James Blake: This (RG) Isn't Our Main Goal... - DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate

**sleelverrex** · 05-28-2009, 12:53 AM

PARIS (AP) -There are plenty of theories about why U.S. men have so much trouble at the French Open, and James Blake offered his thoughts on the matter after losing in the first round Tuesday.

"For the Americans, a lot of times, this isn't our main goal of the year. Ours is generally Wimbledon and the U.S. Open,'' Blake said.

"I think if we were to try to prepare completely for the French Open, we would be giving away some of our advantage at the Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. That's where we excel. We'd rather, I think, prepare best for what our strengths are.''

http://tinyurl.com/o496x9

**ManituIKOL** · 05-28-2009, 12:57 AM

And James says this after last year's performance at Wimbledon. Hopefully we do better this year...

**v74ClzKY** · 05-28-2009, 12:59 AM

PARIS (AP) -There are plenty of theories about why U.S. men have so much trouble at the French Open, and James Blake offered his thoughts on the matter after losing in the first round Tuesday.

"For the Americans, a lot of times, this isn't our main goal of the year. Ours is generally Wimbledon and the U.S. Open,'' Blake said.

"I think if we were to try to prepare completely for the French Open, we would be giving away some of our advantage at the Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. That's where we excel. We'd rather, I think, prepare best for what our strengths are.''

http://tinyurl.com/o496x9

This from the guy who lost 6-1, 6-0 in sets 4 and 5 to Max Mirnyi at Wimbledon a couple of years ago.

F-

That's a valid excuse for Ivan Lendl, not James Blake

**nancywind** · 05-28-2009, 01:06 AM

Puh-leeze. His hard court run was so spectacular to boot.

**FelixQY** · 05-28-2009, 01:19 AM

How many Slam semifinals and Masters Series titles do James have?

**KlaraNovikoffaZ** · 05-28-2009, 01:37 AM

The answer seems to imply that James is answering for the American players (or rather the American men players), and I think overall for the Americans it is somewhat true. For the American players the clay court season doesn't seem to be something they really prep for or build their year around. They like Houston, then they come to Europe for a few weeks and schedule early flights home from Roland Garros. Lack of clay court mindset and play when coming up is a big part of that, but in some ways they are both the cause and the effect. If Americans thought the clay season was important they would probably teach children how to move on it and play on it more, etc. Apparently they need to pass around that Mary Carillo "I want my kids to grow up to be clay courters" video a bit more...

Right now the American men aren't doing all that great in general, but there best chances (slim as they might be) of winning a major are certainly at the US Open, then Wimbledon, then the Australian Open. It would be poor planning for the current batch of players to attempt some sort of comeback at the French...

**P1international** · 05-28-2009, 02:06 AM

Right now the American men aren't doing all that great in general, but there best chances (slim as they might be) of winning a major are certainly at the US Open, then Wimbledon, then the Australian Open. It would be poor planning for the current batch of players to attempt some sort of comeback at the French...

I feel like only playing a few clay tournaments isn't a huge deal, but not even trying at the ones he does play is inexcusable to me.

"Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect."

I feel like not giving an honest effort is a bad habit to flirt with, no matter the surface. I firmly believe that if Blake were to try harder on clay, it would help him on other surfaces. Besides the extra match fitness, he's going to be running into "clay courters" on all surfaces, and building some H2Hs with them could also be beneficial.

So I suppose my point is that Americans putting in the effort and performing better at the French would help them perform better at all slams.

**Penisvergroesserung** · 05-28-2009, 03:15 AM

Why wouldn't you try at every tournament? I have even less respect for Blake now. I thought Agassi, Courier and Chang were American? No?

**Menierofe** · 05-28-2009, 03:17 AM

"For the Americans, a lot of times, this isn't our main goal of the year. Ours is generally Wimbledon and the U.S. Open,'' Blake said.

http://tinyurl.com/o496x9

Aren't we only a generation (if that) removed from a contingent of US men that consisted of French Open winner Michael Chang, French Open winner (and 8X Slam champion) Andre Agassi, 2X French Open winner (and 4X Slam champion) Jim Courier, and probably would have given anything to have won the French Open once (and 14X Slam champion) Pete Sampras?

And this generation of Americans, James, for whom it is not a main goal - all of you combined have, uh, one Slam?

**TheBest-Host** · 05-28-2009, 03:26 AM

Aren't we only a generation (if that) removed from a contingent of US men that consisted of French Open winner Michael Chang, French Open winner (and 8X Slam champion) Andre Agassi, 2X French Open winner (and 4X Slam champion) Jim Courier, and probably would have given anything to have won the French Open once (and 14X Slam champion) Pete Sampras?

And this generation of Americans, James, for whom it is not a main goal - all of you combined have, uh, one Slam?

And that's the bottom line. Roddick is the only US player of this generation that can be compared to the last one.

Agassi used to limit his clay play too. Early on, he hit on hard courts in the old Asian swing and came to the clay late. Didn't seem to be a problem for him.

**abossakon** · 05-28-2009, 03:37 AM

I don't know if I understand why everyone's saying James Blake "isn't trying" in his matches. That seems to me to be a misrepresentation of his statement. And wasn't he just in a clay court final? He said Americans don't prepare for the French Open as much because they're focusing on preparing for other tournaments. Is this not a description of the second half of Pete Sampras' career? He really telegraphed in some poor results there after 1996.

And I'm not terribly pleased with the selective reporting either. I just watched some of and read the transcript of the interview and the message I'm getting is not "I didn't try." He was asked a question about why US men don't handle best-of-five-set matches on clay well. James countered that by mentioning some good Davis Cup results (by Andy Roddick) but James, being James, tries to be diplomatic and suggests reasons why U.S. men haven't done well. He's not making excuses, he's stating a fact. But seriously, people here have a problem with the notion that Andy Roddick would take his Wimbledon preparation more seriously than his French Open prep?

**KlaraNovikoffaZ** · 05-28-2009, 03:46 AM

I feel like only playing a few clay tournaments isn't a huge deal, but not even trying at the ones he does play is inexcusable to me.

They play even less on the grass court than clay court. It's only not a big deal because they all suck at it. Rafa made a pretty good career winning all over the clay before he was considered a threat on other surfaces. So, I absolutely agree, I think not trying is shameful. And I understand that they basically have to play the masters series events, of which there are a couple on clay, or face large fines, but its really not worth anyone's time for a person to play if they aren't going to put in effort. I say that of anyone, and I didn't watch James's last round match, did he not try? I heard the wind got to him some...
To some extent such statements make it easy to not put forth effort since so little is expected of them. I just hope it isn't the kind of thing they pass along. I can see it being like the girls and math thing, that by telling younger tennis players that Americans are bad on clay makes it true for more of them.

"Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." Haha, I've never actually heard this before today, but I was reading over some power point slides that said it earlier...

I feel like not giving an honest effort is a bad habit to flirt with, no matter the surface. I firmly believe that if Blake were to try harder on clay, it would help him on other surfaces. Besides the extra match fitness, he's going to be running into "clay courters" on all surfaces, and building some H2Hs with them could also be beneficial.

So I suppose my point is that Americans putting in the effort and performing better at the French would help them perform better at all slams. I don't disagree, and I would think that even if they wouldn't do it for the French they would try to improve for Davis Cup. I think that doing better on clay couldn't hurt any of them, but at this point in the careers on the current batch of American men, I can see why they aren't focusing on it. I just don't think they can hope to be all around great players and be real challengers for majors on every surface.

**tarmpriopay** · 05-28-2009, 04:06 AM

I guess the US Davis Cup team won't show up in Croatia in July then.

The tie will be played on clay.

**Menierofe** · 05-28-2009, 04:09 AM

I guess the US Davis Cup team won't show up in Croatia in July then. The tie will be played on clay.

At least French Open champions the Bryan Brothers will show, GV. They must not train with James and the rest of the crew.

**tarmpriopay** · 05-28-2009, 04:10 AM

At least French Open champions the Bryan Brothers will show, GV. They must not train with James and the rest of the crew.

**aLZ9zKsO** · 05-28-2009, 04:45 AM

How many Slam semifinals and Masters Series titles do James have?

He lost in the finals of Cincinnati, Indians Wells and Master Cup to Federer. No GS semi but he made 4 quaterfinals (3 US Open and 1 AO). Lost 3 of the 4 to Federer(again) and the other to Agassi.

**ManituIKOL** · 05-28-2009, 05:00 AM

At least French Open champions the Bryan Brothers will show, GV. They must not train with James and the rest of the crew.

James needs a calm period.

**berdyanskdotsu** · 05-28-2009, 05:05 AM

James needs a calm period.

How 'bout 'til June 8th?

**ManituIKOL** · 05-28-2009, 05:07 AM

I meant Davis Cup. I seriously don't think he should be on the team for the Croatia tie. As to who his replacement should be...

**Ikhqgvas** · 05-28-2009, 05:27 AM

I meant Davis Cup. I seriously don't think he should be on the team for the Croatia tie. As to who his replacement should be...

Querrey most def should get the spot. But I would not be shocked to see Fish get the spot because he is such good friends with Roddick and the Bryans

05-28-2009, 12:53 AM	#1
sleelverrex Join Date Nov 2005 Posts 460 Senior Member	James Blake: This (RG) Isn't Our Main Goal... PARIS (AP) -There are plenty of theories about why U.S. men have so much trouble at the French Open, and James Blake offered his thoughts on the matter after losing in the first round Tuesday. "For the Americans, a lot of times, this isn't our main goal of the year. Ours is generally Wimbledon and the U.S. Open,'' Blake said. "I think if we were to try to prepare completely for the French Open, we would be giving away some of our advantage at the Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. That's where we excel. We'd rather, I think, prepare best for what our strengths are.'' http://tinyurl.com/o496x9 Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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05-28-2009, 12:57 AM	#2
ManituIKOL Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 453 Senior Member	And James says this after last year's performance at Wimbledon. Hopefully we do better this year... Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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05-28-2009, 12:59 AM	#3
v74ClzKY Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 491 Senior Member	PARIS (AP) -There are plenty of theories about why U.S. men have so much trouble at the French Open, and James Blake offered his thoughts on the matter after losing in the first round Tuesday. "For the Americans, a lot of times, this isn't our main goal of the year. Ours is generally Wimbledon and the U.S. Open,'' Blake said. "I think if we were to try to prepare completely for the French Open, we would be giving away some of our advantage at the Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. That's where we excel. We'd rather, I think, prepare best for what our strengths are.'' http://tinyurl.com/o496x9 This from the guy who lost 6-1, 6-0 in sets 4 and 5 to Max Mirnyi at Wimbledon a couple of years ago. F- That's a valid excuse for Ivan Lendl, not James Blake Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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05-28-2009, 01:06 AM	#4
nancywind Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 545 Senior Member	Puh-leeze. His hard court run was so spectacular to boot. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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05-28-2009, 01:19 AM	#5
FelixQY Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 601 Senior Member	How many Slam semifinals and Masters Series titles do James have? Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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05-28-2009, 01:37 AM	#6
KlaraNovikoffaZ Join Date Oct 2005 Location USA Posts 384 Senior Member	The answer seems to imply that James is answering for the American players (or rather the American men players), and I think overall for the Americans it is somewhat true. For the American players the clay court season doesn't seem to be something they really prep for or build their year around. They like Houston, then they come to Europe for a few weeks and schedule early flights home from Roland Garros. Lack of clay court mindset and play when coming up is a big part of that, but in some ways they are both the cause and the effect. If Americans thought the clay season was important they would probably teach children how to move on it and play on it more, etc. Apparently they need to pass around that Mary Carillo "I want my kids to grow up to be clay courters" video a bit more... Right now the American men aren't doing all that great in general, but there best chances (slim as they might be) of winning a major are certainly at the US Open, then Wimbledon, then the Australian Open. It would be poor planning for the current batch of players to attempt some sort of comeback at the French... Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

05-28-2009, 02:06 AM	#7
P1international Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 643 Senior Member	Right now the American men aren't doing all that great in general, but there best chances (slim as they might be) of winning a major are certainly at the US Open, then Wimbledon, then the Australian Open. It would be poor planning for the current batch of players to attempt some sort of comeback at the French... I feel like only playing a few clay tournaments isn't a huge deal, but not even trying at the ones he does play is inexcusable to me. "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." I feel like not giving an honest effort is a bad habit to flirt with, no matter the surface. I firmly believe that if Blake were to try harder on clay, it would help him on other surfaces. Besides the extra match fitness, he's going to be running into "clay courters" on all surfaces, and building some H2Hs with them could also be beneficial. So I suppose my point is that Americans putting in the effort and performing better at the French would help them perform better at all slams. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

05-28-2009, 03:15 AM	#8
Penisvergroesserung Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 610 Senior Member	Why wouldn't you try at every tournament? I have even less respect for Blake now. I thought Agassi, Courier and Chang were American? No? Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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05-28-2009, 03:17 AM	#9
Menierofe Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 415 Senior Member	"For the Americans, a lot of times, this isn't our main goal of the year. Ours is generally Wimbledon and the U.S. Open,'' Blake said. http://tinyurl.com/o496x9 Aren't we only a generation (if that) removed from a contingent of US men that consisted of French Open winner Michael Chang, French Open winner (and 8X Slam champion) Andre Agassi, 2X French Open winner (and 4X Slam champion) Jim Courier, and probably would have given anything to have won the French Open once (and 14X Slam champion) Pete Sampras? And this generation of Americans, James, for whom it is not a main goal - all of you combined have, uh, one Slam? Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

05-28-2009, 03:26 AM	#10
TheBest-Host Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 463 Senior Member	Aren't we only a generation (if that) removed from a contingent of US men that consisted of French Open winner Michael Chang, French Open winner (and 8X Slam champion) Andre Agassi, 2X French Open winner (and 4X Slam champion) Jim Courier, and probably would have given anything to have won the French Open once (and 14X Slam champion) Pete Sampras? And this generation of Americans, James, for whom it is not a main goal - all of you combined have, uh, one Slam? And that's the bottom line. Roddick is the only US player of this generation that can be compared to the last one. Agassi used to limit his clay play too. Early on, he hit on hard courts in the old Asian swing and came to the clay late. Didn't seem to be a problem for him. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

05-28-2009, 03:37 AM	#11
abossakon Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 540 Senior Member	I don't know if I understand why everyone's saying James Blake "isn't trying" in his matches. That seems to me to be a misrepresentation of his statement. And wasn't he just in a clay court final? He said Americans don't prepare for the French Open as much because they're focusing on preparing for other tournaments. Is this not a description of the second half of Pete Sampras' career? He really telegraphed in some poor results there after 1996. And I'm not terribly pleased with the selective reporting either. I just watched some of and read the transcript of the interview and the message I'm getting is not "I didn't try." He was asked a question about why US men don't handle best-of-five-set matches on clay well. James countered that by mentioning some good Davis Cup results (by Andy Roddick) but James, being James, tries to be diplomatic and suggests reasons why U.S. men haven't done well. He's not making excuses, he's stating a fact. But seriously, people here have a problem with the notion that Andy Roddick would take his Wimbledon preparation more seriously than his French Open prep? Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

05-28-2009, 03:46 AM	#12
KlaraNovikoffaZ Join Date Oct 2005 Location USA Posts 384 Senior Member	I feel like only playing a few clay tournaments isn't a huge deal, but not even trying at the ones he does play is inexcusable to me. They play even less on the grass court than clay court. It's only not a big deal because they all suck at it. Rafa made a pretty good career winning all over the clay before he was considered a threat on other surfaces. So, I absolutely agree, I think not trying is shameful. And I understand that they basically have to play the masters series events, of which there are a couple on clay, or face large fines, but its really not worth anyone's time for a person to play if they aren't going to put in effort. I say that of anyone, and I didn't watch James's last round match, did he not try? I heard the wind got to him some... To some extent such statements make it easy to not put forth effort since so little is expected of them. I just hope it isn't the kind of thing they pass along. I can see it being like the girls and math thing, that by telling younger tennis players that Americans are bad on clay makes it true for more of them. "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." Haha, I've never actually heard this before today, but I was reading over some power point slides that said it earlier... I feel like not giving an honest effort is a bad habit to flirt with, no matter the surface. I firmly believe that if Blake were to try harder on clay, it would help him on other surfaces. Besides the extra match fitness, he's going to be running into "clay courters" on all surfaces, and building some H2Hs with them could also be beneficial. So I suppose my point is that Americans putting in the effort and performing better at the French would help them perform better at all slams. I don't disagree, and I would think that even if they wouldn't do it for the French they would try to improve for Davis Cup. I think that doing better on clay couldn't hurt any of them, but at this point in the careers on the current batch of American men, I can see why they aren't focusing on it. I just don't think they can hope to be all around great players and be real challengers for majors on every surface. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

05-28-2009, 04:06 AM	#13
tarmpriopay Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 728 Senior Member	I guess the US Davis Cup team won't show up in Croatia in July then. The tie will be played on clay. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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05-28-2009, 04:09 AM	#14
Menierofe Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 415 Senior Member	I guess the US Davis Cup team won't show up in Croatia in July then. The tie will be played on clay. At least French Open champions the Bryan Brothers will show, GV. They must not train with James and the rest of the crew. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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05-28-2009, 04:10 AM	#15
tarmpriopay Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 728 Senior Member	At least French Open champions the Bryan Brothers will show, GV. They must not train with James and the rest of the crew. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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05-28-2009, 04:45 AM	#16
aLZ9zKsO Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 476 Senior Member	How many Slam semifinals and Masters Series titles do James have? He lost in the finals of Cincinnati, Indians Wells and Master Cup to Federer. No GS semi but he made 4 quaterfinals (3 US Open and 1 AO). Lost 3 of the 4 to Federer(again) and the other to Agassi. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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05-28-2009, 05:00 AM	#17
ManituIKOL Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 453 Senior Member	At least French Open champions the Bryan Brothers will show, GV. They must not train with James and the rest of the crew. James needs a calm period. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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05-28-2009, 05:05 AM	#18
berdyanskdotsu Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 428 Senior Member	James needs a calm period. How 'bout 'til June 8th? Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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05-28-2009, 05:07 AM	#19
ManituIKOL Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 453 Senior Member	I meant Davis Cup. I seriously don't think he should be on the team for the Croatia tie. As to who his replacement should be... Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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05-28-2009, 05:27 AM	#20
Ikhqgvas Join Date Nov 2005 Posts 496 Senior Member	I meant Davis Cup. I seriously don't think he should be on the team for the Croatia tie. As to who his replacement should be... Querrey most def should get the spot. But I would not be shocked to see Fish get the spot because he is such good friends with Roddick and the Bryans Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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