James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blakeis an American retired professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. During his career, Blake had amassed 24 singles finals appearances, while his career-high singles ranking was World No. 4. His career highlights included reaching the final of the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, the semifinals of the Beijing Olympics and the quarterfinals of the Australian Openand US Open, as well as being the former American No. 1. His two titles for the...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth28 December 1979
CountryUnited States of America
blake chant clearly decided defense dictate heard match mentally playing points start
I heard the Blake chant and I decided mentally I'd start the match over. I would try to dictate more points because playing defense clearly wasn't working.
ahead andre far focus maturity perspective sets start tournament
If I'm up two sets to one and a break, I'm not going to start getting ahead of myself, thinking, 'This is Andre Agassi, the legend, I'm going to beat,' ... I'm just going to try to keep the same maturity and the same focus and perspective I've had so far this tournament and this whole year.
crowd legs start
If my legs start going at all, the crowd will be my legs for a little while,
calm court gives giving knowing life lose losing match nearly opportunity perspective player run shots start tennis worse
I really think it is going to in the long run make me a better player giving you the perspective of being out on the court knowing that it's not the end of the world if you lose and that gives you the opportunity to go after your shots a little more, ... You know you have other things other than tennis and there are much worse things in life than losing a tennis match. So it will give me a better perspective, a little more calm on the court. Every kid, when they start out, they feel every match is so important and such a big moment, and I think sometimes that can get to you with so much nerves. Now I don't feel that nearly as much.
attack both brian gave opportunity placing shots start
Brian was uncomfortable to start and that gave me an opportunity to attack on him. I executed from the start and was placing my shots on both sides.
basketball beats early jordan maybe michael players realize slow starting time
Maybe I'm a slow learner. But he doesn't make it easy. I'm starting to feel like one of those basketball players in the early '90s. You feel like you make Michael Jordan play well, but then every time he comes up and beats you and makes you realize why he's the best.
break expect maybe quite somebody start talking tennis time
I've got to start talking to somebody about getting some better draws, ... I always see it as an opportunity. I expect really high-level tennis on Saturday. I couldn't quite break through those times, but maybe this time will be different.
bad best continue definitely expect game great knew match pick sets starting tennis three tough
That first set was definitely not his best tennis and I didn't expect that to continue but sometimes it's tough to pick your game up when someone has such a bad set and then they pick their game up, ... I really didn't want it to go to three sets because I knew how well he was starting to play and he can really get rolling. It was a great match and a great tiebreaker at the end.
week
I have said it before, that if every week was like this, I would never retire,
adjustment change court courts faster game grass hard hitting huge matter time
Any time getting on a grass court is going to be pretty fast, especially a lot faster than the hard courts we've been hitting on. It's just going to be a matter of time getting used to it. I feel comfortable on it. It's not a huge adjustment from the hard courts. It's still quicker. You have to change your game a little more, the movement's different.
drops heart move proud realize walk
Your heart drops a little. You feel that in your stomach, once you realize it's over, ... You've got to just walk up there and congratulate Andre. That's all I could do, is think about how proud I am and move on.
courts french hope impressive watch
It was impressive to watch him on the courts of the French Open, ... Let's hope it is different here in New York.
downs everywhere matter profession ups
The ups and downs are going be everywhere no matter what sport you're in, no matter what profession you're in,
gentlemen guys kids locker proud true
He's really a true gentleman, ... one of the friendliest guys in the locker room. ... He's someone that you can tell your kids to look up to and be proud of it.