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WIMBLEDONJune 29, 2015John IsnerLONDON, ENGLAND J. ISNER/G. Soeda THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. You were heckling people from in here. You must be in a pretty good mood? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, good mood. Generally in a better mood when you win. If I lost, I probably wouldn't have been in such a good mood. Q. But you got out in three. JOHN ISNER: It was a quick day. Azarenka before me, her match was quick. My match was pretty quick, as well.  It's nice. I'm always a guy that wants to play the first day and wants to play pretty early. That's what I had today, so it was good. Q. Why is that? Why first day and play early? JOHN ISNER: I just like to get it over with, win or lose. I mean, it's nice. I have tomorrow off, and I don't have to sweat anything out. That's just my preference. It worked out this way. Q. Would you say on a scale of 1 to 10 that you played like 8? JOHN ISNER: Oh, no. I served a 9 probably. Served very well. I was actually pretty nervous in the first set. I wasn't swinging out on my shots and not playing aggressive enough in the first set, but... Q. Why was that? JOHN ISNER: I said I was nervous. That's why. But I loosened up and played better towards the end of the match. Q. At a slam is it easier following a women's match that can go less than an hour? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, Azarenka, obviously she's one of the best. I started warming up at like 3‑1 in the first set. I knew it could possibly ‑‑well, I warm up, and it takes me a lot longer to get warmed up, a lot of stuff I have to do to get ready for a match and I was still a bit rushed, actually. Q. Some people say women should play best of five or same schedule. I don't know what your stance is on that or how much longer that would make these days? JOHN ISNER: Oh, that would make it longer. For me I would probably not prefer that. Still, you can have a lot of quick three‑out‑of‑five‑set matches. I think for the guys' sake, playing behind women ‑‑I know women playing behind guys, they are going to have to wait out some matches sometimes, but for us, I would prefer to keep it to three. Q. Do you remember who was after you five years ago, who was waiting for that match? JOHN ISNER: No. That's a good trivia question. Do you? Q. No. It could not have been fun. JOHN ISNER: No. Gosh, that's a good question. I think it was a women's match. Q. I think so, too. JOHN ISNER: Yeah. Q. What does Arthur Ashe's legacy mean to you as people are thinking about the 40th anniversary of his defeat of Jimmy Connors here? JOHN ISNER: Well, I mean, he did unbelievable things for the game. I mean, on the men's side, he was such a great player and he's just, you know, respected so much. Obviously I never knew him, but the people that I know that knew him respected him so much, and he paved the way for a lot of athletes, a lot of tennis players behind him. He's left a huge, huge mark on this game. Not just tennis, but especially on tennis. Q. Is there anything that you have heard that is especially striking to you about the sacrifices he made or the stances that he took? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, absolutely. Well, I mean, I have heard James Blake talk about Arthur Ashe and how he followed in his footsteps and what Arthur Ashe did that made it possible for James. It's amazing to see. I mean, as I said, he did so many great things. As I said earlier, he paved the way for players behind him and players like James Blake. Q. Is there anything else in tennis like the queue here and how special it is for these fans to line up for hours? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, it's like Krzyzewskiville in Durham. They camp out for the tickets. It's pretty neat. This is a special tournament. Even if you're not a tennis fan, this is something that should be on everyone's Bucket List, I think, just for one day to come here and experience it. Before my match, as everyone was walking around the grounds, I was up top of the cafeteria, you take it all in. It's really cool. Q. Your persona outside the court, you're very lively, bubbly now, but in court you just don't show sometimes emotion at all. You swing quietly. Why the two... JOHN ISNER: Well, sometimes I do show emotion. I generally play better if I kind of keep it cool and don't get down on myself. That's what I tried to do today. Whether I shank the ball over the fence or hit a winner, I just try to stay composed and calm on the court. It definitely works for me. That's something I'm working on, and I don't want to get too, too high and I certainly don't want to get too low on the court, so I try to keep it like here the whole time. Q. You do something outside tennis or just tennis? Hobbies? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I have a lot of hobbies.  I watch all sports. I have said this a lot. Tennis is a sport that I actually watch the least. So I love to fish. I play golf. I live on a golf course in Florida. I love to read. I love to read history and a lot of books regarding history. I love to play with my dog more than anything in the world. That's what I do. Q. What kind of books? JOHN ISNER: Anything. I'm reading a book kind of on the Civil War right now, and books on the American Revolution, stuff like that. History was the one subject that I actually enjoyed (laughter). I did something that I like. Q. From this side of the pond you seem to have done a great job in shouldering American's men's tennis hopes since Andy finished. What do view as still your best chance at a slam, going deep in the slams, which of the slams? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I think it could be this tournament. This surface, it helps my serve a lot, for sure. I think I showed that today. You know, even though this is a tournament that I have done the worst at throughout my career, I do believe that I can do very well at this tournament. If I had to pick two slams or, you know, I could do well at, it's this and probably the US Open. I know I can do well at all of them, but as far as conditions go and how my game plays, I would say Wimbledon. I'd put Wimbledon at the top of the list. Q. Do you draw any additional pressure being the leading American male? JOHN ISNER: No, not so much for me. I put enough pressure ‑‑I mean, I try not to put pressure on myself, but I don't feel the pressure as the No. 1 American. I feel the pressure just as me personally. I want to do very well. You go out on the court and there is always going to be nerves. I have been playing pro tennis for a long time, and as I said, I had a lot of nerves out there. It doesn't come from me being the No. 1 American. It comes from me expecting a lot from myself and wanting to do well. Q. When you think about what Serena Williams has the opportunity to do, having won the first two majors, what goes through your mind about the magnitude, the challenge and the way she's playing? JOHN ISNER: Well, I wouldn't know about the magnitude of that challenge. Not many people would. But she's incredible. Arguably the greatest player of all time. You know, she's won the first two, and I think she said earlier that there is a little bit of pressure off of her because she hasn't performed well here the last two years. She certainly always has a lot of pressure on her. She's the person to beat at every single tournament she plays in. She's very professional and focused. She knows what she needs to do. It's not far‑fetched for her to win this and go to NewYork and win that one, as well. Q. What do you enjoy most when you watch her play, or what impresses you the most? JOHN ISNER: I like how she competes more than anything. She does everything so well as far as Xs and Os and hitting the ball. I mean, she's a competitor. You guys have seen it. She goes nuts out there. She hates to lose. All the great champions I think hate to lose more than they actually like to win, I think. I think the same goes for her. Q. You said you don't watch that much tennis compared to other sports, but it seems you knew what Serena said. Do you read a lot of the news? JOHN ISNER: No, that was on the front page of ESPN.com, actually. It's a new website. I read it, nice little quotes. That's all I saw. Q. In general, you don't read... JOHN ISNER: Not too much. I was reading the last few days a lot more about the NBA and NHL draft than tennis. Q. (Indiscernible.) JOHN ISNER: Yeah, obviously I have before, but I don't actively seek out and try to read about myself. Of course I have read a lot of articles on myself, but especially now, just try to keep all the tennis I do between the lines of my match court. And when I'm done with that, just try not to think about tennis too much. Q. You talked about shouldering the burden of being American No. 1. Serena, do you think having her on the women's side and being an American winning so much during the whole time you have been American No. 1 has made life any easier for you in terms of she's helping carry the flag? JOHN ISNER: You know, I didn't think about that. She probably has made my life a little bit easier. I think if I was to say the No. 1 American, period, male and female, it would be a lot more pressure. But she's No. 1 in the world, obviously the No. 1 American. There is a lot, a lot of pressure on her. A lot gets written about her and she gets talked about a lot. So I don't mind necessarily flying under the radar if I can, for sure. Q. Given your appreciation of the other sports, you're a big fan of so many, where do you consider Serena to be on the list of all athletes, not just tennis players? JOHN ISNER: Gosh. I mean, I know I have to give a quick answer. I don't want to snub anyone. But she's up there, for sure. I mean, top 10, top 15 greatest athletes of all time, for sure. It's incredible. Obviously there are so many that are still playing and have played in whatever sport they performed at, but Serena is up there. She's an incredible champion. It's not just tennis. She's one of the best, for sure. Q. All those comebacks at the French Open, five of them I think if I recall correctly, one after another. Have you ever seen a performance like that in sport? JOHN ISNER: Yeah. I mean, I think for her it was ‑‑honestly, I don't think it was that remarkable what she did at the French Open. She was better than the girls she was playing. She got in a hole, but she believed in herself and she was very confident. You know, I think the Red Sox coming back from 3‑nil against the Yankees back in 2004, whenever it was, I think that was pretty impressive. They were pretty big underdogs. Serena is the favorite in every match she plays. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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