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MEDIBANK INTERNATIONALJanuary 12, 2007James BlakeSYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES Q. Just what went through your mind when you first heard he had withdrawn? JAMES BLAKE: I was surprised. Apparently everyone else knew. I'm kind of the last to know because my coach and my trainer said they had both heard this morning that he was sick, and I had no idea. Last to know. But they didn't want to tell me and think that maybe -- me start thinking ahead that I might win, and then he comes out and sometimes guys in that condition play great because they're not thinking about anything else, they're just trying to get done with the match quickly. When it happened -- I think this is only my second walkover in my career. Both times it's been in Sydney, both times on very hot days. It's kind of weird that it's happened this way. It's a little bittersweet. It's great to be back in the finals, start a year this way, playing good tennis, and then getting to compete for a title. This is kind of the reason we play tennis is competing for titles, so I'm excited about that, but I'm bummed for Jurgen. He's obviously played great tennis this week and was looking great to hopefully do well in Melbourne, as well, so I hope he's healthy and ready for that. But if not, the main thing is I hope he gets healthy in general. Q. Does it interrupt your rhythm having this happen, even though it's a nasty day to play? JAMES BLAKE: No, I'm going to go out and practise a little later. For me it should be great for my body to maybe get a little bit of a rest. But I would have loved to have played the match. You do what you can with what you're given. I'll go out and practise and it'll give me an excuse to kind of have an easier day where I just maybe have 45 minutes and just kind of take it easy. Hopefully that will bode well for tomorrow. I saw my draw for Melbourne and it's not an easy one, so hopefully I'll have all my energy to be able to play Carlos Moya in the first round. Q. You haven't spent much more than 45 minutes on the court in any of your matches this week. Is that ideal for you this week to get through so easily and be still quite fresh having got to a final and going into a Grand Slam? JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, I mean, the main thing is that I have gotten off the court with wins. That's the important part about it is I have been winning. Whether that comes in 45 minutes or two hours and 45 minutes, I'm happy enough to be playing well enough to win those matches. It happens the three guys I played, we all play kind of quickly so we go through the matches. I think the biggest difference in match times is how long people take in between points. The guys I've played, we've all been at a pretty rapid pace. So it's good to get off the court quickly with this kind of heat, but it wasn't exactly the plan, it's just the way it happened. Like I said, the most important part is winning. Q. Even though you will have played the same tournament and got to the same level as last year, you'll be going into the Australian Open much fresher? JAMES BLAKE: I had a walkover last year, too. Yeah, I went into the Australian Open fresh last year I felt like. I felt like I was playing well. This year it'll be a Saturday final, last year was a Sunday final. Saturday final? I don't know what I'm talking about, I was just playing (laughter). Either way, I felt fresh and I played a pretty good first two matches and then came up against a guy that was playing well in the third match and wasn't quite ready for what -- kind of the firepower Tommy was bringing to me in the third round. I'll feel fresh this time hopefully. I know tomorrow will be a tough match with whoever I play, so maybe they'll tire me out a little bit, but that's why I work so hard in the off-season is to make sure I'm still fresh after one hard day at work. Q. It could work out that you'll end up playing Carlos two matches in a row. JAMES BLAKE: It would be interesting. It's amazing the depth in men's tennis right now, to think that Carlos Moya with 32 seeds isn't seeded because he's an exceptional player. He's been to the finals there in Australia, he's been to the finals here at this tournament, so I know he can play well on this surface, he can play well on any surface. It's just crazy how these things work out. We'll see, maybe we'll split the two matches, maybe someone will come out with a game plan that's going to be more effective against the other guy, you never know. It's crazy how many times we've played in our career. Some guys -- I've never played Jurgen and I've played Carlos probably six or seven times. It's weird sometimes how that works out. Maybe I'll get to play him two or three more times in the next two days. Q. I understand that the ATP council is going to meet in Melbourne on the weekend to discuss some sort of messy casualty rate of withdrawals, 383 on the circuit last year and about a dozen so far in this tournament. What has to be done? JAMES BLAKE: Well, see, that's what we're going to talk about. Unfortunately I'm not going to make it. I guess unfortunately and fortunately. Fortunately means I'm in the finals. Unfortunately means I'm not going to make it, but I'm going to talk to a player rep tonight to go over all my thoughts on all the issues the council is going to meet about. It's not just that one, it's other issues. We don't really have a solution to be honest with you. It's tough to admit that, but we have to figure that out. We have to figure out if it's a matter of shortening the schedule, if that's a possibility, if we have to make the fines steeper, if we have to make it more difficult to pull out of tournaments or what we have to do. But it's tough with how much more taxing the game has gotten over the years with how physical guys play. You watch a guy like Nadal play a match, it's a wonder how he gets through two matches without getting hurt, how he's running, how hard his body is working. We've got to figure out what we need to do. With the change of surfaces, the change of balls, the change of equipment, it's amazing how guys are able to adjust. It's tough with so many injuries. I don't know what the solution is, but we're going to have to figure something out. Q. The players have been told by De Villiers about the issue of pulling out and what effect that has on fans. I read a quote from him recently saying you can't expect -- tennis fans aren't silly, they're not going to keep turning up all the time if players are walking away from matches all the time. Are players aware of that? JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, I think the players are. There's always the stereotype of the dumb jock, but I don't think we're as dumb as that stereotype. We understand where the money is coming from, we understand where we're getting our paychecks. Indirectly we're getting it from the fans. They're the ones that are paying just to watch us and that's what's getting us on TV, that's what gets us the sponsorship dollars, and overall that gets us endorsement dollars, as well. We understand that, and the thing is we're doing our best. Like I said, Nadal plays so many matches and he plays such a physical game that there are going to be times when he's going to pull out, and it's unfortunate. It's just we want to be healthy. We also have to somewhat be selfish. That's what tennis players have to do because you're out there in an individual sport and you have to think about your career, as well. If you go out and play one match, I don't know the extent of Nadal's injury here or any of the guys' injuries here, but if someone was hurt here and then they try to gut it out and play one match but because of that they tear a hamstring and make it worse and because of that they're out for a whole year, then that's worse for the fans. It's better to see Nadal pull out one time and play tennis the rest of the year because he was cautious with it. It's just an individual thing where sometimes you have to be cautious; sometimes you can really gut through it if you have a trainer come out and say this is something that can't get worse, it's just a tendonitis or something. Guys are going to play through that. For me I've done that many times. I know there's a million guys out there who have played through tendonitis or just soreness or any kind of cramping or things like that. It's tough, but that's the kind of things you can play through. But if it's something where the trainer says if you keep playing, you're going to hurt this more severely, we have to be selfish. It's tough, but hopefully we're thinking about the long-term, that that's going to be better for the sport. Q. Do you think then that the public is misunderstanding what's going on, that they don't have a true concept of the demands on the players? JAMES BLAKE: It's tough to group them all into one category and say that they all don't understand or they all do understand. I think it's a mixed bag. I think a lot of people that have played this sport understand how difficult it is and how the game has changed, and then other people that might be very casual fans might not realise how hard we're working, but they're getting the same amount -- they paid the same amount for their tickets and they're getting the same amount of enjoyment. We need to appeal to both those types of people and all the types of people that are involved in the crowds. I think that's another thing the council is going to talk about is you go to other sporting events and there's an entertainment value inherent besides just the athletes out there, whether it be music during changeovers, whether it be cheerleaders at basketball games, anything like that. There's also entertainment value. It's tough with such a traditional sport to find that there's no timeouts where you can bring in cheerleaders or have rap music blasting. But I think there may be ways that we can find hopefully a happy medium and make it entertaining for the casual fan as well as those fans that are the die-hards or are the people that have played tennis that can understand and appreciate how hard we are working. Q. You said that some players might play through less serious injuries. Given the Australian Open is next week, is there a temptation to maybe pull out in that situation to save themselves for the Open? JAMES BLAKE: I can't really speak on behalf of other guys. I'm not arrogant enough to say I know what other people are thinking. But for me, I come to tournaments with the idea that I want to win them. I've never played a tournament with the idea of maybe I'll just win one round and then I'll pull out or I'll tank to get to the next tournament on time. I've never played a tournament with that idea. I can't imagine that going through other people's minds. But there's a lot of things I don't understand about other people. I've never done that, and I wouldn't condone it in any of -- if I were to ever coach or anything, I wouldn't understand a player of mine feeling that way because I feel like a win is a win and you should be happy and be able to compete as hard as you want every time you get out there. I've never understood the ability to go out there and not give 100 percent. Q. I guess it's part of the peculiar nature of tennis that this is a problem for tennis because most other sports if one person gets injured the event can still go on. JAMES BLAKE: Right, because there's a lot of team sports. Q. And even individual sports like golf or -- one person gets injured, the event goes on. JAMES BLAKE: It's like boxing, if one guy gets hurt it can't really go on. It's tough to compare tennis and boxing since we're not getting hit in the face very often. Q. And you have to play consecutive days. JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, they fight about four times a year maybe. Q. So it doesn't tend to happen that someone pulls out in the morning or the day of. JAMES BLAKE: Exactly, so it's tough to really compare any sport to that. But it is difficult when you have two players and if one pulls out there's no show anymore. It's unfortunate, and that's just the nature of the sport we've chosen. Q. Given all that and the way the players look at these tournaments, do you think Davydenko was probably a little bit harshly treated in getting a fine? Hasn't he just set out loud what a lot of people are thinking behind the scenes? JAMES BLAKE: No, I agree with the fine 100 percent because what he said was in my opinion disrespectful to this tournament and indirectly disrespectful to all the players. I treat this tournament exactly as I treat every other tournament, which is to give 100 percent, and I've won this tournament, so to kind of discredit my championship is a little unfair. If you look at the past champions of Lleyton Hewitt, Roger Federer, those guys aren't chumps. They've got Grand Slams, as well. They've taken this seriously, and it's unfair to discredit guys like that, I think. End of FastScripts |
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