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SAP OPEN MEDIA CONFERENCEJanuary 29, 2013John IsnerGREG SHARKO: Good evening and thanks for joining in for our call with top American John Isner, who is in Jacksonville, Florida, preparing for this weekend's Davis Cup tie against Brazil. Following the tie, John will be the No. 2 seed in the SAP Open beginning on February 11th. He will then play the U.S. National Indoor Championships in Memphis, and continue on with tournaments in Delray Beach and ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami. Last season John ranked in the top 10 for 18 weeks before ending up the year‑end best 14 in the Emirates ATP rankings and the No. 1 American for the first time in his career. He repeated ATP titles in Newport and Winston‑Salem and reached his first ATP Masters final in Indian Wells where he defeated world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. John also beat Roger Federer in a first‑round Davis Cup tie in Switzerland helping the U.S. to the semifinals. Before we open it up, I'm going to introduce Mark leer from Shark Sports and Entertainment. MIKE LEHR: I am the executive vice president here for Shark Sports and Entertainment and the tournament director for the last year of the SAP Open and also oversee our Memphis property with Peter Lebedevs, who is on the call as well. Thank you for joining the call. Just going to give you two seconds about the tournament and a change that we're going to announce today. The tournament will begin on Monday. We have a great field this year, which includes obviously the No.1 ranked American in John Isner. John, welcome back. We're very pleased to have you coming to San Jose. We will also feature an exhibition match on Saturday evening which will have Steffi Graf, Andy Roddick, Lindsay Davenport and Justin Gimelstob. We have a full week planned, a full field, the Bryan brothers on the doubles side, and seven of the top 30 players in the world will be coming to the SAP Open. Correction, it will be six now. We did get notified today that unfortunately Mardy Fish has pulled out of the SAP Open due to continuing health concerns. Jim will be putting out a release on that. Again, I wanted to thank you all for joining us, welcome you. We're looking forward to a great tournament. GREG SHARKO: We'll start with questions. Q. John, can you update us on how you are physically with your knee. JOHN ISNER: Yes. I'm definitely a lot better ever since I left Australia. It's a frustrating injury because if I'm going to have an injury, I'd rather have one to my upper body any day. With my knee, I couldn't do much. The only therapy for it was a lot of ice. You can do a little bit of rehab. But since my issue was on the bone, the major thing was just plain old rest. That's what I've been doing a lot recently. So for me I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things. It's a process. I know I'm a little bit behind the eight ball right now. Q. How long have you been playing since coming back? JOHN ISNER: Like today was actually my hardest practice. I actually had a full day of practice for the first time since Australia. I've only hit balls probably three times, though. Q. Your thoughts on this being the last SAP Open. What are your thoughts going into this tournament? JOHN ISNER: For me, it's really sad to see it go. It's a tournament I have played in the past. I believe it's been two years since I played this event. GREG SHARKO: '09. JOHN ISNER: So for me, like I said, it's going to be sad seeing it go. It's a phenomenal field this year. Six players in the top 30 for an ATP 250 event is a very good field. Level of competition is going to be very good and certainly there's going to be some solid tennis played out there. Hopefully we can send this tournament off with a lot of good matches and an exciting final. Q. John, seems there's fewer and fewer tournaments in California, and fewer in the United States. As an American player, does that bother you? Why do you think there are fewer tournaments now? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, it does bother me a little bit. I don't know the exact reason behind it. Maybe it's financials, maybe it's something else. I'm not really at liberty to say. Besides that, there are some tournaments, some other U.S. tournaments, for me. Last couple years I played in Atlanta, which is sort of a hometown tournament for me, also played Winston‑Salem, which is definitely a hometown tournament for me. I think probably the true U.S. season is probably in the summer where there's really a tournament every week leading up to the US Open. But any kind of tournament that leaves the States, which hasn't happened since I've been playing, it's going to be missed. For someone like me it's going to be a week that I probably won't play because I don't foresee myself going overseas in February unless it's for a Davis Cup tie. For me and for other Americans, we're very sad to see it go. Q. What are the mental challenges like for you having to start your year a little later? You're not used to that. JOHN ISNER: Yeah, there's a lot of challenges. Every player wants to get off to a good start in the year. That's what I wasn't able to do. It's even more frustrating the fact I went all the way down there and I wasn't able to compete. It is what it is. It could always be worse, that's for sure. I'm definitely not complaining. I've done my best to try to get back to 100%. I'm really going to try my hardest to hit the ground running. These tournaments coming up for me are very, very important. I need to do well in these. I realize that. Once my health gets back to 100%, I'm going to absolutely try my hardest to get my game in tip‑top shape. Really for me it's a fresh start for sure, which I'm not dwelling on too much. When the Australian Open was going on, I wasn't in the best mood. Now that that tournament is over, I can put it behind me and try to start anew. Q. You had some marquee wins last year, the win over Federer, the win over Novak, a couple wins over Tsonga. What does that do for your self‑belief when you're starting to win those matches? JOHN ISNER: It does a lot. But I've always considered myself a player where I tend to, when I play those guys that are normally ranked higher than me, whether Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, I've never beaten him, but those are the matches that I play this game for. For me, I've found myself in the last couple years, I've stumbled in matches against players ranked lower than me. For me, the hard part is getting to the part in the tournament where I can get a crack at those guys. As long as I can do that, I take the court believing I can beat these guys. I did that last year. When I play these guys next time, whether it's this year or the following year, I'll take that belief to the court because I have done it before and I really believe I can do it. Q. Do you think you're going to play Davis Cup? JOHN ISNER: It's TBD right now, to be determined. I actually feel pretty good ‑ better than I thought actually. Like I said, today was my hardest day of practice. Practicing tomorrow morning could be a telltale sign, if I wake up sore. When I did play a few matches in Australia, I would wake up in the morning and I wasn't able to go at all. I don't foresee that being the case tomorrow. I feel my health is close to 100% if not 100%. For me the battle is to try to get my game and myself in good shape. I can ride the stationary bike as long as I want, but it's not going to get me in good match shape. There is good shape and good match shape.  The only way to get in good match shape is to play live matches, playing pressure‑packed matches, and I don't have that. Collectively as a team, myself, Captain Courier, the team doctors, will have to make the decision. It will probably be by tomorrow night. Q. Coming out of Melbourne, obviously Sloane and Madison and Jamie on the women's side had good runs, Lepchenko did okay. On the men's side, it's really just Ryan as the only young guy in the top 100. Why do you think there's such a difference? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I don't really know what the case is. Obviously Ryan, as far as the young American players go, he is definitely leading that pack. But there's some guys behind him. Jack Sock, there's some guys that have just finished up college.  Steve Johnson, Bradley Klahn is one you'll be hearing from in the future. It may seem like American tennis is down a little bit, but I don't really see that's the case. When I get to 100%, I feel like I'll be up in the top 20 in the world. Sam will be in the top 20 in the world. When Mardy Fish can get healthy, it's only a matter of time he's so naturally good at the game. We do have a good crop of players. I don't think it's as bad as a lot of people portray it to be. Q. Just a fun question. You're known for that certain match that happened at Wimbledon. If you could spend 11 hours and 5 minutes doing anything, outside the sexual arena, what would that be? JOHN ISNER: It would probably be fishing on a boat with my dog. Q. On a stream, lake, ocean? JOHN ISNER: Lake. Q. In Carolina? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, in Carolina. Q. Going back to 2012, wins over Federer and Djokovic, just assess the year. Was it kind of where you wanted to be at this time of your career? JOHN ISNER: Yeah. 2012, it was a very good year for me, for sure. I definitely had a handful of marquee wins. I had one really good tournament at Indian Wells, then once again I sort of picked my season back up in the summer where I didn't play as well in Europe. I had another very good summer. It was a good year. I was proud of that. But I did not perform well at the slams. That's something in 2013 I wanted to improve on. Haven't done that yet because I wasn't able to play in Australia. I would really like to be more consistent. I would like to play better in Europe. I would like to play better in Asia. I got to get to the point where I play really good tennis outside of the United States and outside of the Davis Cup atmosphere. I'm maturing. I'm 27. But I feel like I'm still maturing as far as that goes. I was happy about my year in 2012 certainly, but hope I can obviously do better in 2013. Q. What did it mean with Andy Roddick's retirement to move into the top‑ranked American spot? Was that title welcomed? Was there pressure with it? JOHN ISNER: Well, I don't feel like there was much pressure. I welcomed it. It's something I've always wanted to achieve, and I did, which was cool for me. It is what it is. I haven't felt any pressure. I know if I'm going to try to keep that spot, I'm going to have to play very, very well this year. It's good, like I mentioned, the guys, Sam, Mardy, Ryan, we're all pushing each other, so it's only going to help each other's games. Q. As far as your schedule this year, are you trying to maybe alter that some, not play so many events? JOHN ISNER: Yes. For me, I do have to manage my schedule a little better. 2012 was pretty odd in the fact it was an Olympic year. That's one trip to Europe. All three of our Davis Cup ties were in Europe. I made seven separate trips to Europe, which is pretty unheard of. That's not going to happen in 2013. I think that in itself took a little bit out of me. After the US Open I was pretty gassed, as I normally am when my US Open ends. But especially this year, I played a lot in the summer, in the heat, won a lot of matches. But US Open I needed some time off, but I wasn't able to get it. We had to go to Davis Cup and play Spain in the semifinals, which I certainly welcomed, but I didn't feel like I was 100% going into that match. I definitely wore myself out last year. Some of it myself; some of it not so much. I sort of fell victim of the schedule with Davis Cup and the Olympics. It's something I'm definitely going to think about in 2013 and try to be fresher for the big events, whether it's Masters Series or Grand Slams. Q. John, you got a taste early in your career to see Andy and James and the Bryans win that Davis Cup title in Portland. You've since had some big Davis Cup wins of your own. Do you view those wins as big as any on the tour, marquee wins at the slams? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, no, absolutely. I was practice partner for those guys in the finals in Portland when they won it all. I know all those guys poured their heart and souls out into Davis Cup, and the Bryan brothers are still doing it. For me, I sort of saw their dedication and passion. I knew if my name was ever called to play Davis Cup, I wanted to try to have that same dedication and passion that those guys did. Davis Cup is very, very important to me. I'm finally getting a home match. This is my eighth match, and I never played one at home. I'm looking forward to that opportunity. If we could get by Brazil, I don't know who we would have in the next round. GREG SHARKO: Serbia or Belgium. JOHN ISNER: We're certainly not overlooking Brazil, but Davis Cup is a trophy that's very, very hard to win. But I do think we have a team that can win it, especially with the Bryan brothers being our doubles point, having the greatest doubles team of all time. We have a very solid team. We had a great year last year, but this year we're going to try to go a little bit farther. Q. John, I wanted to ask you about drugs, the fallout from Lance Armstrong, people are chirping about Rafa here and there. What are your thoughts about drugs in tennis? JOHN ISNER: I don't know. I can't say. I know that some people may have their suspicions about some of the top players in the game. I think those guys are just supremely fit because those guys work as hard as they possibly can and they're very, very talented. There may be some, I don't know, cheating going on in tennis, but I am really not at liberty to say. But I do think in general tennis players are in phenomenal shape and can do incredible things on the court. In my opinion, it's more rampant in other arenas than it is in tennis. Q. Pretty physical Australian Open, didn't you think? JOHN ISNER: Yeah. I didn't watch much of it, but I saw some of the scores. That's how it normally is. It's always very hot down there. Sure enough, the top guys were the ones that were standing at the end. Those guys are in incredible shape. They've been doing it for a long time. Tennis is a very grueling and demanding sport and most of us are in pretty good shape. Q. Could you make a couple comments on Delray Beach. You made the semifinals last year. Just comment on coming back this year. JOHN ISNER: Yeah, Delray Beach was actually a very important tournament for me. I felt like I played well in Delray. I lost in the semifinals, but I played well in Delray. I played some pretty good tennis afterwards in Indian Wells. It's a tournament that I can drive to. There's only two tournaments I can do that, Delray Beach and Miami. For me it is an easy choice to go to. I'm really hoping to go a couple steps further than I did last year. I always enjoy my time there. The city is beautiful and the competition is always tough. It's going to be a tournament I want to do well at. PETER LEBEDEVS: This is Peter here in Memphis. Can you tell us what you like about Memphis? We have pushed our stands back this year after I watched you playing last year and somebody in the front row got binged with the ball. Tell us what you like about Memphis. JOHN ISNER: I love Memphis because I'm a southern boy and Memphis is really in the heart of the South. There's a lot of southern hospitality and a lot of good tennis fans there. I have hit some people in the past with my serve. It's a tournament that I like the surface, I like the court, I like the atmosphere, I like everything going on there. I'm always very comfortable there. I have played very good tennis there before. I'm looking to do that again this year. It's important for me as far as my year goes, especially in 2013 because I haven't played much at all. I'm very excited to get back to Memphis. It's certainly one of my favorite tournaments. PETER LEBEDEVS: We're looking forward to having you back and kicking things off Tuesday night at 7:00. Q. On the critical question of fishing with your dog, what kind of dog do you have and what is his or her name? JOHN ISNER: English cocker spaniel named McGill. Q. Is that after the Georgia coach? JOHN ISNER: Yes. He just turned 92 or 93. GREG SHARKO: Thanks, again, everyone for your time. Before we let you go, the one big prediction on Sunday's big game? We have some Bay Area media, so keep that in mind, too. JOHN ISNER: I'm going to go with SanFrancisco. GREG SHARKO: You have a scoreline for us? JOHN ISNER: We'll go 30‑24. GREG SHARKO: Good luck this weekend in Jacksonville and we look forward to seeing you out in San Jose. JOHN ISNER: Thanks, guys. GREG SHARKO: Thanks, everyone. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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