With Mark Shapiro, Serena Williams and Stephen Ross, Blake is helping the Miami Open put down roots in the concrete heart of the city (left). As a Tennis Channel commentator, he remains connected to the tour and its players.
Last year, Blake’s mix of political savvy and playing experience helped him step onto a new platform, when he was hired by the Miami Open to be its tournament director. In the position, Blake serves as a liaison between players and officials, and gives the event a familiar and popular public face. But his first year on the job wasn’t all smooth sailing. After losing to local favorite Monica Puig, top seed Caroline Wozniacki claimed that her family had received death threats from fans during the match. Blake’s response, that courtside staff and security hadn’t been notified of any threats, wasn’t strong enough for Wozniacki, who talked about boycotting the tournament next year.
In 2019, Blake has faced a new challenge: tearing up the Miami Open’s 33-year-old roots on the idyllic island of Key Biscayne, and putting them down again in the parking lot of a football arena downtown. After years of trying, and failing, to get approval to renovate and expand in Crandon Park, the tournament finally found room across the bay at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins.
In Dolphins owner and real estate mogul Stephen Ross, it also found a patron who could conceivably match the deep-pocketed commitment that Larry Ellison has brought to the Miami Open’s chief rival, the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Ross will oversee construction of a 13,800-seat temporary stadium court inside the arena, and a permanent facility outside Hard Rock Stadium that will house 12 match courts and 18 practice courts.
While the transition may not be a natural one for players and longtime fans, Blake likes what he sees so far.
“I’m excited about the move,” Blake says. “I think some players may have wondered what [the facility] would be like, but they’ve seen the renderings, and I think they understand how beautiful it can be.”
If advance ticket sales are an indication, the same seems to be true of fans. By January, sales were up 22 percent over the same time in 2018.
“You don’t normally associate tennis with football, but sports fans are sports fans, and I think we’ve done a good job tapping into the Dolphins base,” Blake says about the reaction. “It will also be easier for people north of the city, in Broward County and Palm Beach, to come down.”
The tournament’s move will be another learning experience for Blake.
“I’ve got a new appreciation for what goes into running a tournament,” he says. “Just putting together the schedule each day. As a player, you’re like, ‘What’s the problem? Just put it out!’ But there are so many intricacies to it, so many chefs in the kitchen.”
Blake says there are “added elements” he can bring to the event, through his knowledge of the players’ perspective, and his relationships with the game’s older stars. He’s pleased that Serena and Venus Williams, Novak Djokovic, Nadal and Federer can still be potential drawing cards in Miami.
“I think it’s great, because we’re witnessing history,” Blake says of the continued dominance of these veterans. “I’m also partial, because I played against them and with them, and I think they’re incredible human beings. Whether it’s Alexander Zverev or Felix Auger-Aliassime who makes a big move, I’m not worried about the next generation. The transition will come.”