AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 20, 2003

James Blake

JAMES BLAKE: This one hurt quite a bit, but when I talked to my coach, and we've talked about it quite a few times, the more it hurts I guess that means the better I'm doing. Doesn't hurt as bad to lose in the first round of a challenger when not too many people really care. When you're playing for something that's really important, spot in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, hurts quite a bit. Hopefully I'll have some more that hurt even more later, losing in the finals, getting there, feeling that struggle, like it's important. That's what I've been putting all the hard work in for, is to enjoy the times when I do come through and then to feel this pain when I lose. It's getting better. I played -- I did my best today so I have nothing to be ashamed of. I learned something. I mean, I definitely don't think you can play the same tennis in the first week as you can in the second week. You got to step up a little bit. I never did. I never quite found my rhythm, going for a little too much or being a little too tentative I felt like. That's something that guys capitalize on. Rainer did a good job of capitalizing when I was a little too tentative, taking it to me, just letting me miss when I was going for too much.

JAMES BLAKE: Not too much I don't think. We're all professionals out here. We know how to deal with that. I'm sure he got a great day of practice in that day and then yesterday still probably just didn't do a whole lot, just getting ready for today. I don't think it made a huge difference.

JAMES BLAKE: I didn't notice it. Maybe he was a little more used to it maybe from Germany. When I was over there, I noticed a few too many people smoking everywhere I went. But I don't think it made a big difference. I really didn't feel the effects. When I first went out and stepped on the court, I could sense it, felt it when I was breathing. But, you know, as you get into the match, I didn't notice it at all.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah. Like I said, that means it's starting to get important. I felt like I played well to get through those first three rounds, pretty solid players that I beat. It's just another stepping stone. I learned from three wins. I'm going to learn from a loss now. I feel, you know, pretty disappointed right now, but I also feel good about coming down here and getting something positive out of this whole last three and a half weeks or so, Hopman Cup, Sydney and here. I definitely have no reason to hang my head when I leave, get on that flight back to America.

JAMES BLAKE: The guy that just beat up on me. You know, he's a great player. He's been around for a while. I had never played him before this. I had seen him play a little bit and had a lot of respect for his game. He fights hard. And it's definitely tough to play someone, three-out-of-five-set match that's just going to get run down every ball, it's very frustrating. You have to come in with the right mental attitude, perspective, the fact that you're going to be out there a long time and ready to win. I guess I just wasn't able to do that today. He's got just a really solid game, one of the -- a very good professional, does everything the right way. I hope more fans in the United States will know players like Rainer Schuettler and all kinds of players. It seems like the Australian fans, they know just about every player out here. I think that's great. I hope the American fans really get into tennis as much as the rest of the world.

JAMES BLAKE: Next I got doubles later today. But once I'm done here in Australia, I'm gonna go home, rest up a little bit for about a week then get ready to go to Croatia for Davis Cup. I've got one event in Austin, the Grand Slam Jam with Andy Roddick and Jim Courier, it's indoors in Austin. I think Jim really helps in running it. It's a charity event. I'll do that with Andy, play a practice match. Then probably go straight from there, get on a flight to go straight to Croatia and get ready to battle them on some fast indoor courts. That should be fun. It will be a whole different situation.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah. I mean, I obviously, you know, I'm a competitor. I always felt like I could win the match. I definitely didn't feel like I got my rhythm for an extended period of time. It would be a few points here and there and then somehow I'd get out of it again. I'd start being a little more tentative or going for too much. I realized that was going on. Unfortunately some of those days you just can't do a whole lot about it. You know, that third set, he might have let up a little bit. I definitely felt good for a little while, you know, going through there. Then just couldn't quite keep it going. He didn't have a letdown in the fourth. I couldn't -- like I said, I just couldn't put the rhythm together.

JAMES BLAKE: No, I'm not worried about the weight of that. Andy's done a great job of handling it, especially for someone so young and breaking through as quickly as he did. I just look at that kind of pressure as an opportunity to do something that's important in tennis. And I think it's great that, you know, the media can make that a big deal and make it that we're following Sampras and Agassi. Unfortunately, I really think those are enormous shoes to fill. But, you know, I think they did a great job in helping us to get to where we are. You know, I really look forward to the times I have ahead of me where I can hopefully have a big impact on the sport and then help out the younger guys as well. Pete, Andre, Courier, Todd Martin have done extraordinary things in the game and have been very gracious in helping the younger guys. That's hopefully something I have to look forward to.

JAMES BLAKE: No, I think it's ridiculous. I think that generation of players is, if not the best, one of the best generations ever. I think last time I made that statement, Benny Simms corrected me and said that it could have been possibly there's an Australian generation with Roy Emersons and Rod Lavers that might have been better. But that's up for debate. I think it's kind of crazy to say that there will ever be another generation like that. Andy and I are going to do our best with the help of Robby Ginepri, Mardy Fish, Taylor Dent, all guys doing well. With the depth of men's tennis, it's going to be so tough to get what do they have 21 between Pete and Andre, throw in Courier's four, Chang's one, that's, what, 26 Grand Slams. That's not going to be easy to live up to with one generation of players. You just see the difference, I mean, in men's tennis now. There aren't too many players winning two and three Grand Slams a year. It's very difficult with how good the men's game is and, you know, with the technology of the racquets, guys can hit the balls so big that one person has a great serving day and the best player in the world is off the court and lost in straight sets. Things can happen. So it's pretty tough to set that as a goal. We're just going to try to do our best and maybe win a few Davis Cups.

JAMES BLAKE: No. Obviously, you get those after you lose. So I think a lot of guys aren't always the friendliest people in the world right after they lose. I probably am not. I haven't talked to any guys that have. I'm still not out of the tournament so I don't know if I'll get tested. But, you know, that's part of the game. I won't mind if I do.

JAMES BLAKE: I think that's something I throw in . I'm not a Tim Henman, a Pat Rafter, I'm not going to use it all the time. Threw it in to change it up, which I think is why it's more effective. I think I probably only served around 50, 55 percent today. I don't think I had the opportunity as much. If I had served a little higher percentage I probably would have used it a little more. But his returns were also one of his best characteristics. I think that's probably why he beat Richard Krajicek the way he did. I think I used it enough. I just maybe could have made a few more first serves.