![]() “And in the finals, I definitely felt the pressure, felt a lot of nerves. And I was just letting it fly, see what happens and let the chips fall where they may. He had beaten me before, obviously one of the legends of the game. And we were just having fun, keeping everything as loose as possible, and I played Andre in the semis that’s a tough match. “So, I had a buddy of mine that I grew up, one of my best friends who I also played tennis with, was my coach for that week. “It was actually the one tournament my coach had to miss because his sister was getting married,” he said. The fondness Blake has for that special week will forever stick with him. ![]() The Yonkers, New York, native won the singles trophy in 2002 after defeating Andre Agassi in the semifinals and Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand in the final. Making his career even more impressive was that Blake not only went the college route for his development, but that he went to an Ivy League school, Harvard, to become a dynamic force in men’s tennis.īlake recently observed the 20th anniversary of winning his first ATP title in Washington. 3) are the only Black players with a higher ranking in ATP history than Blake. The 43-year-old father of two was “so focused” on his playing career that he couldn’t foresee being the one to organize matches for players, and it’s justified considering how strong his career was. I’ve been really lucky to have people who have been amazing to work with and just learning as I go.” I like to think that first year on the job, I was really learning hopefully a lot about how the way the events are being run. “And once we kind of learn on the job as former players about what else can be done to help sponsors, to help the fans, the media - there is so much that goes into a tournament besides the players - then we can be effective. “It can really help the experience that the players have,” he said. With Tommy Haas, Todd Martin, Amelie Mauresmo and Feliciano Lopez, who is still active, the list of tennis players becoming tournament directors over the last decade has become noticeable, with Blake at the center. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for IMG Fashion James Blake speaks at the Glam Slam Presented by NYFW: The Shows and Chase Sapphire, at Spring Studios on Sept. I got back into commentary and then realized it was an opportunity there.” After about six months of thinking those ways, it made me realize how much of a passion, once you leave something, how much of a passion I still had for tennis, how much I loved it. I thought about getting totally out of tennis. I thought, ‘what can I do now?’ I thought about a lot of different options - going into finance. ![]() I wasn’t thinking about that athlete trap of ‘make money, spend money, make money, spend money.’ I was putting it away, but I wasn’t thinking about the career necessarily after tennis until I got to the end of my playing career. “Financially I was because I was putting money away. “I wasn’t thinking as much far down the road,” he said to Andscape. Entering his fifth year as tournament director of the Miami Open, Blake expressed joy over how something like this has transpired for him. It’s as active of a career as a retired, top tennis player could have, and nothing represents that more than Blake being a tournament director of one of the most prestigious events in the sport. Blake has also been captivated by the rapid growth of pickleball to become one of the sport’s headline proprietors, co-owning The Lions in Milwaukee with former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry.Īnd, with his own unique experiences in combating racism, Blake is not bashful on his Twitter whenever he sees something in American society that troubles him, whether pointing out the systematic racism double standards that Black and Latino Americans face or advocating for gun control. 4 has transformed into a fresh, knowledgeable and eager commentator for ESPN’s Grand Slam coverage of the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. When you are one of the best, most exciting tennis players in the world for a generation, finding the energy to enjoy a post-playing career can be a challenge.īut for James Blake, the skills he showcased on the tennis court for more than a decade have been consolidated into a period as enthralling as the superbly timed inside-out forehands and marvelous mobility he showed as a professional.
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