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MEDIBANK INTERNATIONAL

January 9, 2007

James Blake

SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You served well and returned well, as well. Was that pleasing for you coming into the start of the season? It's been a bit windy this week, as well.
JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, it's definitely a good feeling to serve well. It's important to do well in those important parts of the game, probably the two most important parts. No, those are starting out the year very well. It was a good feeling, and hopefully it'll continue. You never know. My serve is something that has at times come and gone, but I'm pretty happy to say that I feel like it's much more consistent nowadays, and I like the way it's looking so far.

Q. This was really the start of things for you last year would you say? Do you feel you want to make that kind of good start again this year? Do you think that'll help you go even further in the rankings this year?
JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, I would love to. I came into last year with no real expectations. It's a very difficult draw, a lot of the top players, everyone looking to peak around this time and get ready for Australia.
It's not going to be easy, but I would love to have as much success as I had here last year and then maybe take it to Melbourne with even more confidence and hopefully go a little further. But if I don't, I can still try to take some confidence to Melbourne, especially at least getting one win under my belt and feeling good about that. So I'm definitely looking forward to this tournament and the whole rest of the Australian summer.

Q. What did you find out of that win last year that helped you through the rest of the year?
JAMES BLAKE: Well, for one, I beat a great player in Davydenko, I beat a couple other guys, Clement, Sanguinetti, to play good tennis, and then to be down a break in the third set in ridiculously hot conditions in the finals and to come back and kind of continue to fight and not hang my head was something that I thought about pretty often because you're never really out of the match I felt like the way I was playing. Anyone can get nervous at a time like that, especially at a final, so to keep putting pressure on guys and making them beat you.
I was fortunate enough to win a lot of those matches, even if I was down a set and a break, or whatever I was down. I never worried too much about that. So to start out the year that well was definitely a great feeling.

Q. So you used that a lot during the year, that sort of approach?
JAMES BLAKE: Just to know that I'm never out of a match and to never get too down and myself, and that's something I've been trying to do just even since I came back in 2004 -- or after 2004, just coming back, having a much better mindset, I think, just relaxing a little more and just being happy and enjoying the match and doing my best.

Q. What are your goals for this year?
JAMES BLAKE: Same goal every year, to keep getting better. I just try to improve. That's the only thing I can control is to control the way I practise, how hard I work, the effort I put in. I can't control if someone comes out tomorrow and plays their best match ever and happens to beat me. Things can happen or I can come out and just have an off day. Unfortunately, or fortunately, that could happen at a Grand Slam, it could happen at an important tournament, it could happen in an exhibition somewhere that doesn't matter, so I can't control all that stuff. All I can control is how hard I work, and if I put in the work, I think by the end of this year I'll be a better player than I am now.

Q. What specifically are you working on?
JAMES BLAKE: It's really tough with our schedule these days to try to revamp anything because you don't have the time. I'm going to be going straight from here to Melbourne, got to get ready for a Slam, and as soon as that's over I'm getting ready for Davis Cup. You don't really have time to make a huge adjustment, to so it's tinkering with tiny little things, working on my defense, trying to make sure that's getting better. Always trying to get in the best shape physically as I can be in, and keeping my serve as consistent and as effective as possible.

Q. It's been a year since Etienne De Villiers assumed his role as executive chairman and president. What's your take on the way the tour is moving and the initiatives?
JAMES BLAKE: I think it's great. I feel like the Tour is a success, but I'm also in favour of change, the way he's done it. I don't see a downside in taking risks. You might be able to see that in my game. I definitely take risks with my forehand and the way I play. But I feel like taking risks, and if they're not the right chance -- I think we have the luxury of being able to take chances and see what fans think and then make an even more informed decision.
Etienne is a very bright person, so I think he factors that all in before he takes -- it's always a calculated risk, and then we take that and they all seem to be doing well. The doubles scoring has been great, the instant replay has been great, and I think we're still looking at schedule changes, possibly moving Davis Cup would be great. So I think he's doing everything he can and I think he's fighting hard for the players, which is something we're all pretty happy about.

Q. In your role as vice president on the Players' Council are you getting a lot of feedback off the other guys?
JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, I am. And for me that's something that's been pretty informative, and I'm really happy I got the chance to be on the Player Council. It's exciting to know that the guys that are on there do care and are passionate about helping the sport and growing the game.
We're doing our best. We've got another meeting coming up in a few days, and I've really enjoyed it. Ivan has done a great job as president, and the rest of the guys are all for the changes and the positive things that are going on with Etienne. We're all working together, and I'm happy to be a part of it. It has been a learning experience for me.

End of FastScripts…

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