US OPEN

August 26, 2006

James Blake

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

Q. What has the year been like for you so far?

JAMES BLAKE: The year's been great so far. Couple of early exits the last two or three weeks. But other than that, I feel great. I know there's gonna be highs and lows in every season, and most of this season has been a high.

Every time I come into the US Open, it's the time of the year I want to be playing my best tennis. It's very easy to get motivated at the US Open. For me, this is the place I get goosebumps walking around Arthur Ashe Stadium. I have so many friends and family here that I don't need any sort of other outside motivation to get me ready. I'm going to be pretty excited going in. I feel like I've been here already for a few days. By the time my match comes, I know I'm going to be just so excited to get out there. It's going to be more just to calm myself down than to get fired up, I think.

Q. Do you feel pressure coming in as the top-ranked American?

JAMES BLAKE: Sure, there's pressure. I've always felt that coming into the US Open, Pilot Pen, those tournaments put the most pressure on me because I am performing in front of my friends and family and so many people that want me to do well. But those are also the tournaments I do best at. I feel like I kind of thrive under that kind of pressure. I've always, throughout my whole career, looked at pressure as a positive thing because it's an opportunity to do something good. If you're not in any sort of a pressure situation, it's probably not as meaningful of a match or not as important of any sort of event that's going on.

So for me, uhm, there is added pressure, but I try to look at that as a very positive thing.

Q. How do you switch gears coming into the US Open ranked as high as you are after losing right before coming into the US Open?

JAMES BLAKE: Well, it's a situation where as I've matured, I've figured out ways to find silver linings in everything. Losing first round of the Pilot Pen was a tough loss, but I had three great sets of tennis in. I've had a lot of time to be practicing on these courts. Like I said before, I know by the time my match comes in, I'm gonna feel almost like a caged animal where you keep it captive for so long, once it gets out, it goes crazy. I have a feeling when I've been on these grounds for so long and have not been really competitive out there on Arthur Ashe Stadium, as soon as I get out there, I'm gonna be amped and ready to go.

Q. How does it feel being the No. 1 player in America?

JAMES BLAKE: It's a pretty good feeling. I know it can change in a hurry. I know Andy is playing some of the best tennis right now. Over the last three or four years, he's been on of the three or four best players in the world. There's no reason why he can't go out here and win this tournament and take it over very quickly.

But, even so, I'm proud and honored to be considered in the same list of guys that have been No. 1 in America with Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Jim Courier. There aren't too many guys on that list that aren't very impressive players. I'm honored to be a part of that. Whether it's for three or four weeks or whether it's for a year or five years, I'm proud to be a part of it.

Q. Speaking of Andre, talk to me about his farewell here.

JAMES BLAKE: It's gonna be sad to see him go. We're all gonna miss him. I think he's an unbelievable person, as well as an incredible talent. I don't think we need to talk about his talent.

But as a person, he's done so much for the game. We all owe a little debt of gratitude for what he's done for the sport because he's transcended the sport to become an international superstar more so than any other tennis player over the last 20 years probably. That's helped the exposure, and we all appreciate that.

We're gonna miss him. We're gonna miss his smile in the locker room, his precision now. From what I heard, back in his early days he wasn't like that, so it's great for me to see the person he's become and the father and family man he's become. I know he's gonna do everything he can to continue doing that, and we hope he stays close to tennis because he's got so much to offer all of us. We're looking at that selfishly, but we also know that he's got so much to offer his family, so we wish him the best with his time with his family.

Q. Can you talk about Arthur Ashe.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, that's probably why I still get goosebumps going out on to the court named for Arthur Ashe. He's a role model. I wish he was a role model for more than just tennis players. For me, being African American, stressing education, and a tennis player, the connection is kind of obvious. I wish more people knew all about him and could understand that he did great things with his life when he was on top, when he was Wimbledon champion, when he was US Open champion, but also when he was afflicted with an awful disease, HIV AIDS. He did what he could to help others when he was in a negative situation. That's something that is not easy to do. Most people can't look to help others in every situation. They can when things are going well maybe, but if things start going wrong, a lot of people start asking, Why me and saying, I can't believe this happened to me, I've had such bad luck, and don't think about others that are even less fortunate. Arthur still did that, and that's why I think he's a shining example of what could be great about humanity.

Q. Was that an inspiration for you when you were going through your troubles, how he handled troubles?

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, that's why I never tried to feel too down on myself. I mean, obviously at times before you go to sleep or whatever when you're by yourself, you think about what could have been, what's going on, how things have changed. But when I was sick, when I was hurt, I did try to help others, just do what I could to put a smile on other people's faces, and they were doing the same for me. They were trying to pick me up. I tried to do everything I could to make them know they were helping me and that I'll be back in no time and doing everything I can to help them and all that kind of stuff. Even if it was only a half a smile for about six months, it was still my best effort at a smile.

Q. Serena thought a movie might make people more aware of who Arthur Ashe was and still is. What's your take on that?

JAMES BLAKE: I think that would be great. "Days of Grace," the book, is still one of my favorite books in the world. So to make his story into a movie I think would be a great idea. I have no knowledge of the industry like Serena does with her acting career, but I don't know what sells and what doesn't, but if I were -- if I have $10 to spend, I'd go and see a movie about Arthur Ashe for sure, because I think his story is amazing. It's probably up to Jeannie and maybe his daughter whether or not they want that on the big screen; I don't know. I don't know if they want their personal life put out there. But I definitely would be interested in going to see it. I would love to watch that.

Q. Who should play Arthur?

JAMES BLAKE: I mean, Denzel would be great. I heard Boris Kojo actually played a lot of tennis. Maybe he could do it. He might be a little young. I don't know if he'd be able to play Arthur in his later years, but I'm sure make-up could do anything.

Q. Talk about how the courts are playing this year.

JAMES BLAKE: They're playing pretty quick, the way I feel like they always have. They slowed down a lot of the surfaces this year, or in the last few years, but this has always been the one that's consistently pretty quick. It helps I think the guys who are more aggressive, and maybe that's why I've had so much success here.

But I'm gonna continue playing the same way I have been playing here and throughout the whole year, which is pretty aggressive, looking to end points with my forehand, and keep them moving forward.

Q. Are you surprised to see players like Nadal who typically have played better on the red clay courts of Europe have the success they're having this year on hard courts?

JAMES BLAKE: No, no. Like I said, I think they've been slowing down a lot of the hard courts. Rafael has not just been successful on that, he's been successful on everything - on the grass, as well. He's just a tremendous talent. He can hit the ball so heavy and never gives up. There's something to be said for someone that fights that hard no matter what the situation. Guys know that going in. It's a situation where you see it in the locker room and it gets in your head before you even go out on the court. I think a lot of guys are scared to play him because they know that even if they're up a set and a break, they haven't even come close to winning a match, it's still a long way because he's going to fight for everything. Then when he does get on top of you, his forehand is so heavy, his backhand is great, too, I mean, he's gonna hurt you and he's gonna keep punishing you.

I'm not surprised that those guys have had success with the courts being a little slower. As far as Nadal, he's just a tremendous talent.

Q. Andre obviously is so revered inside and out of the game. Is one of the things that makes him special where he came from, from the fact that at first he was self-centered, had attitude, and now he's caring and reflective?

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, well, I never knew him in that stage of his life that people talk about, so the only thing I know is how caring he is now, how great an ambassador he is for our sport. But I think part of it is maybe just the whole metamorphosis in general, the fact that he changed. People can see that. I think one of the best things about our sport is it's so personal. People see -- rarely are guys wearing hats or huge uniforms or anything. They can relate to us. They get to know us. They see all our facial expressions. The crowd is close. So you feel like you know someone.

With him starting on the pro tour at 16 years old and now retiring at 36, people have gone through a good part of their lives with him in the public spotlight, and so they feel like they know him. With him going from what seemed to be a kid with the long hair and the brash attitude and everything like that, to someone who's a father, who's a role model for so many kids, people feel like they understand that because so many people that aren't in the public spotlight go through that from young to being someone that's much more mature and more caring about the world around them.

So I think it just hits everyone on such a personal level. I think that's part of the reason he's so popular. Not just that, he also has unbelievable talent, won the career Grand Slam, and is just one of the greatest ball-strikers ever. There's a lot going for him.

Q. When players see Roger actually losing a match on hard court, how is that viewed? Is that an aberration?

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, I mean, I think most of us figure it to be an aberration, figure it to be -- he had one bad match, he's human, great. We're definitely -- it buoys our confidence in the fact that he might not make the finals every single week, only 17 in a row, which is pretty poor (smiling). I mean, he's doing incredible.

But I think we all know that that's probably not his best tennis when he's losing. Andy Murray is a very talented player. Young, and getting better and better. 19 years old, he's definitely gonna get nothing but better.

So I know he's extremely dangerous, but Roger definitely is still the guy who everyone looks to. And if he loses, it's surprising.

Q. So following up on that, how would you finish this sentence: If not Federer, who?

JAMES BLAKE: To win here?

Q. Yes.

JAMES BLAKE: I mean, I would love it to be me, but, uhm, I understand there's a 127 other guys who would love to say them, too. There's too many guys, there's too much depth. Sentimentally, I would love to say Andre, as well. Then rationally, I'd probably say Andy.

Q. You mentioned a couple early exits. Going into the season, we're now at the US Open, this is what it's all about. Do you feel that these actually benefit you, that going in, being more rested than some other players?

JAMES BLAKE: Well, that's the silver lining I got to take, like I said. I try to find a silver lining in any bad situation. Every time in a locker room after a loss, you're never happy about it. You're never saying, Oh, this is going to be a positive. But now that we're here at the US Open and I feel like I've had some time to practice already on these courts, I definitely feel like it can be a positive and I can use that to my benefit. If I'm in the second week, maybe my legs will be a little fresher than some of the other guys who have had a lot of success in the past couple weeks. I hope so.

Q. What does Billie Jean King's name to the tennis center mean to you?

JAMES BLAKE: I think it's great. She's also been an unbelievable ambassador to our sport with her inception of Team Tennis and just kind of her always forward thinking is something that isn't always prevalent in a sport that kind of likes to look back on tradition and not show much change.

So I think it's great to show change and name it after someone that has had that kind of spirit and attitude all throughout her career, as well as talent and titles.

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