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THE STELLA ARTOIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 17, 2006

James Blake

LONDON, ENGLAND

THE MODERATOR: James' press conference debut at the Stella Artois.
JAMES BLAKE: Thank you, thank you. I've got plenty of things now, all saved up from the week. Let's talk about the Gimelstob match (smiling).
No. Just kidding.
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Played pretty well.
JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, unbelievable. I told Andy after the match it was the best grass court match I think I've ever played. It's unfortunate for him that it was against him. It's tough against one of your best friends, but he's gotten me plenty of times. I had to get him back just once.
Yeah, things were going well. I didn't realize it until, we were just joking about it in the locker room. We were just looking at the stats. He served 77% and I broke him three times. I don't think that happens very often to him. That sure as heck doesn't happen that often to me where I break someone three times that's serving that well.
Just happened that -- seems like a lot of times when I play him, little things are going wrong; I'm guessing wrong. He does that to you. He makes you have to make decisions so quickly and he hits the ball so big. But today it just seemed like I was guessing right. The little things were going right. I'd get a let cord that drops over. My kind of chip return floats on the to line instead of just out. His are just missing. Sometimes you got to catch those breaks to beat, in my opinion, one of the best grass court players in the world.

Q. Did you go out there today with a different strategy given your record against him?
JAMES BLAKE: Well, this is the first time I played him on grass. I practiced with him all week in Palm Springs when we were playing Chile in the Davis Cup there. So I knew how talented he was on grass and how effective his serve can be, so I kind of had to -- the only difference was I knew I had to take chances. Sometimes before maybe I was playing a little too tentative. That was definitely just the way I played a lot of times when I was younger, was being a little more cautious, not really going for my shots, not having confidence in my shots.
Today I just figured I have to go for it. I can't, you know, wait back and just push. It's grass courts, and it's, you know, his serve, so there's no way I can do that and be effective. I had to take my chances.
And like I said, today they were going in. Obviously, it could have been a bad day for me easily, and a few of those don't go in and he could have easily beaten me 4 and 4.
So it's still a match that rests on a couple points here or there. A couple of those breakpoints, you know, I got lucky in the second set with my break. I just floated it back and he, you know, caught his ankle a little wrong and it slipped. So anything could happen on grass.
But my attitude is just I got to go for it. I got to go for my shots and take my chances because otherwise I'll regret it. Even if I had lost playing that way, I wouldn't have regretted it in the locker room because I know that's my best chance to win.

Q. Are you going to take the same attitude into the final?
JAMES BLAKE: Yeah. I mean, Andy being, in my opinion, probably the second best grass court player in the world, Lleyton is right up there at three or four I think. I got to go for my shots again. I can't hang back and just grind with him. He's one of the best counterpunchers in the world. I think he showed that in the Wimbledon final against David Nalbandian, another great counterpuncher. So he's got that kind of talent. He's got the speed. He's got the athleticism.
I'm going to have to take it to him and try to go for my forehands, go for my serve like I did today, and attack his serve. Hopefully, he doesn't serve as well as Andy did today, but at least I know now if he does, then I'm prepared for it. So that's something I got to take confidence from, and try to attack his serve. And we'll see what happens.
But, like I said, he's one of the best players in the world, and especially on grass where he feels I think the most comfortable.

Q. Over the years what's been your opinion of your abilities on grass?
JAMES BLAKE: Up until this week, I would say pretty average. I don't think I've had a lot of success on grass. I've never been past the second round at Wimbledon. I think before last year I probably had the wrong attitude on it. I was growing up watching the McEnroes, the Samprases play on grass, and serve and volleying every time. And there was just no doubt about it, they're gonna chip and charge, they're gonna serve and volley. And I tried to do that young, early in my career. And the grass is too slow nowadays and guys are too talented with their returns. You just can't do that until you have the serve and the volleys of a Taylor Dent or a Max Mirnyi. And it's just -- even those guys sometimes get beat by the Lleyton Hewitts that just rip returns by them.
So finally last year I changed my game to the point where it wasn't changing my game, it was making sure I don't change my game, just playing the same way I play on hard courts with little adjustment - serve and volleying one or two more times a set, maybe slicing and getting in a couple more times. But not drastically changing. I used to change my string. I used to change my tension. I used to change everything. Now, just keeping it similar and going for my shots and seeing how well my game can be effective on clay - I mean, excuse me, on grass.
This year, it has been, and I hope that continues through to Wimbledon and through to tomorrow. But I think it's going to help my confidence. I think it's great to know that I can play my A game. Any time you try to play your B game, kind of Plan B, it takes you a little out of your comfort zone, and I think that's what I did in years past on grass. And now although the movement is still a little tricky, I feel like I'm playing my Plan A.

Q. How much have you enjoyed this particular championship?
JAMES BLAKE: Oh, it's been great. This is the first year I went back home, I went to Tampa for a few days and came back. So once you get to sleep in your own bed for a few days, you come back real refreshed, ready to go. It's exciting for me. I stay in Wimbledon Village and get one house for three, four - hopefully four weeks. It's a good feeling to unpack once and know you're going to be at the same place the whole time. My brother's been cooking me up eggs and toast every morning. It's pretty funny because he doesn't ever cook at home - or anywhere. It's great that he's doing that. Feels kind of comfortable. We've got everything we need.
It's nice also to be somewhere where everyone speaks English so I don't need to try to have a translator around or whatever like at the French Open. But it's a good feeling. It's been a lot of fun so far this year.

Q. Do you think you've played your A game because the courts here are so good?
JAMES BLAKE: The courts are unbelievable. These are definitely, in my opinion, the best grass courts in the world. Wimbledon, obviously, has the most tradition, but these courts are just perfect. There's so few bad bounces. I grew up in America and the courts at Newport and some of the country clubs around where I was, the courts, it never bounces above your knee. That's what I thought all grass court tennis was like.
Coming over here is such a welcomed surprise at how well-groomed all the courts are and how hard they are and it makes it so it is possible to play, like I said, my A game here. It's been thrilling.

Q. Has going this far in the tournament interfered with your annual trip to Banbury?
JAMES BLAKE: No, my mom's not here yet. So if we do make one, it will be whenever I'm done with Wimbledon. If you ask me that question -- if I'm in the second week of Wimbledon, then it might interfere with it. But I think she'll get over it if I'm in the second week of Wimbledon if we miss that trip (smiling).

Q. What's life like off court?
JAMES BLAKE: Pretty relaxing. We go to dinner all the time in the Village. It's really fun to see how it transitions from being such a small town where you go out at seven, eight o'clock to dinner and there's no one there. The whole restaurant is open. To about in a week and a half, you can't find a table anywhere. I'll send my brother an hour in advance to sit down and get a table for us. I mean, I don't think there's -- it takes you about an hour to get a drink at that Dog and Fox. It looks like there's a mob in there, especially with World Cup going on. It's crazy to see the transition from a small town to like a huge tourist area. It's fun. You don't get to see that in most places. So I like that. I kind of like the small town a little better, but it's fun to see the craziness, too.

Q. So how much would you fancy a Stella Artois right now then?
JAMES BLAKE: Stella Artois the beer, or the...(laughing)?
Maybe a couple of those tomorrow. None tonight. Got to be plenty of water and Gatorade tonight, and Power Bars and stuff like that.
But tomorrow, after the finals, I think I'll deserve one or two.

Q. There was a big debate about HawkEye after the first semifinal. Where do you stand on HawkEye and its use?
JAMES BLAKE: After watching that first match, I'm firmly behind it. Tim got -- man, I thought in England he'd get every call, and he got -- it went the other way for him. I feel bad for him.
But, you know, they always say it's gonna even out, but it's tough when it's on a breakpoint and it's two in one game. Just seemed like today was bad luck for him, unfortunately, especially at a tournament I'm sure he's so keen to win.
But I definitely think it's going to be a great innovation for the sport where we can actually feel confident, where we don't have to have so many arguments. I think, you know, it gets in your head a little when you're thinking the umpire is against you, even though they never are; it's just they missed a few. But it gets in your head. You start thinking about it, as opposed to if you can just see it on a big screen, Okay, they missed it, and now we'll redo it. Or, Okay, they got it right and you move on. It makes it, I think, much easier. I think it worked well in Miami, and I'm excited for it at the US Open Series.

End of FastScripts...

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