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INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

May 19, 2017

John Isner

Rome, Italy

J. ISNER/M. Cilic

7-6, 2-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Another good win. What made the difference out there today?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I just felt like I kept my composure out there. I knew it was going to be a tough match. He was playing well coming into this match. As I said yesterday, you know, he won a title a couple weeks ago and had two pretty comprehensive wins prior to this match, so I knew he was feeling pretty good about his game.

Again, going against me is a very different story. I'm going to win a lot of quick points, so I knew at the very least I was going to be in the match. That's exactly what happened.

I felt like I played well when it mattered, and it's good to win a match like that. I have certainly lost a bunch like that the last two years, really.

So I'm happy to get through. It was a very good win. Again, I thought I played well. I thought Marin did, also. He was really tough from the back of the court, and he served well on top of that. It was a very good win for me.

Q. Do you feel the conditions this week have sort of played into your favor and also into the favor of the other guys in the top half? Because you're all 6'5", 6'6", 6'7"?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, it's a tall group up top. The conditions are great. Of course, the weather has been perfect all week.

I mean, I have played this tournament before and it's rained and been cloudy and been a little cold before.

Hasn't been the case this week at all. It's been not too hot, but it's been sunny, hot, and the ball is getting up. So again, I said this yesterday, it's very good for tall players, you know, having the ball bounce up and get up high. It helps our serve, of course, because it makes it difficult for our opponents to reach those. And for us from the back of the court gives us, you know, an opportunity to go after the ball because it's sitting chest level.

Q. How you can explain the result on clay? You play well on clay, but the best result you have 2012 when you beat the last top 10 on clay. First of all, how you can explain this. Something change in your game? Practice or coach? And second one, people maybe many times doesn't know, but the big serve, they think a lot, because they have to choose place, choose everything, change pace. So starting from that, what do you think about Zverev, how you are to play against him?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, well, for me personally it doesn't matter that the surface -- I feel I can play well on all surfaces. Nothing changes for me. Whether I'm playing on grass, hard, or clay, it's the same recipe. I'm going to serve and hold my serve a lot. I can hold my serve in mud out there, really. So I like my serve no matter the surface.

It just so happens to be that this week I'm sort of putting it together. Clay can be a great surface for me, but I also can play poorly on clay.

Again, the surface doesn't matter at all, because for me, as I said, nothing changes for me. I'm not gonna be at the back of the court winning, playing defensively, whether that's on hard court, clay court, or grass court. It's all the same, as I said.

So it's just me putting it together this week. If this tournament was on hard court, I could be in the semifinals, as well.

Against Sascha, it's an extremely tough match. I actually know him very well, since he was very young. I practice with him a bunch, and I played him two times and I'm 0-2. I would certainly love to get some revenge on him. But he's playing remarkably well, and it was only a matter of time, in my opinion, before he started having results like this.

Certainly very confident. He's a confident kid. He carries himself -- he has a lot of swagger. He's just got a lot of talent, unbelievable talent, but he also works extremely hard because I have seen it. It's going to be a tough match.

Q. What are your earliest memories of Sascha? He's been around as just the little brother.
JOHN ISNER: Well, I was practicing with him when he was 14, 15. I'm, like, God, this kid is good. He's also making some tight calls in practice. (Laughter.) Don't tell him I said that.

No, I mean, I'm, like, Goddang, this kid is going pro? I would ask my coach. Yeah, he's going pro. He's unbelievable and hits the ball so well. He emerged really two years ago, but last year he made a huge jump, and now he's even jumped further.

What is he, 20? Just turned 20, like, couple weeks ago. His future is very bright, that's for sure.

Q. What do you make from the outside seeing the Zverev family traveling together, like a unit, highest-ranked brothers together in a while. Seeing them move as a group, what do you make of that dynamic?
JOHN ISNER: It is a good unit. Mischa, having a good year. Of course, he had an incredible Australian Open. Those two are always supporting each other.

Their parents, on top of that, are incredible people. I've gotten to know them, as well. They are just so unassuming. They don't gloat about anything. They just go about their business.

They have a plan for their kids. They have a plan for Sascha, and it seems to be working out. Sascha listens to them. He listens to his dad, his coach, his physio, his trainer. He has a lot of the right pieces in place.

He wants to be very, very good. You can see that. It's pretty evident. He's on the right track.

Q. When you're playing younger tennis players, does age play a role? Do you feel, like, quite comfortable because you are more experienced than them? Do you feel maybe less pressure playing them?
JOHN ISNER: That's a pretty good question. No, I don't feel less pressure. I think when you're growing up and playing junior tennis, if I was 12 playing a 14-year-old, I always felt like it was a really big difference. I was 12, and the 14-year-old is just more mature.

Now everyone is just extremely mature. I am pretty much exactly 12 years older than Sascha. I'm not going to play many people as young as him.

I guess I do have experience, but he has the young legs and the just the carefree attitude out there. But at this stage, when you get to this stage playing pros, you sort of throw age out the window.

For me, this will be a big match for me. I don't know how many semifinals like this I have left in me. I hope I have a bunch, but Sascha is going to be at this stage a bunch in the coming years. I will be looking forward to tomorrow.

Q. Have you ever envied the Zverevs traveling with their dog? You're the only player who has a dog food sponsorship.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah. My dog's a little -- he's unfortunately a little too big, little overweight. He's like 35 pounds. You can't travel with him. So their dog, Lovik, he's just this little toy poodle. He weighs like six pounds maybe.

I like that dog a lot, as well. He's pretty cool. He fits in with the family. It's a cool family and they have a cool dog. I am a bit envious of that.

Q. Would you ever get a more portable dogs?
JOHN ISNER: Well, my girlfriend has two portable dogs, and they were in Indian Wells with us. I love them to death. But for me -- you know, I like dogs of all sizes. I'm just a dog guy.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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