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BNP PARIBAS OPEN

March 15, 2010

John Isner

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

J. ISNER/S. Querrey
7-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Maybe not revenge because you guys are buddies, but a little bit of a factor there from last month?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I wanted to win this match pretty bad. You know, I probably maybe should have won the match we played in Memphis. I had it on my racquet. Didn't close it out, and that kind of stung because it was the finals of a, you know, a 500 event. But credit to him for playing better than me down the stretch.
You know, but I wanted to win this one pretty bad, and, you know, fortunately for me I went out there and played really well and served outstanding. You know, it was a little bit fortunate. But as I said on the court, any time I play Sam it's probably going to be a coin flip either way.
I'm just lucky to have won it tonight.

Q. You served some bombs out there.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah. Like I said, I served -- felt like I had a real high percentage and I was hitting spots; I was hitting my forehand well.
You know, even though I only broke once, I felt like a returned well, too. He has a huge serve, as well.
I was really happy with the way I played.

Q. You haven't played Rafa before. I'm assuming you're gonna have to serve at least as well.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I'm going to have to serve big and take cuts off the ground. I know I can't beat him in extended rallies. That's just not possible, to be honest with you. I wish I could say I could. But, you know, I'm just gonna have to take my chances and keep the points short.
He's in phenomenal shape and great athlete. He's not going to get tired. I need to keep it short, hold my serve, and take my cuts.

Q. It's not easy to get into net often either, huh? He passes pretty well, so the approach shots are gonna matter, I would think, right?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I'm gonna have to hit my approach shots really well. You know, I haven't -- I will a talk with my coach. He knows best. But any time I get a look at a forehand from the back, I have to rip it hard with margin. You know, not too crazy, but, you know, hit my approach shots well and volley.
He has a lot of junk on his ball, so I am going to have to do pretty much everything well.

Q. How much do you look forward to a matchup like that against a six-time Slam champ and he's a pretty big name?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, you know, I've never played him before. You know, I played Federer; played Djokovic. I've never played Rafa, so I'm excited about this matchup.
As my ranking and my playing continues to improve, hopefully I'll see him more in a tournament like this. But, you know, I think I can give him a run for his money.

Q. This is a little bit of revenge for Memphis, huh? There you were up on him and Sam got back on you, and here you seemed to keep control of the match pretty well.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I mean, I don't know if you want to call it revenge. But, yeah, I had him in Memphis, and then he stormed back. I just, you know, kind of fell apart in the third set. I couldn't put the second set behind me.
But, you know, today in the first set I won the tiebreaker, which was, you know, pretty fortunate, and played well early on in the second set, and, you know, I just served really well.
That's gonna -- if Sam and I play 10 times, we'll probably split them 5-5.

Q. Are you worn down a little bit? Memphis, Serbia, tough Davis Cup matches. Coming back to the West Coast can't be too easy, huh?
JOHN ISNER: No, I feel great actually. I told my coach yesterday I feel like I got Serbia completely out of system yesterday.
You know, the day off -- you know, I went home after Serbia instead of coming straight here. I was only there for two nights, but it felt like more than that. So it felt like kind of like a break.
I was fortunate to get through my first match. After that, I felt fresh as if I hadn't played for couple weeks.

Q. You'd like another shot at Djokovic?
JOHN ISNER: Another shot of everybody I've lost to.

Q. I don't think he's gotten Serbia out of his system.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, he may be a bit tired, but he keeps winning. He's doing what he's supposed to do.

End of FastScripts

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