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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 22, 2010

John Isner

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

J. ISNER/G. Monfils
6-1, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Where would you rate that one?
JOHN ISNER: As far as what?

Q. Big wins.
JOHN ISNER: It's got to be up there. You know, it's a pretty big match. No matter who I beat, that's going to be up there. Only the second time I've made it this far in a slam.
Maybe it's real high on the list.

Q. The last few sets you had the kick serve ace on set point. That was pretty exciting. Good play in the breakers.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, you know, I was up a set and a break, and I lost the second set. Got down 4-1, but then brought it back and played great in the third-set tiebreaker. Did the same set in the fourth-set tiebreaker.
Really proud of how I played in the clutch moments. I kept coming forward. I didn't play not to win. I played to win. Kind of forced the issue in those two tiebreakers. I was real proud of that.

Q. What sort of match are you expecting in the next round?
JOHN ISNER: It's going to be tough. He's, you know, 4 in the world or whatnot. Andy's such a really, really good player. I'm going to have to play really, really well to have a chance out there. He's one of the fittest guys on tour. He really can do anything. He can play offense. He can play defense. He can mix it up really well.
I know he'll have a pretty good game plan going into the match. I'm going to have to do the same. Hopefully I can put another effort like I did today.

Q. When somebody has such a good reputation and stats as a returner, does that affect your attitude?
JOHN ISNER: No. It's gonna be a challenge to hold serve a lot, really. That's gonna be my number one focus, first and foremost, is holding serve, and taking it from there. As long as I'm doing that, I know I'll be in the match.
But it's going to be a challenge. I'm going to want to try to force the issue in that match, as well. Coming forward, being aggressive. I'll be making mistakes, but hopefully hitting a good amount of winners as well.

Q. Have you hit with Andy at all?
JOHN ISNER: I don't think I've ever even hit with him.

Q. How do you explain the great recent form you've been, Auckland to here?
JOHN ISNER: I don't know. I've worked hard in the off-season, I know that much. I put in the time. So I guess I kind of deserve to be where I am now. You know, doing so well in Auckland, I was kind of playing with house money here, winning my first ATP tournament.
Coming here, have nothing to lose, you know. I was just kind of riding a wave of momentum, and I still am.
Hopefully I can keep it going. I know I'm playing well. Know I've gotten this far; no reason to stop.

Q. How were you introduced to Steve Smith?
JOHN ISNER: I didn't know him before this. Somebody told me, actually the guy right there in the red hat, told me he was coming to town. He had heard of me before. He's a tennis fan. He was coming with his buddy. I immediately jumped at the opportunity to give him a credential and whatnot. Met him about five or six days ago. Hit it off since then.
He's watched every one of my matches. I've watched him a million times. Kind of cool to have him in my corner.

Q. Do you see Andy as one of the main threats for the tournament here?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, he's one of the top favorites I would guess. Him, Fed, Nadal, Del Potro, Djokovic. Andy might even be the favorite. Even though he hasn't won a slam, he's always a guy that's going to be heard from. I think that's the same here. He's obviously feeling well and playing well.
Hopefully I can put an end to his run, but it's going to be a tough task.

Q. Did beating Roddick at the US Open do a lot for your confidence?
JOHN ISNER: I think it did. I think it did. Just the way I won that match and kind of the stage I won it on, it showed me that I belonged in the top 20 players of the game. I know that's where my ranking is going, and I'm going to get there.
You know, after beating him there, there's nobody I'm scared to play. If I play my game and I play well, I like to think I can beat anybody.

Q. Do you have to push yourself in the tiebreaks? I know you can serve big when you want to, but to play aggressive with the forehand, do you have to kind of tell yourself, Okay, don't play too conservative with this guy?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I really do. That's how I try to play every point. In the tiebreaks, I maybe focus a little bit better in those situations. I think I hit my forehand well, came into the net, won a lot of points at net today. I did that in the tiebreaker. That's always going to be my game plan.

Q. How do you think your serve compare's to Andy Murray's?
JOHN ISNER: I don't know. He's good at everything really. Although my serve's pretty good, as well. I don't know. They're a little bit different. But we both serve well.

Q. You say Andy is good at everything. What is the best thing about your game that Andy has to look out for?
JOHN ISNER: Obviously my serve. And I think my forehand's coming along, hitting that well, forcing the issue with that. I think he's gonna have to -- hopefully he's gonna have to hit a lot of passing shots. That's going to be my game plan: try to get into the net, make him pass me. He's one of the game's greatest -- he has a really good passing shot. Hopefully I can make him do that.

Q. What is it like playing someone like Monfils who chases balls down, pumps the crowd up? Is that a bit of a distraction?
JOHN ISNER: No. I actually enjoy it. There was a moment in the fourth set when we were both down a little bit on energy. He would get the crowd up. That would kind of pick my energy up, too.
That was the fourth time I played him. I know what to expect. That's how he plays. He plays on momentum and he feeds off the crowd. That wasn't anything out of the ordinary out there today.

End of FastScripts

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