James Blake Quotations | Page 2

Miami is great. I'm trying to do my best to avoid distractions and get ready for tomorrow.

Those guys carried me through. I had a lot of tough three-set matches this week, and they were my legs in those third sets.

You all better make it light on yourselves and let me have those seats.

When you're down out here, it doesn't seem like you're down because I have so many fans rooting for me,

Well, probably, keeping my eyes on the road, making sure I get here all right,

To win on Tommy's serve was great. It was welcome. I had no regrets going after his second serve on match point. Six months ago I wouldn't have had the confidence to do it. Early in the year, the break points were the ones I was missing. I need to keep those points going my way.

Those are a lot of my friends, a lot of people that have some sort of connection to me,

Tommy's a great player who hits the ball so clean, ... We're both big servers. I look forward to playing him. No matter what his ranking is, he's one of the top players in the world.

Tommy just steamrolled me (in 19 minutes) in that first set, ... He returns your serve so well, it seems like you have to win every point three times.

We're doing this for a living, trying to win. That's my goal. It's not to embarrass anyone; it's to go out and win.

To be able to win in front of my friends and family is one of my greatest memories to date. It was a big turning point for me and propelled me to my great finish at the U.S Open and then throughout the rest of 2005.

This summer is a little better than last summer, ... I can actually sit here without feeling I am going to fall off the chair. I can actually smile, and, yeah, I definitely feel so much better and I am enjoying it a whole lot. And it does put a few things in perspective and I am just so happy to be playing and now that it is going well and I feel like I'm healthy. I feel like things are starting to go my way, it's such a good feeling.

To be in the quarterfinals is pretty unexpected for most people. But I didn't feel like it was that absurd to think that I could be here, and hopefully even further.

To be in the quarterfinals is pretty unexpected for most people, ... But I didn't feel like it was that absurd to think that I could be here, and hopefully even further.

We got him back, ... He was one of the team members when they beat us in Paris. It's a good feeling. I knew it was going to be this way when I heard how many fans were coming out and how many of my fans were going to be here. It's a good feeling when they're on your side.

The only thing I don't like about this job is the travelling but here I don't have to. I sleep in my own bed, I have dinner with my mum or my friends and I feel at home on the court too.

This was the most fun I've had losing,

To hear them get fired up, it just makes it that much more emotional, ... If I'm down, I know I have them to count on to pick me up pretty quickly and not let myself get too far down on myself.

You have to play pretty close to perfect.

When I was warming up and it was windy and cold, it was more like a job, not going out to have fun playing tennis.

We weren't sure if I was ever really going to be back to a 100 percent, if I was ever going to be back to this level again. I said whatever tournament I win, the next Grand Slam, you have to wear a gold tooth for the whole time I'm in the tournament.

This one definitely ranks up there. I've been on tour six years and this is my fifth title - it's not like it happens everyday.

Brian was uncomfortable to start and that gave me an opportunity to attack on him. I executed from the start and was placing my shots on both sides.

Even though individually I didn't have the best of weekends, I consider this week a 100 percent total and complete success.

Being this close to home, you really can't beat it with this crowd, ... I'm staying in my own bed, being around so many friends, people that go way back, that know me from when I was a kid, is something that is very rare on tour. We travel the world, so it's very seldom that we're in our hometown.

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.

Being around my friends and having breakfast with them after sleeping in my own bed is nice. To play tennis in an atmosphere like this. Doing a job that I love. I can't complain a bit about any of this.

Every different scenario was going through my head,

Beating guys like that the way I have the past two days makes me think I can do hopefully some really good things the rest of the week here and the next two weeks at the Open,

At some stage in the process, most mainstream pop records are being manipulated and possibly completely rebuilt on a computer, with a visual program.

At the beginning of the year, I probably wouldn't have won a match like this.

At the beginning of the year I had a little spot in my heart that hoped I could earn my way back onto the Davis Cup team and show I can help this team.

At the beginning of the week, I couldn't have dreamed it up any better,

Credit unions have a long-standing reputation for serving people of modest means. There is an increasing gap between the average family income and the cost of area real estate, and we're confident that this initiative will help to narrow that gap.

Andy plays at a little bit different level than some other guys that I played, and he made me hit some more balls today,

Andy plays at a different level than the other guys I played this week but I know it's not impossible to beat him, ... I was going for too much (on my serve) because I didn't want him to get my second serves and sometimes that backfires.

Dubstep has everything for me. Rhythm, sound design, heartfelt emotion - all in one place.

Fernando is always dangerous no matter what, and he started playing like the Fernando I've come to know, the one who can hurt you in an instant. He wasn't pushing like he was in the first couple of sets. He was going after his shots and they were going in.

There's no way I would have believed that I'd be playing a legend like Andre Agassi in the quarter-finals on Wednesday at the Open.

I served very well, and once you get rolling with one part of your game the rest of it follows, so it's a good feeling.

I've been really trying to hone the art of songwriting in a way that doesn't follow any sort of guideline.

I've come over a few times and not had much success, which is frustrating. I like playing indoors. I feel really good here even though it's not the same kind of crowds as I have on my side in the United States.

I've been playing pretty solid all week. I was happy to get through the way I did. I'm just happy to get back to the final, and there's no pressure on me tomorrow against Andy. He's one of the top players in the world, and I'm just going to go out and play and have fun.

I've never seen that called in my career.

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 very important to me because half the tour is in Europe, ... I'm excited and it gives me confidence to know that I can win here. This is the first time I've had success in the European season. Other times I've kind of made my rankings just on the U.S. season and maybe down in Australia a little bit.

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.

It was tough conditions, I wanted to get ahead early but I couldn't quite do that. But I came through at the end of each set.

I've matured a little. I think I learned that a little while ago, but now it's translating to my game, ... Now I know that I can play pretty darn good tennis.

I've been asked a lot about the state of dubstep in America, and everyone wants me to say something controversial, but I have no negative feelings toward anything, really.

Rafael is an unbelievable player. I think he somehow brings out the best in me, because I played some of my best tennis against him at the U.S. Open.

After the break, I made a little bit of an adjustment, ... I moved back just a couple of steps, trying to see if I could get looks. If he hits the corner, it doesn't matter where I am standing, it is going to be an ace. I just had to accept that he was going to get his aces...Once I got that first break (in the third set), having the sense it was almost over was great. Having that crowd to front run is great.

After the break, I made a little bit of an adjustment,

On clay, his serve still isn't a weapon, but he can back it up really well. Here, he wasn't able to do that. I was able to hit a couple of clean winners off of first serves, and that can rattle you early.

The moment you hear your father passes away is about as low as it gets.

Dean is doing a great job. He's extremely laid-back and an extremely knowledgeable coach, which I think fits great with our team. He's there to help if we need it. He also knows not to probably go overboard; we all have our own coaches, we all know kind of what we're working on in our games, and he just is there to help keep our focus there this week and keep our spirits high, I guess.

Any of the top 100 guys in the world can beat any of the top 10 guys on a given day,

Any time getting on a grass court is going to be pretty fast, especially a lot faster than the hard courts we've been hitting on. It's just going to be a matter of time getting used to it. I feel comfortable on it. It's not a huge adjustment from the hard courts. It's still quicker. You have to change your game a little more, the movement's different.

As long as I keep being invited, I am gonna keep coming...this is real fun. And thanks to Lindsay. It is great, I come down here and my partners never lose. It makes my job a heck of a lot easier.

That's legitimate. That's a reason for people not to do it. Morally, people should have a reason not to do it to begin with and physically, the harm you're doing to your body in the long-term. Two years is pretty reasonable to make people think twice about it. It's not a chance worth taking.

That generation I think people are now realizing was kind of a freak phenomenon, just an unbelievable time in American tennis. Now I think we're going to see our true potential and see how well we can do.

Alberto's a great player but had a bad day. I'd like to think that was partly because of me, I was putting pressure on him the whole time. I served very well, and once you get rolling with one part of your game the rest of it follows so it's a good feeling.

Alberto is a great player, but he had a bad day,

Your heart drops a little. You feel that in your stomach, once you realize it's over, ... You've got to just walk up there and congratulate Andre. That's all I could do, is think about how proud I am and move on.

You never feel good after a loss, but I guess it's about as good as I can feel. I'm happy for the game of tennis. This match was hyped from four or five days ago, and I feel like we lived up to it. We both played a pretty high level of tennis. If there's anyone I am cheering for, it's Andre.

You never feel good after a loss, but I guess it's about as good as I can feel, ... I'm happy for the game of tennis. This match was hyped from four or five days ago, and I feel like we lived up to it. We both played a pretty high level of tennis. If there's anyone I am cheering for, it's Andre.

This is the first time I've had success in Europe, previously I've only done well in the States and maybe in Australia.

The ups and downs are going be everywhere no matter what sport you're in, no matter what profession you're in,

This couldn't have been better preparation for that match, ... He (Lopez) has one of if not the best lefty serves out there. If he doesn't, Rusedski probably does. I am looking at the two best lefty serves back to back and getting a win against one could correlate to getting a win (against) another.

A lot of the vocal music I've been doing recently has been quite clubby. But that's mainly because I've had more time to go to clubs, and that normally breeds that kind of influence.

They're going to have fun whether I win or lose, ... and that takes a lot of pressure off me.

It's just amazing, ... I really couldn't have dreamed it to be any better at the beginning of the week.

It's a tricky proposition to play against him. You have to get your emotions in check. You have to take care of each one of those points instead of getting down on myself.

It wasn't the cleanest of matches to be perfectly honest, but luckily five minutes after it's over it doesn't matter if it was the best performance you ever put on or you just scraped by. A win's a win. I'm allowed to play in the third round.

It was definitely unfortunate. He gave it his all. He did everything he could to win that match.

It was fun to compete; I generally don't have a lot of fun losing, but this was a whole lot of fun playing. This is incredible.

It was exciting for me to go farther than I ever have in a grand slam,

It was impressive to watch him on the courts of the French Open, ... Let's hope it is different here in New York.

It's a good feeling when they're on your side. We travel the world, so it's very seldom that we're in our home town.

It's a great feeling just to come out and be healthy,

It really surprises me that people in this day and age still write such busy music and fill up every space with layer upon layer of sound... it's like musical landfill.

It's not easy to play against him. I'm just happy to get finally get a win against him. He's one of the best players of all-time.

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.

Its always a bit tricky to play someone you have never played,

It makes it so much easier to be home,

It's like we are up 1-0 going into every tie.

It's going to take time because no matter how good you are or how hard you've worked, there's no substitute for playing matches. I think he needs to get a few matches in, and then once he gets a little bit of confidence in match play, I think he's going to get that ranking right back up there.

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.

It's great to know I can succeed here, half the (ATP) tour is here in Europe,

It's pretty memorable, to beat these two brothers in the same tournament. I don't know if anyone has done that before. Olivier must have had a pretty good report from his brother.

It's pretty crazy. It means I'm playing great tennis.

It's pretty amazing to me because I was a wild card getting in here.

Then you get to come, basically, home. It's a great feeling before the Open.

It's something I've been working on for a long time, it just wasn't working tonight. But it's not something I'm going to get too worried about. I'll just go out and work on it at practice tomorrow.

Everyone keeps asking that. But he has no reason to retire. He's one of the best in the world, still chasing Grand Slams. If he's still enjoying it and still finding ways to motivate himself, I say let him play forever.

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.

Still seems like a dream come true. Never seemed possible at the beginning of this week. It couldn't have been more perfect to do it in front of my friends and family. I know there's going to be a little bit of celebrating in Fairfield.

The baseball thing is a joke. Ten games out of a 162-game season for steroids is a joke. Two years is much more of a deterrent. It makes guys realize that you can't get away with it. You can't do this until you get caught and say, 'Oh no, it's not a big deal if I'm only out for three weeks or something.' If you're out for two years, that's a sizeable percentage of your career.