|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
SONY OPEN TENNISMarch 22, 2013James BlakeMIAMI, FLORIDA J. BLAKE/J. Benneteau THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Well‑played. JAMES BLAKE: Thank you. Q. Congratulations. Your enthusiasm was wonderful. Can you talk about that and what you felt at that moment? JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, it was a great feeling. I'm happy to still be out here playing. Every year it seems like there is new challenges and stuff and now at this age it's the challenge of still trying to get better and still trying to improve is not as easy as when I was 22 and 23 still learning a ton of stuff. I feel like I've learned a lot, but now it's a little more physical. I know I'm going to be on the table for quite a long while. Even after just an hour‑long match, you got to do all the maintenance of icing and stretching and massage and that kind of stuff. It's just a matter of still enjoying it so much that it makes it worth it. Days like today make it absolutely worth it. Makes it a lot of fun. I felt like I got into a lot of points, and when I was I was being aggressive. That's the way I've always when I've played my best, is being aggressive, getting to net. Whether I'm making a lot of volleys or not, it's just the feeling of getting forward. I know if I'm doing that a lot I usually have a pretty good chance of winning. Q. You talked when you were on the court there to the fans about how nice it was and how that worked out for you. JAMES BLAKE: Yeah. Q. How did that ‑‑ psychologically did that help a little bit? JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, I think playing in stadium is a lot better. It's a lot more fun. I don't know. You never know how many more chances I'll get like that playing in stadiums. You know, I'm realistic. I hope I've got plenty left in the tank, but I'm also 33 years old. That's getting into senior citizen range on tour. It's fun for me to have these opportunities. And like I said out there, I can still go and play tennis ‑ hopefully forever ‑ and go play in my backyard or play on public courts. But it's not the same as when you've got 5,000, 10,000 people cheering for you and excited, and the pressure and that building up is why I keep playing now. It's why I keep playing out here instead of just playing with friends back home. Q. When did you last play that well? JAMES BLAKE: I'd say two nights ago. (Smiling.) But before this week, in a tournament it's been a while. I have had days like this in practice, and I was just kind of waiting to put it together in the a tournament. Last week at Indian Wells I played well against Robin Haase. I actually played well against Tsonga. That was when I really felt like I turned the corner, was playing well, but just didn't convert on some of the big opportunities I had. That's when I'm doing that, is when I know that I'm sort of getting past the rust, you know. I didn't play many matches in the fall and didn't get to play too many matches to start out this year. So now that I'm getting some matches in, I definitely feel like the big points are seeming more natural. I especially felt it today. The first break point I got, I went after a return, hit a winner up the line, and I might not have had the confidence to do that before two nights ago when things were going my way. Now it feels good. Feels like I have that confidence. Even today when things didn't go my way ‑ he broke me twice getting back into the second set ‑ and immediately I broke him right back. I didn't let it bother me and get down on myself. I still did the task at hand and broke right back. I'm feeling really good about that, and hopefully all that rust is gone now and smooth sailing the rest of this year. We'll see. (Smiling.) Q. The conditions out there today ‑‑you have played in a lot of tournaments here. JAMES BLAKE: Yeah. Q. You know how hot and muggy it can get. Seems pretty cool. JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, today wasn't bad at all. For a second it seemed like it was going to rain. That can get tricky. There was a little wind, but compared to what I have played here with serious wind and heat, this was great conditions. So I was happy about it. I didn't even really have to deal with the sun on serve or anything. I think if we can just keep it like it was today for the rest of the week and a half or so, I'd be pretty happy. Q. Ramos upset Juan Monaco today, which really seems like it opens up the field a little bit, right? I know he was in the semi last year. How nice was that for you? JAMES BLAKE: There is no opening in the field. If someone gets to the third round here they deserve to be here. Ramos has played well in the last few weeks. I know that he's a talented player. I played him once before. Juan Monaco isn't the kind of guy you just beat by accident or he gives it to you. You got to earn your win against Juan Monaco. So I'm sure I'm sure Ramos ‑ I didn't get a chance to see it because I was on the court ‑ I am sure he did a lot of things well today to win that match, and I'm sure he will be doing a lot of things well in a couple days when he plays me. I'll have to keep up my level and maybe even improve it more and take a little better care of my serve than I did in the second set. I know he's a good player. I definitely can't ‑‑that's one thing I have learned at 33 years old. I can't look at someone and say, Oh, the draw is open. This should be easy. Because if it does, I might as well pack my bags now. I won't have much of a chance. I got to be ready and sharp for anyone I'm playing out here. Q. Are you playing in doubles? JAMES BLAKE: No. Jack Sock and I didn't get in. We were trying to get in but we didn't make the cut. Q. Congratulations on beating New Mexico. JAMES BLAKE: That was big. It was unfortunate I was playing so early today. I didn't get a chance to stay up and watch it. I had to get to sleep. I knew pretty early. As soon as I woke up and got my phone I had about ten texts saying, Go Crimson. I was pretty sure they had won. Q. Maybe that inspires you to some kind of parallel... JAMES BLAKE: I'm happy for them. Still upset for me for still not taking Harvard in my bracket. I thought I was being silly and loyal, but I was like, Be smart and be realistic. I should have gone with my heart. I was still happy ‑‑I'm happy to lose my brackets and have Harvard go a little farther. Q. Are you friends with Jeremy Lin? JAMES BLAKE: I don't know him, no. Q. You're playing so well. I'm just curious, is it possible that Jim Courier may ask you to be back on the Davis Cup again? JAMES BLAKE: I haven't thought that far ahead. If he does, he knows my number and he knows ‑‑he knows what the answer would be. So he doesn't have to ‑‑he doesn't have to worry about that. If he asks, I'm there. Right now Sam and John are two pretty strong options, especially playing on indoor hard courts. He's got a good problem right there with two pretty much No. 1 players. I think now though they will switch because Sam just jumped to the No. 1 American. But that's two No. 1s right there. After seeing what John did in Davis Cup last year, having him as the No. 2 player possibly playing a fifth match with that serve, I think Jim's got a good situation on his hands with those guys and the best doubles team in the world with the Bryans. Happy to be a part of it if he asks, but right now I think he's got his two horses already. Q. Coincidentally your other win against Julien came here four years ago, a straight sets win. Is there any sort of similarities with today's match compared to the one four years ago? JAMES BLAKE: In my opinion I played similarly, which is something I hadn't been doing lately. Since my knee was bad and then having surgery and coming back I really don't feel like I put together a lot of really good matches from start to finish. I remember that match pretty well, and I remember it was a little closer. I think it was like 4 and 4, but it was one I really did a good job taking care of my serve and taking advantage of chances. I do remember I had to play well to beat him there, and now putting that together I knew I had to today. So there is the similarity of it being on the same court and similar result, but what I'm most proud of is that the tennis was kind of the same. A lot of times since my knee has been bothering me I have been too passive and giving guys the chance to really take advantage and playing the aggressor. Today I was definitely the aggressor. Q. I know you're a dad now and married. Obviously that's nice for you. How does that change things for you as far as being on the tour? They're not here are they? JAMES BLAKE: They are here. Riley got to watch today. She was up in the suite watching. I'm not sure she really knew what was going on, but she was watching. It makes such a difference. It's so much fun just to ‑‑I used to dread night matches because it means you waste the whole day, and now a night match means I get to play with my daughter most of the day. It's a ton of fun, and it just changes your perspective on everything. I have never been a very good loser, so once I lose, most people in the locker room know to stay away from me. I'm not the friendliest for a few hours, but then if I go back to the hotel and see my daughter I can't bring anything negative when I see her smile. So it definitely changes the perspective on wins and losses out here. And that doesn't mean once I step on the court I want to win any less, but it changes your life a lot more than tennis can. Q. She's how old? JAMES BLAKE: Nine months. Q. She's nine months now, okay. And the crowd, they love you. I mean, but it's probably like that everywhere. Is it special here or... JAMES BLAKE: I hope the crowd loves me everywhere, but I don't know if that's true. I hope crowds appreciate that I'm having fun out there. I know I probably don't give quite as much emotion as I did when I was younger. Because, to be honest, I don't know if I have as much energy as I had when I was younger. So I can't use all that up giving a ton of fist pumps and jumping up and down, but I do have that same excitement burning in inside. I think the crowd appreciates I'm out there having fun. I know this is just a sport. I know that it's a game and I get to do what I love for a living. I know how lucky I am. I hope fans ‑‑I hope that's why fans appreciate me playing, because I'm out there having a goof time and doing the best I can. You know, hopefully getting some wins. Q. I don't know if you keep up at all with the women's side, but can you comment on Date‑Krumm? She saved six match points before she lost to Venus yesterday, and she's 42. JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, I do know that. That's impressive at 42 years old. I don't think you'll see me out here yet at 42. I wish my body would hold up for that long, but it's just not possible, I don't think, these days. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|