Tennis Star James Blake Is Not Into Airheads

by Marnie Hanel

Who was your celebrity crush when you were growing up?
Hmmm. Well, I’d have to say Kelly Bundy from Married with Children. I was 13, it was the most popular show on TV, and she was hot. But it was just based on looks—I’m not into the whole airhead thing.

You know Christina Applegate is back on the market, and so are you. Are you going to look her up?
(Laughter.) I’ve never met her! This was just a distant crush. And I think she’s older than me. Isn’t she?

Well, yes—she’s 35 and you’re 27. But age is just a number! How do you spot women who are only after you because you’re famous?
Usually the ones who are interested for the wrong reasons are pretty easy to detect. But I also take them
around to my coach, my friends, my family. My friends have a pact: We promise to tell each other whenever we think that a person is short-changing himself in a relationship. We’ve all seen marriages
that are loveless and we don’t want to end up like that. So it’s like, “You gotta tell me, man.” I trust my friends.

Brian Barker has been your coach since you were 11. So, you’re a one-coach kind of man. Are you a one-woman kind of man?
(Laughter.) Definitely. I’ve never cheated on a girlfriend and I never will. When you’re on the road all the time, it’s important that your girlfriend can trust you. And that’s never been an issue.

Do you have a type?
Physically? No. I’ve dated all types. Personality? I tend to go for people who are cheerful, outgoing, see the bright side of life. Not overly so, though. I’m not into—for lack of a better word—motormouths. I need to be quiet sometimes.

When you shaved your dreads, you lost $1 million in endorsements. Have you been surprised by the interest in your looks?
I’ve changed my hair a lot throughout my life—and it just so happened that when I started playing professionally, I had dreads. I noticed a lot of the coverage was about the way I looked. But, well,
look at Andre Agassi. He got a lot of attention for his hair, and when he shaved it off, he came back an even better player. I wanted to see what it would do for me. I wanted the focus to be on my game.