Blake在輸給Andre之後的訪問 - 網球

講話速度相當快而且內容也很豐富 充滿感情的Blake
在這場五盤午夜大戰之後有很多話要說
因為訪問內容太多部份跟Agassi有關
剩下的部份又是難以割捨的Blake自己蛻變的感人心得
畢竟這麼精彩的比賽是兩個人和現場的觀眾一起創造出來的
所以就一併po出囉...

有Andre的部份會用顏色標出
讓大家比較好找 ^^


THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

Q. It was wonderful to watch. How do you feel about it?

JAMES BLAKE: Well, never feel great after a loss, but I guess it's about
as good as I can feel. I fought my heart out.
I did everything I could. Played as well as I could those
first couple sets. Even got up a break I think in the third
and the fifth. He played a little too good. He really
started going for broke on some of those, and, you know,
champions make those when they're going for broke
in the fifth set and down. And he stepped up, played great.

I'm, you know, happy for the game of tennis. I think this match
was hyped from about four or five days ago, and, you know,
I feel like at least it lived up to it.
We both played a pretty high level of tennis.
If there's anyone I'm cheering for, it's Andre.
You can hear it in the crowd. I had the crowd on my side
for the first four matches, unbelievably strong.
And to see how much they reacted to him and still want to
see a champion like him advance is really great for tennis.
I thought it was done all with class, and they, you know,
they cheered him to victory and he just played too good for me
at the end.


Q. Can you describe matchpoint.

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah. I missed the first serve. Really, really would have
liked to get that in. He's obviously got some of
the best returns in the world. He doesn't have
the longest wingspan, so sometimes you can get a few more aces
on him than some of the other guys. But I went for it, missed it.
Then second serve I was thinking, I mean, "I got to roll it in.
Give yourself a chance. I'm not going to go for too much."
I gave myself a chance. He took a chance. And it worked for him.

I mean, he's great at taking calculated risks.
He kind of figured I was going to roll it in, he stepped around,
ripped it up the line for a winner. Got to take your hat off
to him for that. It's just too good at a big moment.
He went for it.

You know, I went for it, too, in the tiebreaker. I went for
a few big forehands, especially that 5-All one I missed,
then the 6-5 one I made. So I would have liked to have made
a few more, but he kind of forces you to go for lines at times.


Q. At the instance it drops in, there's so much tension for so long.
You came back. Does your stomach drop? Do you stop? Can you believe it?
What is the feeling at that instant when that shot drops?

JAMES BLAKE: Well, in your stomach, it's just disappointment. Your head,
you're just thinking about kind of anything that had gone wrong
or could have gone right in the match. And then,
then it's just up to the net to congratulate him.

Your legs are relieved that they don't have to run anymore.
But it's just after that, there's nothing you can do.
That's unfortunately what I've learned. No reason to get mad.
Nothing, no reason to smash a racquet, fire a ball,
scream and yell, anything like that, because there's nothing
you can do. None of that's going to change anything anymore.

You got to accept it and the best way to accept it is go up
and congratulate your opponent and, you know,
I'm happy to congratulate Andre because he's earned it.
He's worked so hard for I think they said this is his 20th year
in a row being here, which is impressive in its own right.
But to be in the semifinals as well is even more incredible.
So just go up and congratulate him and wish him the best.


Q. At 6-3, 6-3, did you allow yourself even a moment of saying,
"Wow, I can do this"?

JAMES BLAKE: No, not against Andre. Maybe against someone else I might have.
But I feel like I have gotten better at not allowing myself
to do that. Even at 3-2, I was worried about holding that game.
Unfortunately I missed a few first serves that game.
He started ripping them.

That was the first time I saw him really, really put the foot
on the accelerator. He started ripping my second serve.
Before that he had been kind of letting me get into the points,
and then he started going after it. Maybe he felt like
he needed to do that to get back into the match.
Maybe he felt like he was just going to start going for it
and take his chances. If he's going to down, he's going to
go down swinging, but it worked for him. I wasn't ready for
the pace he was bringing at that point.

And I didn't get ahead of myself. I know one break or anything
against Andre Agassi is nothing. He can return better than
anyone in the world at times. So I knew it wasn't anything,
and it was still a long way away. Even my coach talked about it,
if I'm down two sets and a break, still a long way for them to go.
If you start winning 55% of the points, you're going to
come back and win. He did that.

He came back and played great in that third set.
That fourth set he played unbelievable. Fifth set,
we had up and down match. We both served pretty well until
that 5-4 game. And I still don't even feel like my serve
let me down. I feel like he came up with some pretty great shots
and I missed a forehand or two.

And that's the way it goes, unfortunately.


Q. Can you give us some thoughts sort of on the inner Andre,
what kind of a survivor is this guy?

JAMES BLAKE: I mean, I think you saw it tonight. Down two sets and a break,
never stopping, always thinking. Thinking of what he needs to do.
He changed his game at that point. A lot of guys, much younger,
would have just kept bashing, or kept doing the same thing
they'd been doing and not adjusted. He adjusted.
He put me on the defensive. Even though I like to run,
I feel like I'm pretty good on the run, he still ran me enough
to the point where it was uncomfortable.

So he figured out a way to do that, and that shows someone
willing to adjust, willing to do whatever it takes to win.
I mean, it could have looked bad. He could have gone out there
and started going for broke and missing and losing that set 6-2.
And if he went down 3, 3 and 2, someone would have said,
"Why did he do that?"

Second guessing is always what, I'm sure you know
the commentators, media is going to do, "Why would he do that?"
But he knew percentage wise I gave him the best chance to win
and he did it. I think that's impressive.
The inner Andre is a very, very bright man, very conscious of
what's going on on the court, very analytical.
And also inner Andre is an unbelievable humanitarian
and a great person.


Q. Andre talked about how you depend on your speed.
Did you start to fatigue a little bit late in the third set there?

JAMES BLAKE: No, definitely not in the third set. I felt great at that point.
Then I kind of laughed a little bit when I got the break
in the fifth. I got up from the chair and my legs felt great.
I was thinking, "You know what, when you're winning,
for some reason your legs feel great." They did feel great
through the end of the match.

I mean, if matchpoint hadn't come at that point, I felt like
I would have been able to keep running, which is a really good
feeling. At times I've had problems with cramping.
I've had problems in the heat sometimes. I feel like
I've gotten a lot better. I've dealt with some nutritionists
and also put in a ton of hard work. I've always felt like
I've been one of the hardest workers, but for some reason
my body has a tendency to give out on me at times.
I didn't feel that at all. I felt great. I can't use that
as an excuse or anything like that. He flat out beat me.


Q. If you learned one thing about yourself over the last two and a half weeks,
what is it?

JAMES BLAKE: Just that I've matured a little. I think I learned that
a little while ago, but now it's translating to my game,
the maturity. Just picking my spots to go for my shots,
picking better opportunities, and not losing patience too quickly.
And I just feel good about that. I feel like maybe
the beginning of this year, I might have felt like
I'm not sure where the career's going, if I'm going to get back.
And now I know that I can play pretty darn good tennis.

And I'm hoping I've got a lot more matches like this that
go my way in me in big moments, in quarterfinals and semifinals
and in second weeks of Grand Slams. And this shows I can do it
and I'm pretty happy about that.

But I've just learned that there's no reason to panic anymore.
I'm not going to worry about every single point,
every single match, every single breakpoint missed,
every single double fault. I'm just not going to panic.
I didn't tonight, even though obviously I didn't come up
with the big shots at the right times. But I didn't panic
and I still went for my shots and, you know, next time
they're going to go in, I think.


Q. Have you always believed you could go deep into Slams, or does it take
an actual result like this to make you believe that you can do it?

JAMES BLAKE: I've always believed I can based on the fact that I have had
some pretty good wins. I've beaten some top players.
I've beaten guys like Agassi before. So I believed I could.

But it definitely helps confidence to know that you're into
the second week now, in the quarterfinals.
I was a couple points away from being in the semifinals.
That definitely helps your confidence.

But I think earlier in my career, probably before last year,
I felt like I would have had to really play above myself
to get there. I would have had to, you know, rip a few winners,
really go for more than I might have thought I was capable of.

Now I feel like I can do it with playing within myself,
and that's a much better feeling because I know
I don't need to panic, like I said. I can just go out there,
play my game and wait for my opportunities, go for them
when I have them. And I think that's going to be good enough
to beat a lot of top players. And I can't wait to test it over
and over and over again, because, I mean, today, obviously,
could have gone either way. I mean, two points,
I come up with two aces, this match is mine.
So I could have been in the semis.

But I want to test it again. I want to get to 5-All
in the fifth set tiebreaker again. I want to experience
these kind of matches over and over and put myself
in the right positions, because that's all you can do.
It's just like giving yourself enough breakpoints.
You give yourself enough, play it smart, you're going to
win with the percentages. I want to keep testing it.


Q. Right before the tiebreaker, I think it was, you looked up
at the scoreboard, place was going nuts, you got a big smile.
What were you thinking at that point? Just how much fun it was?

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, just, "Life's good, man.
Doesn't get much better than this." What I actually thought of
was the tape that's replayed about five million times
every time there's a rain delay here at the Open
when Jimmy Connors sits down and says,
"This is what they came for. This is what we'll give them."

That's what they came for. They had hyped this match so much.
The people stayed until 1 in the morning,
that's what they came for. Coming down to a do or die situation,
a fifth set tiebreaker, being the only Slam that does that,
the US Open crowd against possibly the biggest name in tennis
for the last 15 years or however long. I mean,
it doesn't get any better than that.

Having my friends watching me, my coach, all my buddies, I mean,
it just I was just thinking, "This is what I play tennis for.
This is what I missed last year. This is what," I mean,
"Right now, this is what I live for,
is playing those kind of moments."

You know, win or lose, I had a good time at that point.
At that moment I couldn't have been happier.
I wish it had gone my way, but I think in a year
or even in a day or two I'm going to look back and say,
"You know what, that was a lot of fun."
I have a memory of that moment, and it's not going to go away.

That's all I thought, was, "Life is good," and,
"It doesn't get much better than this." For most people,
they're never going to experience that in their life,
and I wish they could because, you know,
I've seen the other side. I've seen last year kind of
what normal life is like without these kind of adrenaline rushes.
And having them and then not having them, you miss it a little.

I'm so lucky and so fortunate to have ever had that one moment,
and I really hope I have a lot more.


Q. Were you here in '91 when Jimmy had his run? Did you come to the Open
that year?

JAMES BLAKE: '91, I don't remember. I'm sure I did. I came just about
every year. I don't remember specifically. I never watched him
in the stadium; I would have remembered that.

But I assume I came. I was probably, what, 11 years old then.
Yeah, I probably came.


Q. Will you watch a replay of tonight's match?

JAMES BLAKE: Not for a little while. I know my coach will, and most likely
what will happen is he'll if he finds something that
we really need to address or something that he saw that
I could have done better, he'll probably sit me down
and have me watch part of it.

But right now, I probably don't want to watch it.
I remember it too well right now.


Q. How disappointing, if at all, were the third and fourth sets for you,
and how great was it to then get your level back up like you did
in the fifth?

JAMES BLAKE: Yeah, the third set was a little disappointing,
but it really didn't seem like it was that much my fault.
He came out just ripping after 3-2, and, you know,
that's what I guess a champion does when his back's against
a wall. He started ripping and they were going in.
That wasn't that bad.

Then he really continued at a very high level in the fourth set.
There wasn't a time I could do my serve let me down a little bit.
That was disappointing because I felt like I had been
serving really well up until then.

That letting me down hurt a little bit. I wanted to really
focus on that in the fifth set. It did kind of pick back up again.
That gives me more opportunities to go and be more aggressive
on his serve. That's what I did. That's how I got the break
in the fifth, being a little more aggressive.
I was happy about that.

But the third and fourth set, besides my serve letting me down
a little bit, he played, I mean, unbelievable tennis.
He's still Top 10 in the world. Everyone keeps asking
when he's going to retire. But, I mean, I don't see
too many people asking some of the 10 best baseball players
or basketball players when they're going to retire.
He has no reason to retire. He's one of the best in the world.
He's still chasing Grand Slams, obviously,
chasing Masters Series titles. If he's still enjoying it
and still, you know, finding ways to motivate himself,
I'd say let him play forever.


Q. The moment it was over, what exactly went through your mind?

JAMES BLAKE: I think we already had that question.

But basically, you know, heart dropped a little bit.
Obviously, you want to win. But you feel that in your stomach,
once you realize it's over, they're not going to
call that one out. You got to just walk up there
and congratulate Andre. That's all I could do,
is think about how proud I am of him and, you know, move on.
Think about anything that could have gone my way,
anything that I did wrong, anything technically I could have
done better, or was it just execution.

That's what I thought about. And then I just thought, you know,
he played a great match, he's a champion, he deserves it,
and I'm glad the crowd had a good time.


Q. In your gut do you think you're ready to use this to step up
and that you can be a truly elite player who can win a Slam?

JAMES BLAKE: I'd like to think so. I mean, I've always thought so,
but now I feel it's a little more attainable
because I've proven it a little bit here. I also, like I said,
I feel much more within myself when I'm playing now.
I don't feel like I have to play a level above myself
to win these kind of matches.

Contrary to what I believe Skip Baylis had to say,
I don't feel like I'm a fluke or one hit wonder
or anything like that. I definitely feel like I'm going to
be around here for years.


Q. Can you talk about Robby, how he might match up against Andre,
about his run here.

JAMES BLAKE: Sure. I think Robby, you know, I'm so happy for him.
He's had a great summer. He was struggling on the clay,
he was struggling even on the grass where he usually
plays pretty well. And he's done unbelievable
this hard court season, and I'm so proud of him.
He's a great kid. I like him a lot. You know,
I'm looking forward to playing him for many years.

His matchup, I think, is interesting. He's played Andre
a couple times I remember I think once or twice here,
actually and Andre has gotten the better of him.
But Robby is a much smarter player now. I would like to
think I might have taken a little something out of Andre's legs
tonight. Robby obviously had a long match, too,
so that's going to be interesting to see how they both
react to that. I think Andre has had a little more experience
coming back from five setters and being this deep in a Slam.
I think it's going to be Andre's experience that will help him
a lot.

But Robby has that youth on his side where he just, you know,
he's respectful, but he also, once he gets out there,
he doesn't care who he's playing if it's Roger Federer,
if it's Andre Agassi, if it's Pete Sampras, you know,
if it's Jesus Himself, he's going out and just ripping
and having fun.

And he's got a good game because he runs well,
he stands pretty close to the baseline a lot of times, like Andre.
He's got a big forehand, he can attack crosscourt with that,
and he's been serving a lot better than he ever has, I think,
this summer. So that's going to be interesting.
If he can keep his serve up, Andre is a guy that you can
get aces on, but he puts so much pressure on you
when he does get his racquet on it that it sometimes forces
certain guys to serve worse, it sometimes forces certain guys
to serve better. I think that's going to be probably
one of the biggest turning points or one of the biggest keys,
is whether Robby can serve as well as he has been against Andre.


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