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U.S. OPEN

August 27, 2007

John Isner

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. How is the shoulder?
JOHN ISNER: Oh, it's fine. This is just precaution. I do it after every match.

Q. How is the left leg?
JOHN ISNER: Fine. Everything is fine. A little bit tight towards the end. Maybe nerves had something to do with that.
But, no, it's fine. I've gotten stretched, kind of rehydrated a little bit. I feel good.

Q. What were the emotions when you walked out on court at the US Open?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, it was pretty neat. I mean, really I've waited and hoped a long time that I could, you know, walk out there in the US Open and compete in a first-round match on any court really, let alone Louis Armstrong court, which is awesome.
And, yeah, I mean, pretty cool to be there, but I knew I had some business to take care of. So I soaked it in a little bit at first and went out there ready to play.

Q. When was the last time you were nervous about anything?
JOHN ISNER: Probably in the team competition in college. I've always said that's a lot more nerve-wracking than out there competing for yourself because you're competing for your team. You don't want to let them down.
So, you know, this past NCAA Championships in Athens, a lot of pressure on us. We were the favorites, in front of our home crowd. That's probably the last time I was nervous.

Q. How long do the nerves last, and how do you get rid of them?
JOHN ISNER: You just kind of got to get settled into the match, get comfortable out there playing, and then hopefully catch a break. Win the first set usually gets rid of some nerves. That's usually what I do, how I handle it.

Q. In Washington after every match you said you were just stunned with yourself. Is it getting a little old hat now? Settling into winning? Is it still amazing for you?
JOHN ISNER: No, I think more so I'm settling in this time, this time around. Washington was surreal. I mean, every match I played was 6 in the third. I had to pull out some close matches.
Gave me a lot of confidence. Now I kind of expect to go out there and win and compete, give whoever I'm playing a good match.
So, you know, definitely -- you know, it's already sunk in, that last match. I'm obviously not accustomed to winning matches at the US Open, but, you know, I can believe what I did now.

Q. How do you like the court speed here?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I like it. Pretty fast. Helps my serve out obviously.

Q. Compared to Washington?
JOHN ISNER: I think they're kind of similar. Washington was pretty quick.

Q. Critical point in the match, 5-5, tiebreak, third set. He double-faults. Some guys would overhit the first serve. You hit an ace. What were you thinking?
JOHN ISNER: At 5-All he missed the first serve. I told myself I was going to put as much pressure on him as possible. I stood in about five feet inside the line. Fortunately for me he missed it.
And then at 6-5, I actually had a little gust of wind behind me that helped, too. I just told myself I was going to go out wide. That's usually where I go on big points. So I did that. Fortunately I hit a good one.

Q. Didn't overhit it?
JOHN ISNER: Just stepped up and hit it. Just like any other point.

Q. Conventional wisdom has been that college players can't make it on the ATP Tour. Obviously you're the exception to that. What do you say to that?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I mean, that is conventional wisdom because you don't see that often, especially going four years. Last person to do that is Benjamin Becker. He went four years at Baylor and has had a lot of success out on the Pro Tour.
I think people underestimate college. A lot of depth. So many great players. You're going to get a lot of great competition, a lot of great matches in. That's what helped me out. Four years was the right choice for me. Obviously I've taken a different route than most - probably everybody out here, besides Becker. We're the only guys that went four years and are competing in the main draw, I believe.
But, you know -- yeah, I don't know. This looks good for college tennis, I think, it shows a lot about the depth because a lot of people think when you go to college, kind of professional career is over, but that's not the case.

Q. It almost seems sometimes as if the serve is a neglected stroke in some ways because of people playing from the baseline. There's a lot of talk about the racquets changing so the returners have a big advantage, yet it's so foundational to the game, being able to hold serve, the serve. Do you think the stroke has been neglected the past couple years?
JOHN ISNER: I think you could say that because you have seen a lot of players playing from the back more often - even at Wimbledon. That was the classic serve-and-volley surface, but now, what people are doing now, serve and stay back. You can rally at Wimbledon.
You don't see big servers like myself out there. It's kind of rare. Obviously there's guys like Karlovic and Mirnyi, guys that try to get in. The game has changed probably from 10 years ago where serve was a huge part of the game. Obviously it still is. You know, you see a lot of players, like you said, playing more from the back instead of coming in.

Q. He said that it was the hardest serve for him to return, even your second serve. Can you expound on what you consider your serve, how you would describe it? Is it really fun to hit?
JOHN ISNER: I think today I felt like I served really well out there. Obviously it's what won me the match. I don't hold anything back. I go for broke on my first and second serve. Not for broke, but I'm hitting my second serve 120, in that range. Definitely don't hold anything back.
I have nothing to lose out there. Just go for it, try to get the point over quick. That's what I do. You know, today I was real confident with my serve out there. Knew I was going to hold a lot, which is what I did. Fortunately I was able to break in that last set.

Q. Jarkko reached the quarterfinals here two years ago. You took him out in the first round. What does today mean to you, your confidence, your career?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, it's a huge step for me, you know, beating a guy like Jarkko. He's top 30 in the world. He's had some good results this year also. He's been doing this consistently for the last four or five years probably.
To be able to beat a guy like that means a lot, says a lot, means a lot to me. No matter who I'm playing, seeded or not, I can, no matter really how high they're seeded, I feel like I can go out there, compete, give it a good effort.
So winning obviously my first US Open, Grand Slam victory, is a huge step for me, but beating a guy like Jarkko makes it even more special.

Q. How much of your family are here and how many Bulldogs are here?
JOHN ISNER: My parents are here and my brother. My oldest brother is probably going to come in for the next match. He couldn't make it up here. There's a lot of Bulldog people.
A couple of my friends actually work in New York that I went to school with that just graduated. They were here. I don't really know. There was a couple, three or four Bulldog flags out there, out in the middle of nowhere in the stadium today. A lot of Bulldog faithful. It was nice.

Q. Could you hear them out there?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I could hear them.

Q. Stephen Bass was playing in the qualifiers, and he said you used to travel around in the juniors to tournaments. Do you have memories of travelling around with him? Do you talk to him still?
JOHN ISNER: Oh, yeah, Steve and I are great friends. We've always been since juniors. Kept that friendship up in college. He went to Notre Dame for four years. I went to Georgia. I've competed with him in juniors and in college.
We're actually really, really good friends off the court. He's one of my better friends, I would say. He's a great guy. Good to see him doing pretty well also.

Q. You're a victory away from playing Federer. Have you given that any thought? What might you have thought about that a month or so ago?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I wouldn't have believed it a month ago. But now I'm obviously not thinking about that at all. I got, you know, one more match till then. I'm not in any position where I can look ahead. Maybe he can, but not me (smiling).
I'm taking it one match at a time. These guys are so tough. He just picks apart anybody. I can't really do that.

Q. Did you see any of his match today?
JOHN ISNER: No. Right about when it started was when I think the court before me kind of ended.

Q. Were there Americans in the locker room to greet you when you came in this afternoon?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, there were a couple guys.

Q. Who was there?
JOHN ISNER: Justin Gimelstob was there. A couple of the younger guys like Scott Oudsema, Ryan Sweeting.

Q. How excited were they?
JOHN ISNER: Pretty excited. Good friends with those guys. I've been training with them a lot this summer and going to be travelling and training with. Yeah, it was pretty neat.
A couple of them have a chance tomorrow or Wednesday to do some damage. We'll see what happens.

Q. How important was it to save all the breakpoints today? Time and time again you got yourself in trouble and had your big serve, got out of trouble with it.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I played really, really well on just about every breakpoint I was down. I made most of my first serves. When he would get a return back, I would hit a good approach shot, a good forehand.
I saved I don't know how many, but I saved a bunch of breakpoints. Obviously each one was crucial. No, I was just real lucky, real fortunate to get through that.

Q. Do you know anything about De Voest, the next player you're going to be playing?
JOHN ISNER: I didn't even know who I played. Who?

Q. Rik De Voest.
JOHN ISNER: I have no -- never heard of him. Not that he's not... I just don't know many people here. Not that he's not a good player, but I just don't know anybody.

Q. You had a great deal of doubles success in college. How important is that on the tour, to play doubles? How does it help your game?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I think I did have a lot of success in college in doubles. It helps out in singles because it helps out your return game, hitting those returns to a spot.
I played a lot of doubles. I'm going to continue to play a lot of doubles professionally. I mean, I think -- I've always thought more singles players should play more doubles. For me, it helps out my game, my singles game, tremendously.

Q. Last week you played one of the service returners in men's tennis, David Ferrer. What did you take out of that match?
JOHN ISNER: He tore me up the last two sets. He taught me a lesson out there. I don't want to see that guy any more. He beat me in Cincinnati and in New Haven. You know, yeah, it's good playing against those guys because you know you have to be --

Q. Are you learning anything from him?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah. He returns so well. Jarkko returned well today also. I can't play any loose points on my serve against professionals like this, especially guys in the top 30.

Q. Most guys opt for college because they feel they're not physically or mentally ready. If you had to rank those, where would you say you needed to do the most work? Was it on the mental side or physical development?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, both for me. Coming out of high school I was, you know, tall, skinny, gangly, not strong, not mature. I was none of that. You know, I had to go to college and get stronger, start growing out instead of up, coming into my body.
I got a lot stronger in college, mentally a lot tougher. It's really what helped me out. I really think most -- actually, there are some exceptions. Some kids that don't go to college and they're not developed. They go out here, play against 25-, 26-year-olds, a lot stronger than you, and you're going to take a licking. Not good for your confidence.

Q. What was your height and weight when you started school?
JOHN ISNER: I was about 6'8" probably. And I don't even want to say. It's kind of embarrassing. I was like 195 or something. I put on 40 some pounds in college, so...

Q. Do you think you received a bit of karma when Jarkko hit the umpire, too? Broke him a point later.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I did. I don't know. I mean, obviously he didn't do anything on purpose or anything. That was kind of funny. Kind of loosened me up a little. The crowd got a little chuckle out of that. Even Jarkko laughed at that also.

End of FastScripts

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