TMS MONTE CARLO

April 15, 2003

James Blake

JAMES BLAKE: No (smiling). I don't think it's good conditions for anyone, that kind of wind. That's probably the windiest I've played a pro match in. It was pretty tough out there, those first two sets especially. Got a little better in the third set, which I was pretty happy about. We still felt -- I think we were both a little tentative still, because we didn't know when that gust was going to come up, we didn't have the same confidence in our shots. But it felt good at the end. We were able to go for a little bit more. I think the level of tennis was a little higher, so that was great. Otherwise, it was great to get through the first one. I played an exhibition tournament in River Oaks a couple weeks ago, which I think helped me get prepared for this kind of -- for the clay court season. I got a lot of matches there, singles and doubles, so that was great for me. I think it's good preparation for, you know, the rest of the year.

JAMES BLAKE: I actually won the singles.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, I beat Wayne Ferreira in the finals. So that was a good win. He was playing great that tournament. He had defeated Spadea and was playing great. So it was a good win for me, helped my confidence.

JAMES BLAKE: I beat Lars Burgsmuller in the semis, and who did I beat in the quarters? I beat Amer Delic, a college kid, before that. And somebody else, I don't remember.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, there were a couple close ones. Just I had a little discussion with the umpire more about kind of the consistency. He came over, and it didn't seem like he looked for a mark. He said the ball cleaned off the line. I didn't see anything where it cleaned off the line. It was just a discussion. I'm under the impression on clay court you look for a mark and, you know, that's clear-cut evidence of whether the ball is in or out. That's tennis, though. There's going to be a lot of close calls. Luckily, some went my way; some went against me. That's the way it's gonna go, it's no big deal. No match is going to be won or lost on one point. You have so many more that are going to be more important than just that one call. I was just having a discussion about the consistency.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, it is. That's what happened. There wasn't really a clear-cut mark, I don't think. So there was nothing, you know, negative really said. I was just questioning the protocol of whether or not it was getting called by just the initial call, or whether it was going to be check the mark. Like you said, it was difficult because clay could make it so it's unreadable sometimes. It happens.

JAMES BLAKE: Absolutely. Any way to take a little more human error out of it, I think would be great. It takes the same amount of time; we've seen it on TV, we saw it at the Australian Open, we've seen it here. It takes the same amount of time as checking the mark. So if you can use that on hard courts, on grass courts, and he just has maybe a little monitor right by him, you question it, he checks, they have the technology, you know, it's clearly in, it's clearly out, I don't see a reason why not to do it. I think the only argument is they can't do it on every court. When I was playing futures and challengers, they couldn't always have a full crew. So it's just kind of possibly moving up a level where you can take the human error out.

JAMES BLAKE: I think it's fun. This one is a little tough coming over for just one week. Luckily, it's Monte-Carlo, so it's not such a bad setting to come over to. But just I'm talking about the trip, you know, it's a long trip to come all the way over here for just one week, because I'm going back to Houston next week. So that's probably the most difficult part of it. But otherwise, it's fun, places like Rome and Hamburg, which are both beautiful. I have a great time. I don't really look negatively on the clay court season. I feel like I can play my game still, and I still have a good chance to do well. So I'm not looking at it as, you know, "Oh, geez, clay court season." I don't think it's a problem. I look forward to it. And then I get to play more matches. The European clay is great, too. You don't really get that many bad bounces. It's not that humid. I think it's really a true test of tennis, and I like it.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, I think so. I think practicing on clay is a great way to improve your game. You learn a little bit more about just kind of the dynamics of tennis because you have to really set up points a lot more, as opposed to a grass court where it's just serve and volley, just get in as quick as you can, chip and charge, the points are very short, which there is still an art to. But with clay courts, you have to set up points, you have to be patient, and you have to return well. And I think it's a great way to improve your tennis on all surfaces. So in the off-season, I do like to, once in a while, get out and practice on clay courts. Unfortunately, I'm American so there aren't that many people who are willing to jump out on the clay courts with me. But it is fun to do that.

JAMES BLAKE: No. The first time I actually talked about it was earlier today. I was talking to, I think, Graydon Oliver and Andy about it a little bit and that was the only thing I've ever really talked about it. None of the ATP staff or anyone has mentioned anything to me about it. I don't think it's come up in any of the meetings yet, but, hopefully, it will soon.