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U.S. OPEN

August 27, 2018

John Isner

New York, NY, USA

J. ISNER/B. Klahn

7-6, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You want to talk about the match?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah. It was a good match. I thought I played pretty well. Leading up to this tournament, I have been practicing well. I think I got rested, which was imperative. I was feeling a bit, a bit run down this summer.

You know, I was home. After Cincinnati I didn't hit for five, six days, maybe longer than that. Got back on the court. I did a lot of physical work. Finally just felt rested. I think it showed today, because I thought I played pretty well.

Q. I presume you feel, in a certain way at least, this kind of an end of a wall for you, because I assume you're going to stay home with the baby coming?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah.

Q. Is that a different feeling? Talk about that.
JOHN ISNER: I guess. Of course, I want to go as hard as I possibly can here, but I do know after that, I could very well have some time off.

You know, doesn't look like I will be in Croatia. There is a chance. Of course, it all just depends. Yeah, I'll have some time off at home with my new family soon, so that will be cool.

Q. Is there a little concern that it could be a conflict?
JOHN ISNER: Oh, you know, I don't control that. This Man upstairs does (smiling).

As of right now, we're good. You know, the due date is, you know, three-and-a-half, three weeks away. We'll see what happens.

Q. I mean, still being the top-seeded American after all these years, young guys still haven't caught up to you, how does that make you feel? Mixed? Are you very proud of that?
JOHN ISNER: I'm actually pretty proud of it. You know, I have been the top American for, I think, five, six years. Good chance I can finish top American this year, as well.

So, you know, I think it just goes to show that, you know, how the landscape of our sport is changing, and players into their 30s can still be doing very good things. That's definitely the case for me.

Physically, I really do feel the best I think I have ever felt. So at 33, that's very encouraging. I feel fit, healthy, strong, all those things. Still eager. You know, you put all that together, it's a good recipe.

Q. I'm wondering if you were aware of the serve clock at all, if that changes anything at all?
JOHN ISNER: No. I mean, I have seen it, but I have said before -- I think initially, prior to playing a match with it, I wasn't a fan. But once I played a match with it, I have liked it. I think it's a good thing to speed up the pace of play.

I don't know. I mean, I haven't gotten called for a violation or my opponent hasn't either. It doesn't really come into play too often, but I do think it's a very cool initiative. And there is a good chance it could be staying on the tour for a very long time.

Q. You said you weren't a fan before. Had you feared it would cause you to rush?
JOHN ISNER: Yes, exactly, I feared it would cause me to rush. I get up there and there is six seconds left. You know, how serving is, it's all about getting into a rhythm and you going through your routine, which every player has done a million times. But that hasn't really been the case. I have been up to the line in plenty of time.

So again, I'm a fan of it.

Q. Is that something you practice for?
JOHN ISNER: No, no, you don't practice. You just have to see what it's like when you get out there and play the match.

Q. Last year here there were four women from the U.S. who made the semifinals, and there has been --
JOHN ISNER: Wow, yeah, that's right.

Q. -- there have been some younger American women moving their way up, including Sloane and Madison. There hasn't been that sort of progress among younger American men lately, and it's been a while since even one American man has made it to the semis here. Just wondering why do you think there might be this discrepancy in the development between younger American women lately and younger American men?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, it's a good question. I think the only thing I could say is that it's cyclical, and, you know, the men haven't caught up to the women. There's no doubt.

We have had Serena leading the charge for quite some time, and for a long time, and Venus. And as you mentioned, Sloane has broke out here last year, made the finals of the French, and Madison Keys is doing amazing things, as well.

We are certainly a little bit behind them. But with that being said, we have a lot of players, I think, in the top 100, but, you know, that's not quite good enough. You know, we want to get a player or players deep into an event like this.

You know, I do think the young Americans are on the rise. I think Frances in particular is doing a good job, slow and steady. I'm a big fan of his. I think as long as he continues to improve and do all the right things, he will be around for a long time.

Q. The semifinal match at Wimbledon, how long did it take you, the sting of that, because it was so long, so historic, to get over the sting of losing that match?
JOHN ISNER: I think once Wimbledon ended -- I mean, I was home in North Carolina afterwards, and I knew the match was on TV. I didn't watch it. You know, it's tough.

You know, it's a weird thing in tennis. When you lose and you go home and then match you could have been playing is on TV and a big one, you definitely don't want to watch it. I watched a rerun of the Rose Bowl, which gave me much better feelings. I think once that ended, I felt like I actually did a pretty good job of getting rid of that memory pretty quickly.

Right now I'm certainly not thinking about it. But it probably took three or four days, you know, not touching a racquet and just, you know, not focusing on tennis at all, just continuing to workout and enjoy my time at home, and I was able to get over it pretty quickly.

Q. If I have it right, I believe you recently said that you have been working with a more relaxed mindset and said 'whatever happens, happens' frame of mind.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah.

Q. That leads to clarity of thought and good decisions on court. Could you talk about that process.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah. No, I think, you know, you want to be as relaxed as you possibly can. I think today I was, because given the conditions, how hot, especially muggy it was, for me in particular I couldn't waste any emotional energy out there.

There were some times in the first set I was a little bit frustrated and wasn't quite finding my game, but I just knew I had to stay as calm and collected as I possibly could, because the conditions were very tough.

But I need to do that in all my matches. So that, you know, being calm and having clarity on the court goes hand in hand with being rested, as well.

So especially at my age, I think going forward, I need to try to enter events with a full gas tank. You know, going into events half full, I'm not only physically tired, but mentally I get worn out, and I find myself getting a bit edgy on court and a bit ornery on the court. That's a recipe for disaster. Generally when I'm like that, I don't win.

As I just said, being rested helps a lot with finding that calmness and clarity on the court.

Q. You're 33, it's been 15 years since Roddick won here. Seems like you have made peace being the great American hope of winning this tournament. Does that weigh on you in past years or maybe this year you say, "Que sera, sera."
JOHN ISNER: No, it doesn't weigh on me. Might have been a bit more pressure. But I said it a lot. You know, I never, ever could have imagined myself having a career that I have had, and I never was pegged to have been a player to be in the top 20 for so long and be top 10 in the world right now. I think I'm 11.

No one was ever speaking of me like that, so I never had that pressure on me, and I have certainly surprised myself with how well I have done.

So as far as being the top American and feeling that pressure, I'm definitely not feeling that this year.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about your charitable efforts. I know you have done stuff at the hospital that treated your mother and other things. Why do you feel a necessity to give back? Has anyone inspired you throughout your life to give back?
JOHN ISNER: Well, I think first and foremost, my mom has inspired me. I mean, that's the charity of my choice. That's the hospital that I donate to. I think for me, it's a no-brainer. So I have said it a lot, they have certainly saved my mother's life and saved countless lives. They do amazing things there.

I think for me to give back in a small way I think is absolutely necessary, something that I should do all the time. So I'm going to continue to do that.

There is also some other events I'm involved with and other causes I donate to quite often. Again, I mean, you play a sport for a living, I need to continue to realize how lucky I am. And it's very important for athletes to have a platform to give back as much as they possibly can.

Q. Can you elaborate on which other causes.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I do a lot of help with -- you know, I don't live in Tampa anymore, but there was a family in Tampa where their two daughters have a disease called Friedreich's ataxia. It's a muscular disease. I did a fundraiser every year in Tampa in my neighborhood just to -- it's called FARA, FA Research Alliance, so just to give back to them, as well.

There is a lot of causes -- there is no bad causes, for sure. You want to give to really everything. There is a few things that are very important to me personally.

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