James Blake Uncovered? In some ways, he really has been covered enough (click here for his hilarious “interview” with Stephen Colbert). But it’s nice to hear him talk about the experiences tennis has given to him – although I can hear the “James Blake is too satisfied with what he’s accomplished and not hungry enough” chorus in my head. Can’t help it, sorry.
It’s too bad the video didn’t cover Blake’s late-season coaching change. He looked sharp in Asia and I’m thinking (hoping?) 2010 will be a good year for him.
(Is anyone else really excited to hear from Marian Vajda next week?)
Tags: ATP, James Blake, tennis, Video of the Day
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Underachiever or not, I just love James. He is one of tennis’s good guys.
Its funny to hear Blake called an underachiever. When he really burst into the top tier, it was after his horrible year. Up till then, he was good- smart and athletic- but no one thought he had the game to be a top tenner, at least that was the impression I had. When he came back from all his time off and started making it deep in Grand Slams, I thought that was OVERachieving. I thought it was a guy who’d been pushed to the brink personally, and had decided he was just going to give this everything he had. I look back now that I think he made a great career for himself, probably surpassing what he expected after his first year on the tour. Its not a surprise to me that it passed quickly, I think his high-ranking was built on a passionate, strong-willed frame of mind that couldn’t last forever.
Yeah, the same thing is often said of Andy Roddick. He’s laughed about it and called himself the greatest overachiever of all time, if all the critics’ complaints about his one dimensional game were indeed true. The more you accomplish – the closer you come – the more is expected of you. And James Blake has come close enough to be thought of as an underachiever (at least by Americans, who would love another champion.)
It did seem like Blake had a magical period a couple of seasons ago that he let ride out. But dropping his coach of umpteen years and hiring a new one has to be a sign of renewed focus. So maybe he can over/underachieve again.
I like James. There is an press conference/interview with him around the time his book came out on YouTube(Google Authors: James Blake) which runs about 45 minutes. It gave me a better sense of who he is – I think he is a genuine, grounded person and grateful for all that he has.