US OPEN

September 1, 2006

James Blake

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. I don't think Agassi ever wore a turned around green baseball cap, did he?
JAMES BLAKE: I guess he didn't. I guess my Agassi homage is over when I come into the interview room.

Q. Talk about that.
JAMES BLAKE: It was an idea I came up with at Wimbledon when I saw actually what happened. I was sitting and watching his last match against Nadal, realized the emotion that was welling up it seemed like in everyone. I was sitting there with my brother, my coach, just watching what was going on on TV.
Just thinking about how emotional I'm sure it was, how emotional it was for everyone. Man, I wish there was something we could do, a way to show our support.
I heard he didn't want a ton of fanfare from the USTA. I'm sure they would have done something huge for him. Something maybe player should be able to do. Thought about all the old stuff he used to wear, how unique it was, how special he made every outfit kind of. It seems like even the top players, all of a lot of players will wear similar stuff.
Just to show something like that, that everyone recognizes where it came from, who had it, how unique he was in his younger years, how much of a legend he still is. I wanted to do something just to show kind of how much he's meant to the sport. I'm happy it came on a day after that unbelievable night match last night when everyone has him, for sure, at the front of their minds. He's at the front of all of our minds in this tournament. We're looking at his section of the draw, see when he plays next. That's the match we want to stay home for and maybe miss dinner for and catch that.

Q. So where did you get the stuff from?
JAMES BLAKE: From Nike. They remade it. They made some new stuff. I thought that outfit was going to be mentioned, a bunch of them. My idea originally was to do like a different look each day, being kind of hopeful that I'd get to wear a few of them.
You know, that brown outfit he wore, maybe even like the pink one with the lime green and the lime green spandex. They said that was going to be too much for them. They said, Let's do one day and just make a statement that one time. I wanted it to be the denim shorts, but they said that would be ridiculous. It would mess up the way I was playing. It would feel so different.
Everything was still very comfortable. It was just a plain cotton shirt. Those spandex are the same kind I wear nowadays, it's just they were pink or orange or whatever they are. That was the debate in the locker room, whether they were pink or orange. I say orange.
The shoes were exactly the same, just a different color. It was extremely comfortable. It was fine. They made it kind of in modern times now.

Q. No blonde wig?
JAMES BLAKE: No, no. The 'do rag on top of the head was enough. I wasn't doing the long lion's mane he used to have.

Q. Why hot pink, and do you remember how old you were when you first saw him wearing that stuff?
JAMES BLAKE: A few people have said that outfit was around '91 or '92. I was about 11 or 12. I definitely remember the times you'd see him that was kind of the excitement about it.
It made it so you had your the one you support, whether Agassi or Sampras. Sampras was always in white, very traditional. Agassi had those crazy colors, the 'do rag, everything. It was just an exciting time in the sport.
It does give me pause to realize why American tennis fans have been somewhat spoiled in the past 20 years, 'cause we had two legends like Agassi and Sampras battling at the top of the game with also guys like Courier, Martin, Chang in there as well.
The golden era I think for American tennis. We're doing our best to represent them, and hopefully make it another great era with myself, Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish. We have a few guys in the top 10 right now. We have a few guys still left in this draw with me and Andy, maybe even Ryan Sweeting. We're doing our best.

Q. You play against Moya in the next round. He's got a 5 2 lead. You've won the last two. How do you see the match up against him?
JAMES BLAKE: It's going to be tough. He's an excellent player. I just barely got by him earlier this year. Granted, that was on clay, his favorite surface. But his forehand is huge, serves very well, moves really well. I'm going to have to try to attack his backhand. He's going to be doing the same to me with his forehand.
It's going to be interesting. He's a great player. He's beaten me on hard courts. Like you say, I've gotten the last two. I'm trying to be pretty optimistic about it. He's a great player, so it's not going to be easy. If I can serve the way I did today, I'd be pretty happy about it. I think I served pretty well, which got me out of trouble when I got into it.
I didn't think I played my best tennis, but I think that was also partly because of the wind. I don't think anybody played their best tennis today because of that kind of a condition. Can't be upset about that. Just the things that are easiest to control, like my serve, I did a good job of, I thought. Happy about that. Hopefully my game will match up well with Carlos.

Q. James, did you stay awake late watching it last night?
JAMES BLAKE: I did. I saw the end of it, the interviews afterwards. Both guys were extremely classy. I tip my hat to Marcos Baghdatis because I know how tough that is at the end of a match like that go out there and speak your mind. You're so tired, especially handling it physically, to go out there, give credit where it's due and understand the fact that something exciting like that is good for the sport. There has to be a winner and loser in every match unfortunately. He went out and conducted himself in a very, very gentlemen like manner. The sport needs more people like him and more people like Andre. We might never see someone quite like Andre, but it's good to see a classy guy like Marcos in that situation.

Q. How surprised were you to see however many were there, full house till the end?
JAMES BLAKE: Not one bit surprised. I remember that feeling last year. It was incredible. That's what Andre can do for this sport. It's a great thing to see at 1 a.m. that many people cheering. I'm sure just like last year there were red eyes in the office today. It wasn't just because of the normal going out on Friday night, it's because they were here at the US Open. That just makes tennis so much more exciting.
I love the US Open. I love the night match atmosphere, the fact that people really do care. Those fans did care. They were on their feet at 1 in the morning. You just can't beat that. You don't get that at too many tournaments in the world. Even like Andre said, you're not guaranteed one moment like that, and he's had so many. He's appreciating them so much right now. I think we all can take a lesson from that and realize even a moment like I had today, winning a second round match on Arthur Ashe Stadium, it's a great moment and something we can all appreciate being in that moment.

Q. Except for your faithful fan block there, what was the atmosphere like? Didn't compare at all to last night or last year.
JAMES BLAKE: It's still great. I don't know 'except for them.' They are always a part of the atmosphere. Those are some of my best friends. They're cheering loud. They're keeping me positive. Even if I have a little lapse or a little hiccup or anything, they're keeping me positive. The whole crowd seemed to be doing that the same today.
It's a tough day, with it being so windy, with lot of rain in the forecast coming up. People might not want to come out to watch tennis in that situation. But it's still the US Open. The fans are still great. They're excited to see good effort, good points, the best tennis throughout the whole year. I think this is the tournament, for Americans for sure, and I think amongst a lot of guys in the locker room, this is the biggest tournament of the year.

Q. Do you purposely downplay your chances to keep the pressure off yourself?
JAMES BLAKE: I definitely downplay my chances just because I'm realistic that one guy wins this out of 128. I probably downplay it more because I know I already have a target on my back. Being a top 10 player, No. 1 American, all that kind of stuff, I understand the pressure that comes with it. I understand guys are gunning for me. There's no reason to add to their incentive.
I also know how many great players. I lost to Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, who is 70 in the world. He played an excellent match. Last time I played Gabaschvili, I don't think I was at my best. I was still coming back from injury, sickness and everything. But still I remember last time a lot of the points, even when I was playing well, there wasn't much I could do. He played an unbelievable match. If guys come out and do that, I know it's possible they can beat me. I don't want to sound like I'm not confident because I'm confident if I'm playing well. If I'm playing my best tennis, I can match up with just about anybody in the world. Obviously Roger on his best day is tough for anyone to beat. On my best day, I think I'm pretty darn tough to beat. But there is a chance I can go out, play just a god awful match and someone's going to beat me in that case. It doesn't even have to be awful. It could be my 90% and I'm going to lose probably, unless the other guy's having a bad day, too. It's just that close out here.
That's why I downplay it, because I realize how close it is, how much it comes down to just a few points in every single match.

Q. A lot of the great players in the Slams, of course every great player has lost at the slams, but they find a way to win those matches.
JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, they do. I hope I'm one of those types of players. I haven't done it yet this year. I've gotten to a third round of all of them, stalled there. It's been some pretty good matches. Max played great to beat me in Wimbledon. Monfils played great in the French. That's obviously my least comfortable surface. I just played what I felt was not a great match against Robredo. Those are all good players. That's what I said, those matches just didn't go my way yet.
There's no reason those should affect anything that's going to happen the rest of this week or next week and a half hopefully.

Q. Can you assess your play so far?
JAMES BLAKE: It was pretty good today. I was real proud of the way I served. That got me out of trouble, especially in this wind. I feel like I'm playing well. I haven't lost a set. Go through two rounds of the US Open and for that to actually even be a question after not losing a set in two rounds, it's a pretty good thing. That means people are expecting a lot of me. That means I've done something pretty good so far.
I'm pretty happy about that. I'm happy to hear that question because I would have thought a few years ago, to go through my first two rounds without losing a set, it would be obvious I'm playing great tennis. Now it seems like it's not a given that I'm playing my best tennis to win two straight matches in straight sets. That's a compliment.
I definitely feel like my game is getting better. It got better today than a few days ago. I hope it continues to get better.

Q. Where would you put your game? You've had some inconsistencies this summer.
JAMES BLAKE: Indianapolis, that match with Andy, I think was one of my best ever. I definitely haven't forgotten that. There's no way that exits my mind in just a month. I know going out playing anyone that Andy is one of the best players in the world, the way he was playing that day. I played my best tennis to beat him.
It is possible for me to go out there and play that kind of tennis again. I know that. Nothing's changed in that time. I've lost a couple of tough matches, Gasquet and Ferrero, who at the time were playing great tennis. I think they both still are. I played I had chances against Ramirez Hidalgo. That was a chance I didn't come up with the goods at the right time. He did. I'm glad that was at the Pilot Pen and not here at the US Open.
I like my chances here the way I'm playing. I feel like my game is pretty much where I need to be. To find the silver lining in those early losses, I think my legs are fresh. I'm ready to go and eager and very hungry to win matches because I didn't win as many in the last couple weeks.

Q. Is this the last day for your Andre homage?
JAMES BLAKE: That was it. It was a one time thing. I'll be right back to the marketable Nike gear again the next time.
I just wanted to do it once. I know Andre, how he probably doesn't want a ton of fanfare. I did ask him before just to make sure that he was okay with it, and he said it was fine. I told him it was going to be one time. As much fun as it would be to keep changing the outfits and keep going, I'm going to go back to the new stuff.
Andre knows we all do care about him, we all appreciate everything he's done. I think the statement was made. Now it's back to business at hand.

Q. How did it feel wearing it? Inspiring?
JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, it was great. The first time I walked out there and look up at the board, see that outfit, know that Andre wore it many, many years ago, think about just all the success he's had at the Open. Even to think about how well he played last night.
It's something I'd been thinking about, like I said, since Wimbledon. It was pretty it was tough for me to keep a secret. I hadn't told anyone. Nike didn't want me to tell anyone.
It was kind of, I don't know, a sigh of relief to get out there and finally do it so I didn't have to keep it a secret any more and let people know what I was doing, making that kind of a tribute to Andre.

Q. The four cornered bow and kiss.
JAMES BLAKE: I heard from the locker room that I did a terrible job at it. I won't be doing that any more. I wanted to kind of finish the day, that be the end of my kind of tribute. I wanted to make sure everyone who didn't already know that it was for Andre, that it was. Hopefully they figured that out.

Q. When you look back on last year's match against Andre, what is the first thought in your mind? Disappointment? Being happy to be part of it?
JAMES BLAKE: Probably the first thing I think of is I should have done something different at 6 All in the breaker. Other than that, I really do think about the fact that I was happy to be there, that I'm happy I lost to such a great player. It's something I've said a whole bunch of times. People probably don't believe me, think it's just cliché or whatever. If I play my best and do everything I can to prepare, then I can't hang my head too low, I can just be proud of what I did.
I'll be honest. In the locker room right after, I was same as any other competitor: wanted to throw things, break things, be upset that I didn't win. When you look back, you think, What could I have done anything differently? I couldn't have prepared any better. I couldn't have done anything different on the court. It's easy to say I could have made a different decision at 5 All or 6 All in the breaker. When you're out there, you're doing your best, making your best decisions. I thought I did. I thought I played a great match. I played as well as I could. That game I got broken at 5 4 serving for it, he played an unbelievable game. There wasn't much I could do. I just hang my head high. I'm proud of the way I played, the way I conducted myself, the way he played. He had to raise his level to beat me. To have to have Andre Agassi raise his level to beat you is something that, like I said, I can be proud of.

Q. What did you think of the level of play last night?
JAMES BLAKE: Last night was incredible, too. Those guys were ripping the ball. Andre is so amazing how much he can make someone work. Marcos is in great shape. At night when it's not even that hot, to make him cramp, Andre was absolutely running him all over the place. That's Andre being Andre. It was awesome to watch.
I'm happy to see that, happy to see him going through the third round. And hopefully he'll continue playing as well as he was.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports