Interview with John Isner

Written by: Staff on 8th September 2010

Interview with John Isner |

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I know you didn’t get the preparation you wanted for this tournament because of the ankle. Do you think there’s any leftovers physically from Wimbledon, as well?

JOHN ISNER: To be honest, no, I don’t think so, because I felt like it was earlier in the summer. But then in Cincinnati, the way I was feeling and the way I was playing, I could tell that ‑‑ or at least I felt personally that it was behind me, just the way everything was coming along in Cincinnati until I hurt my foot.

So I don’t think tonight, you know, had anything to do with that match, I would say.

Q. It seemed like you had the momentum really on your side after the second set tiebreak all the way into the third. It turned so fast at the end. What happened in the last three or four points of the third set?

JOHN ISNER: Yeah, he’s mentally tough. When I played him in Montréal, it was a similar thing in the first set. I won it in a tiebreaker, but I think he was up. If my memory recalls, I think he was up 5‑2. One of the games he was serving 40‑Love, set point, 40‑Love. I came back and won the set in a tiebreaker.

You would think from there I would have all the momentum. He just keeps with it. That’s a big credit to him. I mean, I definitely did have the momentum, but he just stayed steady and, you know, just outplayed me a little bit.

Q. Was fatigue a factor at all in the end?

JOHN ISNER: No. It’s hard to say. I mean, I didn’t feel like I was out of breath or anything out there. But, you know, I just didn’t have the pop I needed on my shots. I wasn’t able to get to the balls like I thought I should have. You know, certain shots, running around a forehand, coming up late, hitting them late.

So, yeah, I was a little bit fatigued. But with that being said, you know, I gave myself every chance to compete in this tournament, ’cause two weeks ago it didn’t look good at all, so…

Yeah, I just didn’t feel that that great out there.

Q. It seemed like it was tough for you to close at net a number of times. He also returned fairly well, right?

JOHN ISNER: He does. It kind of hit me somewhere in the middle of that match. I kind of remembered back to the first time we played, that he kind of sees my serve pretty well ‑ a lot better than 99% of the players out there.

Yeah, so he was able to get a lot of balls back. That was the huge thing: he made me play a lot more balls than I did my first two rounds.

Q. Did you feel like you were playing from behind? You got broken right off the bat. It was uphill almost all the way from then.

JOHN ISNER: Yeah, uh‑huh. I was. I was playing from behind pretty much a lot of that match. I got down, you know, an early break in the second, got down another break in the second. Yeah, I just started off sloppy. That was just horrible on my part. Just came out and missed literally four easy balls. Put me in a hole right from the get‑go.

It’s tough playing from behind like that. You know, it takes so much energy to try to come back from a hole like that. So maybe that had something to do with it, too.

Q. Your ankle was good? It held up?

JOHN ISNER: Pain‑wise it was fine, yes.

Q. Does that mean you weren’t really getting a good enough push and felt slow at the first step?

JOHN ISNER: I didn’t feel ‑‑ I’m not the fastest guy out there, but I didn’t feel as explosive. My legs I think just didn’t have the bend that I needed to on my serve, on my groundstrokes.

Yeah, I mean, like I said, I mean, I wasn’t dealt the greatest hand coming into this tournament with really no preparation. So that maybe had something to do with it.

Q. I think in the second set you had five set balls or something, and you seemed to be nervous. How did you feel, because you didn’t play as aggressive in important moments?

JOHN ISNER: Yeah, you’re right. I never really felt comfortable out there the whole match. It’s difficult playing on that court. It’s the first time I ever played at night on that court. The wind kind of swirls around. I don’t know what it was. I just didn’t feel entirely comfortable out there.

You know, I feel like I should have played with my forehand more, and I didn’t. Like you said, I wasn’t going for my shots as much because I didn’t feel like I could hit ‘em big and hit ‘em with a good margin.

Really wasn’t there tonight. But a lot of that, again, you got to give credit to him because he did what he needed to do to win.

Q. Would you like to take some time off now to recover? Do you know what you want to do?

JOHN ISNER: Uhm, yeah. Well, I have I guess now Sunday night, and I’m going to Colombia for Davis Cup. I believe my flight’s in six days. As of right now, it’s myself, Mardy, and Sam. Maybe they won’t be on my flight. Maybe they’ll be playing on Saturday and Sunday.

But for me, I have six days. I’ll probably take a couple days off of tennis. I have to still keep on my ankle and keep getting that stronger, because it’s not where it needs to be right now.

Q. Would it be smart to not play for the long‑term?

JOHN ISNER: That’s hard to answer. I feel like I need to play. I mean, I played the first one. You know, I lost two singles matches in the first one. That’s one of the reasons we’re at Colombia, so I have to try to get us out of that hole.

Q. I know you were looking forward to playing on Ashe as the headline tonight. With that in mind, how disappointing was this?

JOHN ISNER: Yeah, it’s disappointing. I mean, I felt going into the match that I had ‑‑ I thought I was going to win. I take the court with that mentality every time. I would have liked to have played better out there.

But being said, nothing beats playing a night match at the US Open on that court. You know, I’ll get back in that situation and I’ll play better. With experience, as long as I keep putting myself in the right situation, doing that, I’ll play better next time.

Q. Sam was saying earlier that he thought it would be great if you and Mardy had all been scheduled in Ashe in the earlier rounds so that it wasn’t these big matchups, and suddenly, poof, you’re there playing on America’s biggest tennis stage. Do you agree? Do you think it would have benefited you to play on that court in your first and second round?

JOHN ISNER: I think so, for sure. It would have. You know, I didn’t hit a ball on that court, no practice or anything prior to this match. Same with my opponent, Mikhail. He certainly didn’t play any of his first two matches on that court. So it was the same for both of us, and he dealt with it better.

But, without a doubt, had I been a little bit more comfortable on that court it probably would have helped, but it was the same for both of us. He handled it better.

Q. Does your ankle need rest or are you rehabbing it? What does it need?

JOHN ISNER: It needs strengthening back. You know, rehab for my ankle, it’s not that grueling. It’s just stuff to kind of build the muscles around the ankle and get them stronger.

So I don’t think it needs rest. I think it needs to get stronger, because that will help everything if I get my ankle stronger.

Q. So you’re going to Colombia. The Bryan brothers aren’t going, or one of you guys are going to play singles?

JOHN ISNER: As I know now, myself, Mardy, and Sam are going. I can’t speak for the Bryans right now. I don’t know what their decision is. I know scheduled it’s myself, Mardy and Sam.

Q. Do you still get in touch with players with whom you played for college, and maybe did some of them come to support you?

JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I keep in touch with a lot of my college friends, some of my opponents in college. I always keep in touch with my head coach, as well. He was in my box tonight. So I do keep in contact with a lot, a lot of people back in Georgia.

Topics: Balls, Cincinnati, Fatigue, Forehand, Four Points, Games, Interview Questions, John Isner, Leftovers, Little Bit, Love, Match, Memory, Momentum, Tiebreaker, Wimbledon