World number 100 James Blake has admitted that he will miss the sport after being forced into retirement on Thursday.
The 33-year-old, who said on Monday that the US Open would be his final tennis tournament, was beaten in a five-set thriller by qualifier Ivo Karlovic at Flushing Meadows.
While he is disappointed to have ended his career in the way he did, Blake is happy with his time in the sport.
"It's not a fun way to do it, but only one guy's holding the trophy at the end of this two weeks," said Blake. "I wished it was me. I did everything to prepare as if it could be me. It's not.
"I'm never going to have 15,000, 20,000 people cheering for me, chanting USA, screaming my name, that kind of stuff. I'm lucky enough to have had that for 14 years. I try to look at the positives. Most people never have had that. Most people in the world will never be able to relate to that.
"I'm looking forward to a new stage in my life. I'll miss this one. I could have finished this year a little better, this tournament, but to expect to win more matches in my mind would just be greedy."
Blake reached world number four during one stage of his career.
Matt Cotton
