Beyond the Baseline: James Blake on Rafa, Roger and Novak in 2017

[britbox]

 

[britbox]

If you're too lazy to listen... here are the key points from Blake:

Excited to see Roger and Rafa back. 2 of the best of all time. Rafa younger, but more miles on the body. Roger gets more free points.

Roger and Rafa set the bar so high as players and role models, it's difficult for everyone else.

He thought injury would be the only thing that would have unseated Novak from #1 going back 6 months.

Doesn't think Djokovic's level has dropped that much... maybe 5%, Murray's has risen a little but it just took a bit of a decline from Novak to make it happen.

Murray and Djokovic are clearly apart from the rest of the tour at the moment.

If Djokovic wins the AO, then he'll win 1 more major this year.

If Djokovic doesn't win the AO, he'll still win 1 major after the AO this year.

Outside of the Big 4 and Wawrinka... Blake gives Del Potro the next best shot at a major, and maybe Raonic at Wimbledon.

Regarding coaching, at the age of 30 you know what you're doing wrong most of the time. With Novak, staying healthy matters more than the coach, although they can be helpful. It's tough to go alone without a coach completely - it helps to have somebody to bounce ideas off and have someone in your corner.

Not yet invited to Serena's wedding... "don't think I will make the cut!"

Serena is a great competitor but her body will at some point feel the wear and tear. Doesn't know if she might need to limit her schedule to bring her best tennis.

Sometimes the fans of players have bigger rivalries than the players themselves.

 

[Denis]

Thanks bb.

 

[britbox]

Thanks bb.

What do you expect of Djoker this year Denis?

 

[mrzz]

Thanks for the transcript, BB. I always liked Blake and I miss guys like him and Davydenko blasting the ball like mad. One of the most impressive tennis videos I know is from a match between him and Federer. I guess it was Twisted, or some other hard core Federer fan (House?) that posted it on the old tennis.com foruns. I would guess it is Indian Wells around 2005. Two crazy SOB´s trying to hit winners from every corner of the court. The sound of the strikes is like a hammer on an anvil...

By the way I felt bad for Blake in the 2015 (?) USOPEN, when he had that unfortunate incident with the police. It struck me that no player supported him publicly at the time... either the top guys privately did something (which is surely what matters most), or the guy has a giant objectivity and a thick skin...

 

[britbox]

Thanks for the transcript, BB. I always liked Blake and I miss guys like him and Davydenko blasting the ball like mad. One of the most impressive tennis videos I know is from a match between him and Federer. I guess it was Twisted, or some other hard core Federer fan (House?) that posted it on the old tennis.com foruns. I would guess it is Indian Wells around 2005. Two crazy SOB´s trying to hit winners from every corner of the court. The sound of the strikes is like a hammer on an anvil...

By the way I felt bad for Blake in the 2015 (?) USOPEN, when he had that unfortunate incident with the police. It struck me that no player supported him publicly at the time... either the top guys privately did something (which is surely what matters most), or the guy has a giant objectivity and a thick skin...

I vaguely remember the video but can't recall the tournament or who posted it. That incident with Blake at the USO was pretty disgraceful - totally unnecessary.

 

[Carol]

Hmmm, funny...usually Blake has good points but I don't think this time ........
For example....Federer at 35 years old has been out of the court for the first time in his career. It means that besides to be 5 years older than Rafa he has played months by months, years for years a bunch of matches more than Rafa who has been out of the court several months since he became a profesional player so that "record" about the miles is very clear who has more .
If Muzz has risen a little bit because a decline of Novak then we could say that the decline of Federer and the injuries of the some top players has helped Novak too
Novak has a coach, he is not alone and his profesional history has told us that he always has needed more than one coach
And about who is going to win the AO I see that he doesn't want to make any controversy.
The point that I agree with him is that the fans of players have bigger rivalries than the player themselves, for sure

 

[Federberg]

Hmmm, funny...usually Blake has good points but I don't think this time ........
For example....Federer at 35 years old has been out of the court for the first time in his career. It means that besides to be 5 years older than Rafa he has played months by months, years for years a bunch of matches more than Rafa who has been out of the court several months since he became a profesional player so that "record" about the miles is very clear who has more .
If Muzz has risen a little bit because a decline of Novak then we could say that the decline of Federer and the injuries of the some top players has helped Novak too
Novak has a coach, he is not alone and his profesional history has told us that he always has needed more than one coach
And about who is going to win the AO I see that he doesn't want to make any controversy.
The point that I agree with him is that the fans of players have bigger rivalries than the player themselves, for sure

Few people would argue that Rafa has more miles in the tank than Roger. It's not about the number of matches played, it's about efficiency of movement and the ease with which those matches were won

 

[Carol]

Few people would argue that Rafa has more miles in the tank than Roger. It's not about the number of matches played, it's about efficiency of movement and the ease with which those matches were won

I skipped that 'detail'. Roger always has had a very good serve which has helped a lot to certain movement but I have seen him running like crazy many times and not winning so easy like his fans insists to say

 

[Federberg]

I skipped that 'detail'. Roger always has had a very good serve which has helped a lot to certain movement but I have seen him running like crazy many times and not winning so easy like his fans insists to say

Not sure what point you're trying to make. Stop trying to make this about Roger vs Rafa.. use your eyes. So what if some of Roger's matches involve him running around a lot? All of Rafa's matches, even the easy ones, involve far more miles. That's the point

 

[Carol]

Not sure what point you're trying to make. Stop trying to make this about Roger vs Rafa.. use your eyes. So what if some of Roger's matches involve him running around a lot? All of Rafa's matches, even the easy ones, involve far more miles. That's the point

Because I use my eyes and not yours it's why I have diferent opinion than your. It doesn't matter short or long matches , 5 more years playing and plus never being out of the court it means a bunch of more tournaments and miles in the legs/body, period, it doesn't matter what his fans like to believe

 

[Federberg]

Because I use my eyes and not yours it's why I have diferent opinion than your. It doesn't matter short or long matches , 5 more years playing and plus never being out of the court it means a bunch of more tournaments and miles in the legs/body, period, it doesn't matter what his fans like to believe

Sigh.. it's not about his fans. Anyway moving on..

 

[Denis]

What do you expect of Djoker this year Denis?

Hard to say tbh. I'll go with 2 slams, RG title will be defended. Don't expect anything at Wimbledon, and I guess he'll lose one match at either the USO or the AO.