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've never played well in Europe before but it's been great so far,
I've never played well in Europe before and it feels like I'm home again. I love it here. It's been great so far.
It was tough to watch. I kept thinking, 'I wonder how I'd be doing if I was there.' Now this year to go out there, it's just a great feeling.
Being around so many friends, people who are supporting me, people I have known since I was a kid, is a great feeling, ... You travel the world, and it is very seldom that we are in our hometown.
He's a great player. We've had some really good matches. He hits the ball so clean, we're going to have a lot of points. There's some good shot-making and we both have pretty big serves to get free points.
If anyone wants to make the statement that they don't think he can win it, I'd love to see him prove them wrong. I am not going to make that statement. I think he has got a great chance.
I am excited to be a part of such an elite group of athletes. Andre and I had such a memorable match at the U.S. Open, and it will be great to play with him once again in Idaho. This will be fun.
Olivier and I had a great match in the Davis Cup on clay a few weeks ago, ... It's nice to have a rematch against him on indoor hard.
It's pretty crazy. It means I'm playing great tennis.
Then you get to come, basically, home. It's a great feeling before the Open.
Everyone seems to have a connection to me, and that?s such a great feeling. That?s what comes with growing up close to here and going to high school around here and trying to be as friendly as you can to those people around you. It makes for great fans ... even if they do happen to cheer a few times when he double faults. You just kind of grin and bear it.
It's a lot of fun, ... Just being home, staying in my own bed, being around so many friends, people that go way back ... it's something that's very rare on tour. To be back so close to my hometown is a great feeling.
It's going to be a great match. We've had some great battles over the years, hopefully I can come out on top this time.
It's been a great week. This stings right now. I think as long as I'm a competitor, as long as I'm on tour, it's always going to sting after a loss. But I'll just reflect on the fact that it's a good week, I moved up in the rankings played some great tennis, had some fun out here.