James Blake has spent plenty of time with his two young kids at his home in Connecticut and recently became a coaching consultant to American prospect Jack Sock. But Blake’s first year after retiring from tennis became a little too eventful, linked to a national tragedy.
In May, at the 6,000-square foot mansion Blake owned in the Tampa, Fla. area, a husband shot his wife and two teenage children in the head, then burnt the house down after scattering gasoline and fireworks around the estate, killing himself. The family rented from Blake and the triple murder/suicide rocked him to the core. He never met the tenants. A real-estate company handled his renters.
Blake, who will attend the U.S. Open Sunday to do a Q&A session with fans at the Time Warner Cable studio area, reflected on the tragedy with The Post Thursday after watching Sock’s doubles match.
“It was definitely unsettling, so sad,’’ said Blake, the Yonkers product who attended Harvard. “As a parent, I don’t understand what could enter someone’s mind, taking your kids’ lives. My thoughts were just with the family members. I never met them but I have friends there. It’s a small community and they knew the family. There was a lot of grieving. I’m thousands of miles away, but it’s pretty unsettling something like that going on in your house.’’
Blake hadn’t lived in the mansion since 2011 after spending six years there. “It’s all gone now — just an empty lot,’’ Blake said.
Blake is safely tucked away in Fairfield, Conn. spending lots of time with his young kids — no regrets after retiring after losing his first-round match last September at the Open. This is the first year Blake hasn’t played the Open since 2004. He played it from 1999 to 2013 — missing the one year.
“I miss the adrenaline rush, the feeling right at the beginning of the match when you really feel prepared and ready to go,’’ Blake said. “That’s the fun part, the reward. I don’t miss the travel, the regimented life, living out of the suitcase. I know how lucky I am to be 34 years old, spending all this time with my two young kids. Guys my age can’t do that — they’re off to work.’’
Blake doesn’t want to be a full-time coach because of the travel but is keeping his hand in it, assisting in the coaching of Sock, whose main guy is Troy Hahn.
“I’m helping out with a lot of the bigger picture-stuff,’’ Blake said. “The coaches bounce a lot of stuff off each other. Coaches give too much information sometimes and have the player thinking too much so we try to filter the message.’’
Sock, 21, retired in the first round with cramps but Blake believes he’s on track.
“I don’t think a lot is missing. He’s on the right track despite the hiccup at the Open,’’ Blake said. “I think he’s getting into better shape and going in the right direction.’’