappointed, I'm very frustrated that I lost, but I'm happy I fought back at least and I made it a match. I think a lot of people that were watching probably would have figured I'm down 6-0, 3-1 or 6-0, 4-2, and I would have just given up, gotten on the first flight home and been out of here. That's why I think it's fun to play. No matter what it looks like out there, I'm always giving 100 percent and trying my hardest to get back into the match. If I'd come off the court and it had been 4-2 and he had played two unbelievable games, everyone probably would have questioned whether or not I was even trying in the second set or something. But I was trying the whole time, so I'm happy about that. I'm proud I gave 100 percent effort the whole time. Unfortunately, as I said to him, I didn't move my feet in that first set and a half. That's a mental error that I can't make again, especially on clay. He was moving his feet well the whole time. I can't let that happen.

JAMES BLAKE: You've got to move your feet. I mean, I played so much better in that second set, even in the third set, when I moved my feet. Those two -- that bad game I played at 3-4, the two forehands that could have been put away I think, I wasn't quite set up the way I should have been. That's just footwork. That game could have been just a little bit of nerves, a little tentative, as opposed to just the first set and a half where I was just shell-shocked and not moving my feet at all. That's gonna happen in big matches, but I'm learning just to make sure to keep moving my feet and go for my shots. If I my move feet, I'll have a lot more confidence in my shots, that's for sure.

JAMES BLAKE: One maybe.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, I was pleased that I was hitting the ball a lot better. Like I said, it was just the footwork. I'm basically hitting the same shots, it's just a matter of if I'm in position to hit them or not. If I'm in position, I'm going to make it maybe 80 percent of the time. If I'm not in position, I'm going to make it 25 percent of the time. That's the difference between losing a set 6-0 and winning a set 7-6, basically. I definitely felt good about that, that one dropshot I did make and won the point, I'm really excited about that. I think that might be my first ever (smiling). He got me about ten times. The sad thing is I actually worked on that shot in the off-season a little bit, and it's still horrendous.

JAMES BLAKE: Might be, I don't know. It's something that I think I just wasn't born with, that kind of touch that Courier has and guys like Costa have and Kuerten. I'll work on it again in the off-season maybe, but I don't know if I'll ever get it.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, unfortunately, he did it to me quite a bit, and I only got him that once. But it did feel good to get him one time on it at least.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, it's great to see an American doing well. Unfortunately, we were the only two left in the second round. Hopefully, we can get at least one person in the third round. He's a good guy, his coach is a great guy. Yeah, I don't know if I'll be around, I don't know what the rest of my day looks like, but I'll at least definitely be checking the scores and making sure we got one stars and stripes through.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah.

JAMES BLAKE: I think it's an adjustment that is going to help because, for one thing, I'll be back in the States for two weeks, which makes me very happy. I'm generally playing a lot better when I'm happier. So that's going to help a lot. But Houston is such a fun tournament. The McIngvales, who run the tournament, have done so much for tennis that for me to not play that tournament, I think, would be an insult to them. They've committed to the Masters Cup for two years, they're going to lose a ton of money on it I think, but they're still committed to it. They're trying to grow the sport of tennis not just in the States, not just Houston, but everywhere they're trying to grow the sport. I'm going to try to do my best to play my best tennis there and give the fans what they came for. I think -- they've definitely already sold out every session this year, which is amazing - even Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, they've sold it out. They've sold out the Tennis Masters Cup. I think they're pretty close to selling out next year already, which is amazing. I'm going back there, and I'm very happy to play that tournament. So I think I'll be in good spirits when I come back to Rome.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, I think it is great to see it back. It's still very popular to play. We've played this tournament last year, we played a Davis Cup tie there, and every time we go back we see so many people just out on the public courts playing tennis. I think it's one of the most popular sports there and one of the biggest cities for actually participating in tennis in the country. So it's great to see, and it's great to have all those kind of fans, and it's great to have the support of the McIngvales who have done so much.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, they have the clay from Roland Garros there.