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THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 9, 2018

John Isner

Wimbledon, London, England

J. ISNER/S. Tsitsipas

6-4, 7-6, 7-6

JOHN ISNER: This is what this press room is like (laughter).

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I'm guessing you have been in here.
JOHN ISNER: It's been eight years (smiling).

Q. How does it feel getting into the quarterfinals and into this room?
JOHN ISNER: It feels great. I knew I had a good chance out there today. Just needed to execute my game plan. I felt like I did that pretty well. So I'm very happy to be in the quarters.

Feeling good. Definitely confident that I can keep going.

Q. What was your game plan?
JOHN ISNER: Well, take care of my serve. Do a lot of serve and volley. Just stay calm. That's of course easier said than done.

When I find myself in a good place on the court mentally, not getting frustrated when I miss a chance, things just generally turn out well for me. That was the case today.

Q. Seven years since your last slam quarterfinal. You've made a lot of great results elsewhere, Masters. What took so long?
JOHN ISNER: That's a good question.

I don't know. Maybe a little bit of belief and just not playing well, or as well as I can, when I've gotten to the third round, fourth round. Of course, especially when you get to the fourth round, I know I've lost a number of matches in the round of 16. It doesn't get easier.

A lot of the times I've been the lower-ranked guy in that match. I feel like I've been seeded 13, 14-ish a lot, go up against some top-8 players. That has a lot to do with it, as well.

Now I'm in the quarters. I want to keep going.

Q. How would you describe the similarities between you and Milos? What does the matchup come down to?
JOHN ISNER: Well, there's a good chance it's going to come down to a few points here and there. It's strength on strength, for sure. I mean, he serves exceptionally well. He does other things very well, too. He attacks well. He looks for his forehand a lot, which is effective on this surface.

Look, if one of us gets a crack, a few chances, we're going to have to take it. It very well could be a close match. I'm looking forward to it.

Q. What are the differences between you?
JOHN ISNER: I mean, I don't know. I'm taller than him. That's all I got for you right now (smiling).

Q. Having watched you play a bunch this year, seems there's a different approach you're taking to how you're playing. What are some of the things you've done to improve?
JOHN ISNER: I've always worked on my game on the court. I think I've done a lot of really good work off the court, which has allowed me to stay healthy and feel really strong on the court, give me a lot of mental belief that my body's going to hold up no matter how long the match takes.

In this case, if I lost the third set, no big deal.

Q. What are some of those things?
JOHN ISNER: I do a lot of stuff off the court. I don't want to dive into it right now. Just a lot of weight training, a lot of conditioning, just keeping myself as fit as I possibly can.

Q. You seem fairly composed during pauses in play. What is your approach specifically to changeovers in terms of what you're looking to achieve both mentally and physically?
JOHN ISNER: The changeovers are very important. I think it's 90 seconds. Just breathe, have some water, rehydrate, have a bite of something, change my shirt if need be. That break I think I've used, I just calm myself down, get ready for the next two games.

I think this tournament especially so far I've -- I think the change of ends has allowed me to keep myself calm, sort of talk to myself. In my head, just calm myself down, when things aren't really going my way, or when I am facing adversity. I've been using that to my advantage.

Q. People saw you were playing Milos, on Twitter there were a lot of groans. When you watch tennis, do you like big servers versus big servers or Schwartzman versus Ferrer?
JOHN ISNER: Diego is a lot of fun to watch. To be honest, I really don't watch much tennis. I'll watch Fed when he's on. I don't care what people think at all, so... I won't be looking at that on Twitter. I'm not a guy, I won't try to stir any controversy. I won't be tweeting. I don't do that much social media.

Q. As a big server, do you have appreciation for the craft of big serving that other guys have?
JOHN ISNER: I do. Yeah, of course. Everyone is different. That's what makes this sport so unique. You have a guy like Diego who is a tiny guy, he's doing exceptional well. He's 11, 12 in the world. You have a guy like me, much, much taller than him, at 33, doing very well. We come in all shapes and sizes.

There's a lot of tall guys playing extremely well right now. Myself, Milos, Sam of course, Kevin Anderson is playing right now. He's doing amazing things.

It's encouraging to see. It's encouraging for me to see other big guys play well because it gives me belief.

Q. Your earlier times coming here, if you saw this as a very frustrating tournament, and what it feels like to be where you are now? This is your best one.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, certainly this tournament since that long match has sort of been a house of horrors for me. I've lost a lot of close ones since that match in 2010, a lot of very, very close ones, a lot of deep five-set matches, third round especially.

There was certainly some doubt. When you have left this tournament the last nine, ten years pretty disappointed with my result, gone home sort of hanging my head a little bit. But not the case this year.

I've always told myself, Just keep doing what you do, keep giving myself more chances. I want to keep coming to this event feeling good, playing well. That was the case this year. I've made good on that.

Q. If you do make it through another round, reach the semifinals on Friday, the U.S. president is going to be in the country.
JOHN ISNER: Oh, yeah?

Q. Yes.
JOHN ISNER: Nice.

Q. He's a big tennis fan. Would you like to have him come and watch you? Would that be an honor for you?
JOHN ISNER: Certainly. I'd love to have Trump come watch me. That would be awesome. Maybe I'll tweet at him if I win on Wednesday. I know a lot of people won't like that, but I don't care.

Q. What was your thought about the energy of playing on that small court that was filled and also the young opponents? A lot of theatrical, high-energy quality to that.
JOHN ISNER: I really enjoy that court. I think that court is very -- just a smaller court, too. I like the bowl feeling of it. I played my first round on that court. I was very happy when I saw the schedule.

I mean, I think all the courts here are good serving courts. The conditions are great. I think that one especially. It's got a very unique feel to it. I was expecting a pretty cool, amped-up crowd. That's what we had out there today. It was a fun match.

I don't know if I'll be on that one again, but I really do enjoy Court 3.

Q. Young opponents, someone that brings a lot of energy.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, exactly. He brings a lot of energy. He's learned how to dive on the grass courts pretty well. I know he made one. He almost made another on a very, very big point.

I knew if he was able to maybe turn the match in his favor a little bit, maybe the crowd would get on his side. That would be fine. It would just make for an even better atmosphere. I was enjoying it out there.

Q. You mentioned you don't watch much tennis. Since you play a lot, which is tougher for you to enjoy and to succeed: facing somebody similar to you or somebody different?
JOHN ISNER: Well, I mean, of course the majority of my matches I'm facing someone much different than me. That's what I'm accustomed to. As far as the last time, I don't think I've played Milos in a few years, and I don't think I've played Big Ivo in a few years, haven't played Sam in forever. So seems like this has been a long time coming, for me to match up against another really, really big server. Happens to be the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.

It will be a cool match I think for both of us. Certainly an important match with a lot of pressure riding on it. I'm not going to try to hide that fact. It's a huge match that we're going to play on Wednesday. May the best man win. It will be fun.

Q. How much do you think the conditions are helping your game?
JOHN ISNER: I think for sure the conditions are helping. I think they've helped a guy like Milos, as well. Although his pedigree on grass has been very good. He's made the finals of this tournament. Looking at Kevin's score right now, he's playing well. The conditions are very suitable for big servers like myself and Milos, who I'm playing on Wednesday.

I would love for some more dry weather, see what I can do with it.

Q. How specifically does it affect the court?
JOHN ISNER: The court's a lot firmer. In a lot of senses, it feels like a hard court. I feel like the ball is getting up a little bit more.

Doesn't feel too fast to me. I think a lot of times when I've struggled on grass, I just felt like the courts have been really fast and hard for me to catch up to the ball. I don't really feel that this year. I practiced well, prepared well for this event, so maybe that has a lot to do with it, as well.

Q. You're No. 9 seed here, if you were in the women's draw, you'd be the highest seed left.
JOHN ISNER: That's crazy.

Q. Do you ever wish the men's draw would implode for you?
JOHN ISNER: No. That's what is so cool about the women's game, there's a lot of parity now with Serena having been gone for the better part of the last year and a half or so. Obviously it's shocking seeing the top 10 seeds out, but if you think about it, that's how the game has been the last few years.

I would imagine Serena is one of the favorites right now for sure.

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