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NASDAQ-100 OPEN

March 23, 2006

James Blake

MIAMI, FLORIDA

THE MODERATOR: Questions for James, please.
Q. What do you know about either one of your opponents?
JAMES BLAKE: I know Carlos Berlocq is up 6-Love, 1-Love right now. My coach is out there watching it right now. I'll get the report later. I really don't know much about Carlos. It looks like that's probably who I'm going to be playing.
Donald, I know a little bit about him. I've hit with him once. He's a very talented kid, but still he's a kid. He's got some learning to do. I think he's got some learning to do at the futures and challengers level first, and then he can get back up here and maybe have some success.
But I think right now he's not quite ready for it. Most 16-year-olds aren't. I mean, it's very, ver rare that a kid of that age is ready to compete at this level. Nadal was probably; Hewitt was. But it's pretty rare. It doesn't take anything away from him because, you know, there's a very good chance he could be good, but I didn't predict that I'd be playing him in the second round.
Q. Is it a little bit painful to see him not be able to break through?
JAMES BLAKE: Well, it's tough. I don't know him as well. I just hope he has the right attitude about it, that this is just a learning process and it doesn't mean in two or three years he isn't going to be a respected guy on tour, a guy that is winning these matches handily and is expected to win them. 'Cause I hope he doesn't come in with the expectations of winning a lot of these matches because even when I started, I was older, it was similar. I wasn't getting as many wildcards, but I got a few that I used and learned from, getting beat up pretty badly. I got a wildcard into Indian Wells and Scottsdale and got beat up by some Top 20 players badly.
I was pretty down on myself for a little while about that, but as I got better and better, I realized that it's possible. It was good for me to see that level, and I hope it is good for him to see this level. But I hope he doesn't take this into the futures and challengers and think just 'cause he can't win a match out here right now that he can't win down there and earn his way back up here. I think that's important to feel like you've earned it. I don't know if he does or not right now, but it's a good -- a really good thing to figure out that you've earned something and to have done it the right way, go through the futures and challengers and get back here. You don't feel like you owe anyone anything. You don't feel like you're not sure if you belong, you know you belong there. I hope he does that and doesn't let this affect earning his way back here.
Q. You've hit with him. Have you had occasion to talk with him about this to make sure he understands?
JAMES BLAKE: Not a whole lot. He seems to have a few people around him at all times. It's tough to kind of break through that.
But if he were to ever ask for advice, I'd be happy to help. I hope his support staff or entourage or whatever you want to call it is keeping his head on straight.
Q. A few years back you were part of an American Express promotional campaign at the US Open, there was a huge billboard as you were on the boardwalk going to the National Tennis Center. Was that too much, too soon, expectations too high at that point?
JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, that was all -- I mean, I was taking it as something that was crazy and fun, and maybe a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Pretty darn cool to see yourself on a bus or on a billboard. I think I heard a few years ago when that was up that -- in the New York Post that someone actually stole the face off one of the billboards of me.
I mean, just things like that, I never took them too seriously. I thought it was unbelievable exposure, it was a lot of fun, it made for some pretty good jokes. My friends made plenty of jokes about it and stuff.
I thought it was great. But I didn't worry too much about it. I didn't think it meant I had to win the tournament. I didn't think it meant I was expected to do anything spectacular. They were just hopefully capitalizing on my marketability at that time. It was something that was fun. If I ever get back there again, great; if not, something I can say when I'm 40, 50 years old that I was on a bus and on billboards and stuff, and it's pretty cool.
I didn't think about the expectations too much. I know there were plenty when I was coming up, but I never really thought about them too much. It's funny to hear so many people now saying, "Oh, I knew you'd get to the top 10. I thought you'd do that." Everyone, I don't know how they thought it, because I wasn't sure it was ever going to happen. I guess they're smarter than me.
Q. On that same topic, Patrick McEnroe and a couple other people said the biggest difference now is that you actually believe that you're a top 10 player and other people have felt that you had the potential but that you were kind of the last one who had to be convinced. Do you think that's accurate?
JAMES BLAKE: Partly. I mean, I always believed in myself, but I think I was in one way a little too hard on myself. I'd let things affect me if I didn't play perfectly. And, I also might have been a little impatient at times. I've gotten much more patient. I have more confidence in kind of every aspect of my game. I always had confidence in my forehand, I always had confidence in my speed and things that I know I can do well. But I never had confidence in my defense, I never had confidence in my patience, never had confident in my second serve. Those were things that I've been able to work on as I've gotten older and just kind of matured a little and gotten stronger and been able to hit tons of backhands, hit plenty of balls in practice and everything.
Having the confidence in all those kind of even elevates the confidence in the things I do well. So, it's definitely changed my outlook when I get on the court because I don't feel like I'm going into matches now a lot of times where I have to play my absolute best tennis to win a match. I have to play well every time, but I don't go in trying to do too much, which at times before, I did. Maybe that was not believing that I was good enough on my own.
Q. You had to overcompensate almost?
JAMES BLAKE: Yeah.
Q. You had to do everything perfect?
JAMES BLAKE: Going for a little too much, too soon. Trying to hit winners when I can just stay in points and wait for my opportunities.
To some regard I think that's true. And also just having a calmer perspective on the court. I mean, that's given me a lot of confidence because I know that, you know, it's just one match, one point, one game, whatever I'm focusing on at the time and life goes on with or without that one match and it doesn't change the fact that I'm incredibly competitive. Doesn't make me any less of a competitor, just means I think I have a better attitude that I can go through that and if it's a breakpoint or huge point in a match, I don't need to tense up so much to the point that this is what I'm going to live or die on. I was lucky enough to know and find out that I have friends that will care about me and family that will care about me whether or not I win every match or lose every match. So that's something that's in the back of my mind at times on the court, and it's a good feeling.
Q. What did the match against Nadal at the US Open do for you in terms of your development?
JAMES BLAKE: That helped a lot because it was a match I went into without a whole lot of pressure on me. He had had an unbelievable summer, obviously winning the French Open, and winning Montreal, proving he could play on hard courts. So I didn't have pressure. People probably expected me to lose, I don't know.
I've done a much better job now of also not listening to those kind of things, when people expect me to lose or expect me to win. It's what I expect and what I think about with my coach.
And so I didn't think about that. I just went out and had no pressure. I'm playing the No. 2 player in the world, but I'm going to have my crowd, my friends there, and there's no reason why I can't beat the No. 2 player in the world. I went out and played well. I think that's a match, again, a few years ago I would have lost. I won the first set, lost the second set pretty close. I think a few years ago, I would have thought "He's playing better than me, I got to step up and really go for too much and find a way to win this some different way," but I just kept playing my game and said, "Okay, we're even now. That means we're playing the same. If I just keep playing my game, I'll hopefully find a way to break him down."
On that day, it was good enough to win. He's obviously playing even better now. He beat Roger already this year, and he's a great player.
It really helped me to know that I can play my game and beat the No. 2 player in the world on a large stage, on the biggest stage we have really, at the US Open.
Q. Where you are now in the standings, being back in the Top 10, do you feel it vindicates your decision to stay with your coach? Many people were saying why is he still with Brian?
JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, well, first of all "back in the top 10" is a little misleading because this is the first time I've been in the top 10. Last time I was in the top 10 was in college (laughter).
But, no, definitely, it's funny. It feels good to know that people now have faith in my coach and we joke about it all the time. I mean, there was no chance. There's ups and downs in everyone's career, whether or not they change coaches or stay with coaches. It's so often that guys refuse to take the blame on themselves and they put it on their coach. The coach isn't out there hitting those balls, he isn't playing breakpoints for you. So it's funny that they get blamed when the player's losing and they don't get the credit when the player's winning. When the player's winning, it's "Oh, you changed your backhand, you've worked on this, you worked so hard." Well, how come you're not thanking the coach then?
I definitely think he deserves a lot of credit for me getting up here, and not just for me getting into the Top 10, but for me being someone that people generally like in the locker room, for being a friendly person, for growing up the way I've grown up. He's helped me with everything.
I'm lucky to have had him there. I don't worry about the vindication as much. I do think it's great for him. It's funny when, you know, the commentators and people are saying, "He should get rid of the coach" when I'm playing badly, I don't think they realize his parents watch that, and his friends watch that, and they think, "Is that true?" They don't know as much about tennis.
It's unfortunate, but, luckily, I did stay with him. He knows my game better than anyone. He's helped me get back and further than I ever have before. I'm very happy and thankful for that.
Q. Why is it important to be liked?
JAMES BLAKE: That's something that has nothing to do with tennis. I try to be respectful of people and be friendly. That's a lesson my parents taught me from very young, is it's better to have friends. You want to have people that -- it makes life so much better. When I was a kid, I was a brat on the court and it wasn't fun being me against the world, when all the parents don't like you because you're a bit of a brat. Even if you're winning, no one cares.
I specifically remember one time when I was about 12 or 13 years old and I won a tournament and I came back to the tennis club, came to the clinic and sat down with Brian for probably an hour and we talked about it and he said, "Think about this. You just won that tournament. Do you think anyone here cares?" No one did. No one cared that I won because I was a brat then.
Now I come into the locker room here after doing well in Indian Wells, and I got 20 or 30 congratulatory handshakes and pats on the back. It's just good to have people that are around you that care. I know now that I have friends in that locker room that are going to be friends for life outside of tennis. I know Mardy Fish is going to be a friend of mine. Andy Roddick, Robby Ginepri, Taylor Dent, those guys are going to be friends of mine whether I never win a tennis match again, whether I play them 12 times and beat them 12 times, lose to them 12 times, it doesn't matter. I'm so happy. That's in some ways more important than ever winning another tennis match. I have friends now, and it's a good thing to have people around you that care.
Q. When did you cease being a brat, and when did you come to the realization there's another way of doing it?
JAMES BLAKE: I was probably around 13, 14 years old when I started kind of making a conscious effort to act a little more appropriately on the court. It was something that took time, and it wasn't something that comes overnight, just like changing a stroke or changing a habit. You take time. You take time to make a conscious effort. As you do it over and over again consciously, it starts to become unconscious and you start doing it naturally. That's what's comes now. It's very natural for me out there on the court now, I'm just being myself. When I was 13 or 14, I wanted to throw my racquet every time I missed the ball. You have to think about it, and make sure you don't.
Then I ended up starting to play better just 'cause I was having more fun on the court, I had more friends, like I said. It was just a matter of, for me, I was lucky enough to have people that had perspective and said it's just a matter of growing up, really. That's luckily what I was able to do. It was an effort between me, my coach, my parents.
Q. It's kind of hard to picture you as a brat. How bratty were you? What would you do?
JAMES BLAKE: Let's see, bratty enough to the point where I think Brian suggested I either quit tennis or take at least a year off. Because I am so competitive, and I think it's funny, a lot of times when people say I'm a nice guy or whatever and that maybe I'm not competitive enough, because if they only knew how competitive I am. I mean, any time I lost a match, I didn't think I should have. I had, you know, a million and one reasons why I didn't. "This guy cheated me." "I was not feeling well." Just being a 12-year-old kid, what kids do.
I'm so lucky Brian was able to just sit me down, have the patience to deal with that. A couple things, he said one thing that made him stick with me, he was amazed how competitive I was and he would watch everyone in the clinics and he said that I was one of the few kids that was that competitive and that crazy but never cheated anyone. I'd call balls against myself. He said, "I knew you had that kind of potential to actually be a nice person." He stuck with me and kept me on the right path.
Q. Anything that makes you lose your temper?
JAMES BLAKE: Anything that still makes me lose my temper, yeah, I think it runs in the family. Me and my brother both get pretty frustrated with bad drivers. It definitely frustrates me. And we found a few down here in Miami (smiling).
Q. Just a few?
JAMES BLAKE: Yeah.
Q. About Davis Cup, do you feel like a second player in the singles on your team, or do you think that maybe Andre Agassi would be called for it at this time?
JAMES BLAKE: It's a tough question. I think that's a more important question for Patrick McEnroe. He's the captain. He gets paid to make those tough decisions. I mean, it's tough to say no to Andre Agassi if he makes himself available.
But I think I've done my part, and that's all I worry about. I've played my best tennis, I've been playing better than I think I ever have. I played well in Davis Cup the first round, and I hope he sees that and makes his decision based on, you know, who's playing well.
I think he has the luxury of kind of picking the hot hand if he wants to. If Andre goes out here and wins this tournament, then I'll be sitting around cheering for him. I'd be happy to do that. But if he thinks all the success I've had lately is an indication of how I'm playing and hopefully how I can play, and if he thinks I give the team a better chance to win, then I'm going to go and represent my country as well as I can.
Q. Your opinion about the tie against Chile?
JAMES BLAKE: My opinion is I like our chances because I think Andy and myself or Andre and the Bryans are a little more comfortable on grass than Gonzalez and Massu. We've been playing some good tennis. Andy has, I think, proven over the last couple years he's the second-best grass court player in the world. I definitely like our chances. It's at home. We'll have a great crowd. I definitely like our chances. I think we have an unbelievable team this year. I know we're a close-knit team that enjoys being around each other. I think that's going to account for a lot and, hopefully, take us all the way to the championship.
Q. You talk about the importance of being liked by your peers. How about being a crowd favorite?
JAMES BLAKE: It's great. I think the best thing about it is -- I think the best thing people can do on the court is be themselves. That's what I try to do. I'm having fun on the court. That's something that I couldn't do when I was 12 years old, but now I always have a great time - practice, matches, whatever. I'm having fun on the court. I think the fans see that, which is great. Whether I'm in the States or outside of the States, that's great. It seems like fans relate to that. They all play tennis, they know it's a game, and they have fun playing. They see some professionals out here that aren't having fun, that make it like a job. I'm having fun out there, and I think they can relate to that a little better.
I like to think that's why I'm a crowd favorite. It's fun to have those fans cheering for you. I think it's great when people have their own personality. Lleyton obviously has a different personality, but he's being himself out on the court. Pete was very different, he was very reserved. But for Pete to do anything like Andre Agassi or Andy Roddick and go crazy on the court, that's not like him, so I don't think it's right for him to do that. I think it's great when people are being themselves. You see Andy being himself; he's a crowd favorite. You see Pete being himself, and once the crowds warmed to him a little bit, they appreciated his demeanor and I think a lot of kids looked up to him for his sportsmanship and everything. Roger, he's kind of quietly confident and then at times he has emotional outbursts, but that's just who he is. He's very quiet in the locker room as well. I think it's great to see people showing their personality on the court and to see the differences in personalities, because you see that in the real world, too. You see very varied personalties and it's good to see that on the court as well.

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