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
I think it has been blown out of proportion that the grass was meant to make them uncomfortable. It was all about our being comfortable. It's the surface Andy is most comfortable on and I think he's the second best grass court player in the world.
I think this is the first time I've been picked. It should be fun, and hopefully I'll start us off on a good note.
I went to Harvard but that doesn't mean I'm that bright, ... Once in a while I'll slow down but not today.
I was just hoping to make it a match.
His serve obviously gives him a lot of confidence. I think I had about five chances to break in the match and didn't get near any of them. It's frustrating to deal with because it makes you feel under pressure when you serve.
His serve is a joke. Sometimes it doesn't matter how you return. He can ace you out of a game. If he's hitting his spots, serving at 140 mph from that angle, there's not much you can do except say 'good serve' and move on and not get frustrated. I have to focus on holding serve like I did today.
He's been my biggest win in my career so far. Hopefully it will be again.
Hopefully the maintenance crew won't have as much to do on the court after the first match here. Andy actually came up with that joke, so I blame him. This is the first time my name has been picked. I'm usually second. But playing first, it should be fun.
The rain delay helped me, ... My coach gave me some advice. I regrouped and came back more focused.
If this was my life every week, I would never retire. Knowing as low as I was last year, that I can come back and be playing this well, is a great feeling. Now doing it in front of the friends that got me back to where I am now, keeping me upbeat during some down times ... it just makes me feel good and is yet another reason why I have started to believe that everything happens for a reason.
He was trying hard to get out of it, but we put so much pressure on him last week that he had to do it.
He taught me about hard work, the joy of hard work for just improving yourself.
He says it is cool to see us play, but for me it is cool seeing him sell out MSG,
He has a good serve. It will be tough to break him, especially in these conditions. Hopefully I can have more control over the match than he does and play as a good as I did today.