By Bill Simons
James Blake played the last professional singles match of his career last night, a five-set thriller against Ivo Karlovic that culminated in a fifth-set tiebreak loss. Afterward, the 33-year-old American admitted that while he’ll miss having “20,000 people cheering for me, chanting ‘U-S-A,’ screaming my name,” he’s ready to embrace life as a “normal person,” which was rarely possible during his 14 years on the ATP tour. “I’m looking forward to a new stage in my life,” he said, adding “I’ll miss this one. There’s no good way to go out unless you’re holding that trophy.”
During his final post-match press conference, IT and other reporters spoke with Blake about topics ranging from civil rights to poker to life beyond the game:
Q: We were talking to Betty [Blake’s mother] after the match. She was saying you had spoken today about how pleased you were that your match coincided with the anniversary of the March [on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]. You tied it into Arthur [Ashe]. Take a moment and share your thoughts on that.
JAMES BLAKE: I thought about that a lot this morning. Thought that would be a great day to get a win because of how important this day is in our history …
[That] demonstration 50 years ago still resonates today and is a beacon for what Martin Luther King did, how much he progressed the civil rights movement. I’m proud that I’m in a situation now where I don’t have to face the same things he had to face, or my dad had to face.
But I also don’t think we’re at the finish line, and I’m proud to be a part of [getting] towards the finish line. I think that’s a good reason to celebrate the 50th anniversary—to let people know that the civil rights movement isn’t over.
There’s also new topics that need to be dealt with. I mean, I did join Athlete Ally because I feel rights need to be given to those that have a different lifestyle than what some people may consider normal.
We need to embrace the fact there are people that want to live their lives the way they want and [they] should be given that right. I’m happy that DOMA was overturned. I’m happy that things like that are getting better. But we’re definitely not at the finish line.
Athlete Ally is a great cause, especially in the world of sports, where you’re too often seeing a lot of macho short of showboating when everyone should feel comfortable.
Sports is a great equalizer. Some of the proudest times [for me] on the court [were at] Davis Cup and the Olympics. They’re supposed to embrace sportsmanship. It’s a level playing field. You go out, you’re good enough to win. It has nothing to do with what you do the rest of your time.
I’m proud to be playing on such an historic day, and glad we’re still working.
Q: What are your thoughts on Russia and the homophobic laws they have there?
JB: It’s sad. Like I said, we’re still in this fight. I don’t know if [an Olympic] boycott would change that. I don’t know all the politics that go into a boycott, but I know that policy [the new laws in Putin’s Russia] is unacceptable. I wouldn’t want to be over there.
When you look at numbers, someone in your circle, whether it’s a family member or a friend, is gay, transgender, or bisexual. You should appreciate that those people are valued members of society, people that are doing something good in the world. They should feel comfortable to live their lives.
Any sort of policy that discriminates against them, that excludes them, is completely unfair in today’s day and age. That’s why I say we’re 50 years out and there are still things going on that are discriminatory.
Q: You’ve been one of the faces for American tennis throughout your career, but you’ve been the face for African-Americans on the male side. Talk about how it’s been to carry that torch, and now leave it behind.
JB: Donald Young getting a good win here in the first round is a good sign. He has a lot of talent. I hope he can realize all of that.
I understood that when I started on the tour, when I first sort of burst onto the scene. I remember being in this room when I had that incident with Lleyton Hewitt [where Hewitt made racial remarks about line judging] back in ‘01. That’s when I realized that I might have a different path than a lot of other guys.
The other thing that made me extremely proud was when I stopped getting questions about being the only African-American, as opposed to just being a tennis player. That made me feel like I really accomplished something, because people were talking about my tennis instead of just my skin color.
There are people that looked up to me that may not have ever been involved in tennis, may not have thought of tennis, because they saw someone that looked like them on TV. They hear that I started playing tennis in Harlem. They know I still go back there and volunteer. Maybe there is a possibility for a kid that feels like their only option is basketball—they say, “Hey, I can pick up a tennis racket, too.”
I’m not going to have a job for a little while, but I also want to help out where I can, help grass roots programs to get more players. In America we need to just grow the talent pool. We have a large pool of athletes, but a lot of them are breaking into other sports. They’re not focused on tennis.
I want to get more tennis players, because then we hopefully create more tennis champions, but we also create more tennis fans. I think it’s so great when you see a kid learn to play tennis and they realize how difficult it is, what we do out there on the court. Then they come to appreciate it and become tennis players for life.
I want to help out in any way I can.
IT: Maybe this side of Yevgeny Kafelnikov, you’re the best poker player in the tennis universe. Put your career in poker terms. The cards you get, the way you play them, bluffing?
Q: Oh, I bluffed a ton. I finally started admitting that to a couple of practice partners I was hitting with a couple of weeks ago. We were doing two-on-ones. I’m running. They’re running. They’re dying. My trainer let it slip—”You know, James is tired, too, he’s just a better actor.”
There were so many times I was late into a match, [and] my legs were burning, my lungs were dead, [but] I stood as straight as I could. I looked across the net, saw my opponent hurting, and got so much more strength from that. I bluffed a ton of times.
Now I can admit that there were so many times I was tired out there, beaten down, could have stopped and thrown in the towel, and didn’t, just [because I] wanted to be out there, to win.
Early in my career I had problems with cramping. People were so shocked when it happened, because I’d be running, [looking] like I’m fine. I don’t think people realized that I’d been tired for the last hour. There were tons of times I was bluffing.
In terms of the cards I got, I can’t complain. I got up to [No.] 4 in the world, so I had to have some pretty decent cards. I said the other day that I appreciate [getting] more credit than I deserved for being an athlete. It was the hard work that made me look like athletic and made me look like I was that graceful or fast. That was from hours and hours on the track, on the field.
I definitely did the best I could with [my cards]. I played them the way I could. I made mistakes, no doubt about it. If you’re a poker player, you’re going to lose pots, but you try to minimize the losses. That’s sometimes as good as winning a pot, when you minimize your loss.
I did that with some of my mistakes. I made them for a month, or for one tournament, then I fixed the problem. That’s what Brian [Barker] was so good at. When we tried something new and it didn’t work, we could look back and say we gave it a shot and tried everything we could.
I maybe take offense that I’m on this side of Yevgeny. Never played with him.
IT: Are you going to take in a few more Mets games?
Q: Take in some Mets games, some Yankees games, some Giants games … I’m don’t know what I’m going to say in two weeks. Am I unemployed? Am I retired at 33? Am I in between jobs? Before, my schedule would never allow a lot of [free time]. Now, on a whim, we can go to a Mets game or a Broadway show. I’m sure I’ll take in a lot of the culture here [in New York]. It’s going to be interesting, but I’m looking forward to just relaxing and seeing what comes.
