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Tennis Week caught up with Blake, who took a break from training on the courts of Saddlebrook near his Tampa home, to discuss AnthemLive and the exhibition match with Agassi. In this interview, Blake reflects on the influence his father exerted on his life and career, reveals the the reasons why he's decided to write a book about his life and career, reasserts his view that World No. 1 Roger Federer is the world's best athlete and reviews his 2006 season while looking ahead to the 2007 season.
Tennis Week: Memorial Sloan-Kettering will use some of the revenue from Anthem Live to launch a cancer research center in your father's name. How did this come about and what does it mean to you and your family to honor your dad in this way?
James Blake: For me, it's a really big deal especially given the circumstances and the fact that my father was treated so well during his battle with cancer. For us, as a family, we're really happy Memorial Sloan-Kettering got involved, we're really happy they helped my father while he was alive and that they can continue to help other people who are battling cancer and hopefully help even more so.
Tennis Week: This is the second year you're conducting Anthem Live? Can you discuss how you started it and Andre Agassi's involvement this year?
James Blake: It is the second year. Originally, I was going to make it just a one-year thing to benefit my father as a kind of a little bit of a memorial and a way I could give back. Then, when I asked Andre to do it the first time, he said "yes" and then he went back and checked his schedule and realized it was impossible for him to do it because he already had something on his schedule. But he said "I'll commit to doing it next year. Whatever it is, whenever you want to do it, I'll do it." So when you've got Andre Agassi committed to doing it, you jump at that chance. So I then decided "OK, there's gonna be a second time." And also, once I did do the event, I had such a good time doing it, the crowd was so much fun, having my friends there to help out with the event made such a difference and the amount of money we raised hopefully will make a big difference. So then it became a no-brainer that I wanted to do it again.
Tennis Week: You had an old high school friend, John Mayer, perform at the event last year. What do you have planned this year?
James Blake: We're gonna have Boyd Tinsley of the Dave Matthews Band and I'm excited about that. He's a big tennis fan and I'm a huge Dave Matthews band fan so it worked out real well. I've gotten to watch them perform a few times and he came to watch us play quite a bit, he came to watch us at the U.S. Open this year, so I'm pretty happy about that. The crowd was great last year and I've heard there aren't that many seats left for this week's event so I hope we can completely sell out. I'm real thankful to the community and all the hard work that the people at Anthem Live have done in promoting it and all the media like your magazine that have helped us out.
Tennis Week: You'll be playing Agassi Thursday night. Have you hit at all with him or been in touch with him since his retirement? That classic U.S. Open quarterfinal is a match people in New York still talk about in terms of the quality of play, excitement level and fan participation — I remember it seemed like hardly anyone left the stadium that night even though it ended after 1 a.m. — have you ever watched that match on tape and what is it like for you to get out and play with Andre again?
James Blake: I practiced with him quite a bit since then. Before he retired at the Open, we were on tour together pretty much all year, he's one of my good friends and obviously one of the best guys in the world to practice with so I got quite a few opportunities to practice with him this year. He's just really an exceptional guy, to have someone like that this committed to a cause and to helping a friend do something he knows is real important to me, it really says a lot about him and how great of a person he is. So I'm really excited that he's a part of it and I think it is going to be fun given that quarterfinal match we had. I think a lot of people do remember that, so I think we'll try to duplicate that, but this time with me coming out on top (laughs). That match was extremely memorable to me and I think it was to him. It was mainly so memorable because of all the fans who stayed until 1:30 in the morning; to have that many people standing and cheering and both of us being fan favorites pretty much everywhere we go, especially at the U.S. Open, and to have such a split crowd that was cheering for the legend that it might be his last U.S. Open and cheering for the kid who is from the area and who had gone through some troubles, it was just such an exciting feeling and something that might never be duplicated, but it came together perfectly that night. And we both played some of our best tennis so it worked out perfectly. This year, all of the planning for this event has gone really well so hopefully the even itself will go perfectly as well.
Tennis Week: What is it about playing the U.S. Open — the fan support, the surface, the fact that you're from the New York area — is it exactly that brings out your best tennis? U.S. Open tournament referee Brian Earley told us "probably the best two sets of tennis that I have ever seen are the first and third of Blake-Federer." Obviously, the Agassi quarterfinal is a classic match, you had a big win over Nadal at the 2005 U.S. Open and even the five-set loss to Hewitt in 2001, I remember people leaping out of their seats during that match. What is it about the Open that brings out that edge and excitement for you?
James Blake: I feel different at the Open. I grew up as a fan at the U.S. Open and when I go out to play there, I still get chills and I still get excitement to be a part of that. It's something different where I feel I've got a little extra edge whereas other people, maybe it's because it's near the end of the year and maybe they're tired, but I don't feel any of that at the U.S. Open. I feel so happy to be a part of it and it's my biggest tournament of the year and I've got a lot of friends and family in the crowd and even the fans that aren't friends and family seem to be friends and family because they're cheering so hard for me. It definitely makes a difference. I don't hear specific fans in the crowd that often while I play, but at the Open I definitely hear a lot more there and I'm more conscious of the fact there are people really cheering for me.
Tennis Week: During the fifth set of that Agassi match at the Open, there was that moment where you looked up and said "I love you dad" to acknowledge your father. Clearly, both of your parents have had a major impact on your life and were a big reason you started to play in the first place. What were your father's aspirations for you while you were growing up? I know you were a good junior, but maybe not the best junior. While you were growing up, did your father talk to you about your future and did he see that future as pro tennis or in a career or pursuing your education? What did your dad envision for you? Do you think he envisioned any of this?
James Blake: No, definitely not. He was someone who focused so much on hard work, on the process of me working to get better and of me getting better always. So when I was a junior — and like you said, I wasn't the best of juniors — he was focusing on me working hard, as hard as I could, to get better. His view was always that my focus should be trying to get better for the possibility of playing in college. So I did that and I got to college and it just became more and more of a reality that I could do this for a living. He was actually against it (turning pro) at first because he stressed education so much and the improvement of your mind — as much or more — than the improvement of yourself physically so when he heard that I was thinking about leaving Harvard and turning pro he wasn't too happy originally. But then when he saw how committed I was to it, how it was a dream for me and then when I told him that I would be able to go back to Harvard at any time, he supported me 100 percent. He was a great parent, cheerleader, friend, everything all wrapped up into one and I am very happy and grateful for that.
Tennis Week: Looking ahead to the Australian Open, I've always felt that should be a good surface for you and your game. I know you've never been past the fourth round in Melbourne, but you did win Sydney in January and it just seems given the surface and the conditions, combined with the fact you'll be one of the top five seeds this year, you should have a good shot to do well there. What do you think about your chances in Australia and what do you have to do in order to play well and contend there?
James Blake: I also think it could be a very good surface for me and I'm really looking forward to it. This year, I've had my best year ever and I'm hoping to go down there and have even more success. You never know exactly what's going to happen. I've done well at Sydney like you said and I've done reasonably well at the Australian Open. I've run into some pretty tough competitors there. I lost to Schuettler the year he made it to the final (2003), lost to Safin a year he made the final (2004) and this year against Robredo I just felt for some reason I didn't play my best tennis. I'm looking forward to January because I'm going to be training really hard this offseason and coming off this year I know there's going to be a lot of extra pressure. People are going to be wondering if I can continue this success, if I can keep playing at the top 10 level that I've been playing at and I'm excited to face that challenge: to prove that I do belong, I hope. If I don't then I'll find that out next year. But I really believe I do belong (in the top 10) and I really think I can back it up next year. And the first big test is Australia. I think it's a good surface for me. I train down here at Saddlebrook where they have a Rebound Ace court for me to train on and hopefully I can get used to the heat — that's really the biggest thing because here in the States we're not used to playing in 100 degree weather in December and January so I'll get down there and hopefully have some success at Sydney and get used to the heat of the Australian summer and once I'm adjusted I hope I can play some of my best tennis down there.
Tennis Week: Two things I wanted to ask you about: one is I know you've been writing a book. How is that process going? Secondly, what's the story with your racquet? We keep hearing you are going to launch a new Prince model then it looks like you're using the same racquet. What's the story with the book and the racquet?
James Blake: I am writing a book with Andrew Friedman. He's helping me with the book because as much as I like to think I'm relatively well spoken (laughs), it helps to work with someone who has experience writing past freshman year English. He's helping me out. It's been a great experience to go back and think about all the experiences I've been through the past few years. It's just going to be from 2004 up until now.
Tennis Week: Will it be written in a diary form or more reflecting about your life and career?
James Blake: A little bit more reflecting on everything. It's not going to be just a diary. It will be reflecting on what happened tennis-wise, what happened to me off the court, what's happened to my family and friends. It's going to be a little extra window for people to know what's happened with me. By now, I think some people have heard or read the stories, but I still don't know if people really understand how much went into the virus I had and how much went into the family troubles and so it's interesting to go into all of that because in most tennis press conferences you're in, you're talking about tennis, talking about the match, talking about your training and all that kind of stuff. So now to talk about things that really are very important to me in my life — my family and friends — is something that's interesting to me. It's great to do that and to kind of sit back and think about how far you've come in just a couple of years. You don't get the chance to do that because tennis is the type of sport where you almost don't have an offseason, so you're going all the time, you're thinking about what's coming up next, you're moving forward and all that kind of stuff as opposed to you don't get too many times to think about how lucky you are, how much has happened to you in your life, the good times and the bad times. So for me it was interesting to do that in the middle of your career. A lot of people might do it at the end of their careers, but for me to do it in the middle of my career while I think I am still getting better and improving my game to look back at how it's gotten to this point is something I hope that people will appreciate it.
Tennis Week: What's the story with your racquet? I was told at one point Prince might be releasing a racquet with your name or endorsed by you as soon as January?
James Blake: I hope so. We're still working on it. This is another thing I'm learning is about the whole racquet production process. There's a lot that goes into it, there's a lot of tinkering that goes on with the racquet. I actually never thought I was that picky about racquets, but apparently I am (laughs). And I'm finding out I need mine to be exactly right in order for me to go out there and give 100 percent. I don't want to go out there and feel I'm 95 percent because my racquet can't do this or won't do that. We're in the process of perfecting it. I'm really happy that Prince has had the patience to deal with me and to kind of put off getting this racquet out, but when we do get it out I'm really going to be proud of it. And it's not going to be something where I'm just lending my name; it's something that I was part of the process and I really feel strongly being about it being a racquet that I use and if people play like me or want to play like me then hopefully this racquet will help them.
Tennis Week: Your Indianapolis final with Roddick registered a ratings increase of 50 percent over the prior year despite the fact it was televised on tape delay. People always talk about the need for rivalry and good American players competing in the later rounds of tournaments in order to promote tennis television growth in this country and we have that now in the Federer-Nadal rivalry and two top 10 Americans with you and Roddick. You're a sports fan, you watch other sports often. What does tennis need to do — the game's governing bodies, the players, the networks — in order to help improve its appeal as a television sport and are you optimistic that can and will happen?
James Blake: I think right now things are going well; like you said there is a rivalry, we have two top 10 Americans and we have Americans who are committed to Davis Cup. I think one thing that would help is a little more continuity and understanding of the season. I don't think fans can really get their minds around the fact the U.S. Open seems to be the end of the season and then there's more tournaments going on. All that builds up to Shanghai, which American fans and sometimes even European fans don't realize is really one of the biggest events of our year and it being such a big deal with the top eight players in Shanghai. So I think there needs to be a way to let people know what's important and what isn't as important and just in general what's going on in the year. I don't know exactly how to do that, but the schedule maybe just needs to be fixed. I'm a part of the player council and we're still working on that. We're trying to cut down the schedule a little bit, we're going to take out one of the Masters Series (tournaments) to make it easier on our bodies because there's so any people getting hurt that it takes away from the game. I really like the way it's going with the rivalry of Federer and Nadal and with myself and Andy playing great finals like that one in Indianapolis. Hopefully, we can continue that and then maybe it's a matter of people realizing how good we have it. Because for a while maybe we were spoiled with Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Chang playing in finals of Grand Slams all the time. Now, it's become so much more of an international game, we won't have any one country dominating like that, probably. Hopefully, people can realize and appreciate the differences of all the players and of their stories.
Tennis Week : In the press conference after the U.S. Open quarterfinal with Federer, you made a convincing case for Federer being the best athlete in the world. You said it was "a joke" that he wasn't recognized as such. You also said "I feel like he is legitimately a level above me right now. That's not to say I can't beat him on a given day, but there's definitely work to be done and I need to play better if I expect to be on that level consistently..." You're No. 4 in the world, coming off the best year of your career, you've beaten every other guy ranked ahead of you except Roger. My questions are: How do you close the gap on Roger and is it a matter of technical and tactical adjustments or do the mental approach and attitude play a part of it. Secondly, what are your thoughts on Sports Illustrated naming Dwayne Wade as its Sportsman of the Year and overlooking Federer?
James Blake: The Laureus sports awards named Roger athlete of the year. Dwayne Wade, obviously is an excellent athlete and to have won a world championship at such a young age is incredible, but to name anyone better than Federer seems ridiculous to me. What he's done in terms of the last three or four years, his record, I don't know if it's ever going to be matched. To see how well he's played and the fact that the game has grown so much; there's such great depth he's playing against and he's winning consistently. If Tiger Woods won as much as him, it would be just incredible to think about what they'd say about him. To me, it seems unheard of to name anyone as the best except Federer. Obviously, it's an opinion-based thing; it's like comparing different generations — to compare different sports it's a difficult thing to do. But I think what he's doing athletically is just unmatched. And as far as what I need to do to get to him? I need to try not to think about all that stuff I just said. I need to think about myself making the four steps because for me to think about myself being number four in the world a year or two ago kind of would have taken me aback and I wouldn't really think about anything else and I don't think I would have made it here. All I did the whole time was concentrate on getting better and working hard and thinking about ways to get to the next level. Right now, I need to do that. I need to keep trying to improve. Hopefully, that will get me to that point where I can honestly say: "Roger Federer isn't a whole level above me, maybe he just played better than me on one day and maybe I just played better than him on one day." Right now, after what he did to me in the Shanghai final, I can't say I feel that great about the way I just played him. Like I said, hopefully soon that will be something that's possible, but you never know.
Tennis Week: I've never heard you make a statement regarding a ranking goal, but in terms of just looking at your game, assessing where you are and trying to get better, what can you do? Obviously, every player hits a peak point of their career. What do you think about your level now and how much better can you get?
James Blake: I definitely think I can get better. There's some things I'm going to be working on in the offseason where I think my game can improve, but the tour is always improving as well. I think it showed the last few years in my ranking that I've improved at a greater rate than some of the other players. Now I hope by my improvement in this offseason, which I know I'll be able to do if I stay healthy, I hope it's still at a greater rate than some of the other guys. But you never know. Obviously, at some point all of us hit a plateau and stop improving, but I don't think I've reached that. I'm excited to start a new year and feel like I'm even better because every year I've started the last three years in Australia, I feel like I'm a better player than I was the year before. Even though the prior season ends only two months before, I feel like I'm a better player at the start of every season. So I'm looking forward to getting better and playing better and I definitely feel like I can improve.
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