adidas International

January 7, 2003

James Blake

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah. I guess it's good in a way that I know I can fight back like that, getting ready for the Australian Open, especially against a top player. I think Carlos should be one of the favorites going into the Australian Open. He's a great player, been in the finals there before. I felt like today, any time I didn't control the point from beginning to end, as soon as he got a forehand, I was playing defense. So that was pretty tough to deal with. But, you know, I'm happy I got back into it and I fought hard. But it's disappointing any time you lose - even to a great player, it's still disappointing. I want to win, I'm competitive. That's probably what's gotten me this far. I definitely wanted to win, so this is a little disappointing.

JAMES BLAKE: Well, yeah. It's outdoors here as opposed to Perth, it's indoors. That's a pretty big difference, probably one of the bigger differences you can go from in tennis, going from indoors to out, especially when it's a little windy here. And the court's a little slower, I think. But I'm a professional, I've got to be able to adjust to that. And I tried to do as best I could, but now I'm going to have to do my best to get ready for Melbourne.

JAMES BLAKE: Still pretty hot out there for me, too. I'd say it's tougher to play in the wind, because it really affects every shot, you got to move your feet a lot more. I've actually had problems in the heat before, but I didn't feel it at all today. I wasn't thinking about that too much. You just have to make sure to prepare as well as you can with as much fluids, eating at the right time, you know, towelling off as much as you can, taking your time, doing things like that. The wind, it's tough to really prepare for that. There's going to be a gust in the middle of your forehand, middle of your toss, or something like that. You just have to find a way to adjust to that, and Carlos did a better job of that today.

JAMES BLAKE: Well, I'd say I'm not used to playing too many guys with bigger forehands than me. I don't think -- I'd like to think there aren't too many out there that I play against that do. And his is just huge. He can hit it from anywhere on the court, he moves so well to get it, he plays defense well off of it. Then as soon as he gets a chance, he rips it and hits it so heavy that it makes it really tough just to even stay in the point after he hits that. That makes it difficult. I mean, I think that's what's difficult for everyone to play him, that's why he's No. 5 in the world and he's been No. 1. He just has a good game, I guess, to attack me. He showed that today. I think two of our matches have been extremely close, though. And so, I mean, I definitely think I have a chance to beat him. But he's one of the top players in the world - that's why.

JAMES BLAKE: No, I don't think so. I think I tried to put that out of my mind, especially going into a match against Carlos where I know I've lost to him two times before. I needed to try to focus to get ready for that. And I can't think about playing Lleyton. They play two very different styles of play. I can't try to play the same way I did against him or anything. I needed to play very different out here, you know - outdoors as opposed to indoors, in the heat, I mean in the sun, the wind. So I hadn't really thought about that. I don't think it crossed my mind at all today. I was worried about playing Carlos, and he gave me a reason to worry.

JAMES BLAKE: Well, Hewitt is a guy who's probably the best returner in the game, best counterpuncher. If you attack him, he's pretty comfortable in that situation. He can return those with as much pace as you bring them. Carlos is more inclined to dictate a point. He wants to get that big, heavy forehand as soon as he can, hitting it inside-out or hitting just cross-court from corner to corner. Lleyton's probably a little bit faster, but they both move very well. And Lleyton might move up in the court a little bit better than Carlos, but Carlos just hits a much heavier ball, has a bigger serve. I don't know. I mean, I won against one, I lost against the other. That's the big difference.

JAMES BLAKE: Uh-hmm. It was also sandwiched in between two double-faults, which weren't too fantastic. But I think that game was the biggest turning point. I wouldn't say necessarily that one shot, because I did, you know, double-fault before that at 30-15 and double-faulted right after that. I think those three points were the turning points. I wish I had any one of those back right now, but that's part of tennis, you know. That's part of pressure. That's part of playing against a top player. You're going to possibly have those mistakes, and I'm learning from it every day I go out there. Hopefully, I'll learn today not to stone a volley at 2-all, 30-all.

JAMES BLAKE: I think he's got a great game to play him. His forehand is huge, so he can dictate the point, but it's not so flashy that it's just -- he's just going for winners. He hits it so heavy that it's pretty comfortable for him to hit that all day and just run Lleyton around. Then his backhand, if you get it to his backhand, he either doesn't give you a lot of pace on it, which Lleyton, I feel like is the only thing that might trouble him a little, is creating his own pace. Then if he's not doing that, he's trying to rip a winner with it. If that's going in, you know, I don't care who you are, it's going to be tough to deal with. He just -- then there's the fact that, you know, he did beat him a couple times, so it probably gives him confidence going into those matches. I probably don't have the same confidence playing Moya since I've lost to him three times. If I'd beaten him two or three times in a row, I'd probably feel pretty comfortable going into that match, and he probably feels that way over Lleyton right now. I think he's one of the few people out here on tour that can probably overpower Lleyton, as tough as it is to do. I don't think really anyone else can do it besides possibly one match here or there. Carlos, I think, has that game and just so much ability that he can do that.

JAMES BLAKE: Well, if a lot of guys are doing it, he probably wouldn't be No. 1 in the world. Carlos is probably the only one that can do it with that much force that I've played against. I mean, there are a couple of guys that can do it here and there, but they don't do it consistently the way Carlos does. Ferrero hits it heavy, but not nearly as heavy as Carlos I don't think. And, I mean, there are a few other guys. Fernando Gonzalez hits it heavier, but flatter. That's something that's going to kind of go off and on a little more than Carlos being more consistent I think. I mean, I really don't think it's that easy to get Lleyton out of his comfort zone. That's why he's still No. 1 in the world and still probably the favorite for the Australian Open.

JAMES BLAKE: I don't know. I mean, Hewitt grew up on this surface. That gives you a little more confidence I think. I think Moya is clearly more comfortable on clay since he grew up on that. But I do think this surface is pretty good for Carlos' game. When he was hitting those heavy forehands, it was kicking way up on my backhand. I think anyone with a one-hander, it's going to be really tough to deal with it. Guys with two-handers, it's going to be almost as tough as well. He hits it so heavy, and the ball bounces up so high off these courts, as well as I think it helps his second serve a lot. That was jumping up a lot on me today. I wasn't expecting that. I think he's possibly improved that over the off-season - either improved it over the off-season, or these courts were really catching it, I'm not sure. But it was looking pretty good today. He had no double-faults, and he made me work on those second serves. So I think this surface is pretty good for his game.

JAMES BLAKE: I think the reason I jumped up and the reason I'm still held back before moving even further, hopefully, is just a little bit of experience. I mean, just as you saw today, I'm missing a couple of balls at important times that, you know, really just shouldn't happen, just a little bit of mental lapses. I think playing a full schedule this year, knowing my whole schedule in advance, is going to make a big difference, not wondering if I'm going to be in a challenger or tour event this week, or whether I can get into certain tournaments, where I'm going to go. I think that's going to make a big difference in helping me prepare, prepare to really peak at the Grand Slams and at the Masters Series. I don't think there's anything technically I , you know, am so concentrated on that it has to get better for me to get into the Top 20 or anything like that. I think just all around I need to improve - get my backhand a little stronger, keep focusing on my serve and my returns and just go out there and play and get more experience like I did today, hopefully. Now I'll prepare as well as I ever have for the Australian Open.

JAMES BLAKE: No, no (smiling). I'm not worried really about that at all. There's nothing I can do about my looks. I don't really take them very seriously, as you may have noticed by the fact that I haven't brushed my hair in about two years probably. But it's just something that I really don't understand it. I mean, any time someone compliments me on that, I don't know what to say. I just say, "Thank my parents. They're the ones that gave me these genes. I didn't really do anything for it." Someone compliments me on tennis, I'm proud because I worked my tail off to get there. But I didn't do anything to look the way I did, that's my parents. I don't really think about it very often. I think it's just comical, and most of the guys in the locker room do, too, and they make fun of me nonstop. But I can deal with it I think.

JAMES BLAKE: No, I'm not that worried about that. That's about 100 miles in my rearview mirror compared to working on my forehand and backhand.