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WIMBLEDON

June 25, 2010

John Isner

LONDON, ENGLAND

T. De Bakker/J. Isner
6-0, 6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How much real sleep did you manage to get last night? How did you feel mentally and physically when you walked on the court today?
JOHN ISNER: I slept fine actually. I was just so exhausted that, you know, I knew sleep wasn't going to be an issue. I feel like I got to bed by 11:30 and slept till 8:00 or something. So sleep was not an issue.
But mentally and physically, I was obviously a bit drained. You know, I just didn't have much in the way of my legs. I was just low on fuel out there really. Didn't really have a chance.

Q. Didn't really have a chance, did you say?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah.

Q. You said on Thursday that you'd rather die than quit. Did that thought ever cross your mind during those three sets today?
JOHN ISNER: No. It was brutal. I mean, things were looking pretty bleak right from the get-go. But, you know, credit to my opponent, you know, he still had to play well. He stayed in it and was obviously a lot better player today.

Q. Were you getting advice to quit? What was in the box they gave you at the end of the match the other day?
JOHN ISNER: No, no advice to quit. I mean, I wasn't gonna quit anyway. It wasn't like I was dying out there. I was just tired, you know.
And the box was just a nice trophy-type thing.

Q. Did you know when you woke up today that you just didn't have the energy to go out there and play?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah. Actually, I mean, I thought I might be all right. But I also have this pretty gnarly blister on my left toe. That was bothering me, too.
Sometimes with a blister you can work through it. Once you play, adrenaline will take over. But that wasn't the case today.

Q. Were you at any stage jealous of an opponent whose final set in his previous round was only 16-14 rather than 70-68?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I was. And yesterday he didn't play at all. So, yeah, a bit jealous of him. I'd still rather be in his position, be in the third round. It stinks to lose in the second round.

Q. Obviously this will be a few days that will forever change your life. What do you think you'll learn from this experience on the court and off the court?
JOHN ISNER: I guess it showed how good of a competitor I am. Same goes for Nicolas. The way we both competed out there was pretty stellar. I always felt like I was a good competitor, and I think yesterday and the day before just showed that.
Off the court, I don't know. I mean, I don't know how my life's gonna change. I don't know if it is. Yeah, it's something that is going to stick with me for a long time, and rightfully so.

Q. In college tennis, did you ever have a case of exhaustion like you had today?
JOHN ISNER: No. I mean, I've never been, you know, this exhausted before.

Q. Are you going to take a little bit of a break now?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, well, right now my next tournament is Atlanta. I do have a nice break. I mean, I'm going to have to stay off my feet as much as possible for a while to let these blisters heal.
Then I'll work out the schedule where, you know, I'm hitting the practice courts and hitting the gym before Atlanta so I'm feeling good going into that tournament.

Q. Looking into the future, do you think you can make a real run at Wimbledon? Are you excited about coming back here and hopefully going a little further?
JOHN ISNER: Yes, I think I can. Hopefully next year I can also play a tune-up event before this tournament. This year, it wasn't the case. But I think I do have the game to do very well here. It's just a matter of me making a couple of adjustments in my game.
You know, I have the right coach, you know, to shed that light on that part of my game.

Q. You didn't hit any aces today. Has that ever happened before?
JOHN ISNER: I didn't know that.
I don't know. Probably not, yeah.

Q. What do you make of Nicolas Mahut? He had to go out and play doubles yesterday on Court 18. It got suspended for bad light. Is that just cruel?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I thought that was just evil, really. I don't know how he made it out there. He was still hopping around. Looked pretty fresh. That guy is the Energizer Bunny, that's for sure. That must have been brutal for him.
But kudos to him for him going out there and gutting it out. I guess he has to finish off his match today.

Q. Did you think it was evil to put you first on?
JOHN ISNER: I don't know if it would have made a difference, first on or fourth on.

Q. Have you given up the doubles now?
JOHN ISNER: Yes.

Q. You have?
JOHN ISNER: Uh-huh.

Q. How is your shoulder?
JOHN ISNER: Shoulder, there's not really much pain. It doesn't like -- nothing like that. It's just kind of dead. You know, not much pop, I guess.

Q. Was it the toe injury or the fatigue that forced your withdraw from the doubles?
JOHN ISNER: Probably both, yup. It was all on my end pulling out. Had nothing to do with Sam.

Q. John, what is on agenda next week for some R&R? What sort of things will you be doing or not doing?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I'm not sure. Obviously, I'm going to get back. First I'm going to go home to Tampa, Florida. I really don't know what my plan is.
I'm not going to be practicing for at least four or five days. So I don't know if I'm going to stay there, go somewhere, visit friends, go home to North Carolina, whatever. That's still up in the air. I'll make that decision probably the next 24 hours.

Q. But what is your idea of relaxation? What sort of things do you like to do?
JOHN ISNER: Really just anything but tennis. I'll watch sports. I'll take in the World Cup. I'll go fishing. I'll do whatever. Just anything away from the tennis court.

Q. You spent a lot of years in Georgia. The tour is coming back to Atlanta. Atlanta has had problems over the year with pro tennis. What are your thoughts about Atlanta getting the tournament this year?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I was thrilled when they got the tournament. For a time there, it looked like they might not get it, but eventually they did.
It's really one of the biggest tennis towns in the country. They have more USTA members I think than any other city in America. So I know the tournament is going to be well-supported. It's a great group of players.
I'm very much looking forward to that tournament and probably plan on playing that for a long time.

Q. Can you give us an idea or flavor of the kind of commercial interest that you've been having over the last couple of days? Any kind of deals that stick out? Is there anything commercially that you fancy doing with what's happened over the last couple of days?
JOHN ISNER: Oh, yeah, I don't know anything about that at all. I mean, I finished so late yesterday. Was just trying to get ready for my match today. So I haven't heard anything of that nature.

Q. Which foot?
JOHN ISNER: The left.

Q. Big toe?
JOHN ISNER: No, the small one.

Q. What is your shoe size?
JOHN ISNER: 15 (smiling).

Q. You can fly from London to L.A. in 11 hours. Can you promise passengers that never again will they be able to get on a flight in Los Angeles and catch the back end of your game when they land in London?
JOHN ISNER: I can promise that with a hundred percent certainty. Just to think that somebody could have boarded in L.A., had our match started, say, in the morning or something, they could have landed, drove to Wimbledon, the match would still be going, that's pretty crazy to think about.

Q. Do you know how much weight you lost during your first-round match?
JOHN ISNER: No, I don't know right now.

Q. Could you tell us when you actually got out onto the court the various things that were troubling you physically? At what point was it that you thought, This is over, this isn't going to happen?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, uhm, you know, when I got out there, when I started warming up -- I actually didn't even warm up for my match today. I was in the training room trying to get ready and getting my feet taped up, getting my shoulders loosened.
But when I went out there and hit that first serve and it didn't have much behind it, I knew I was in for some trouble. You know, on top of that, I'm playing a really good player who's on top of his game. So, you know, bundle those up together, it wasn't a recipe for success.

Q. Physically, what were the things that were really troubling you out there? I know the toe, but what else?
JOHN ISNER: My neck was a little stiff. So like on the serve, I couldn't really, you know, look up as much as possible and turn like I wanted to on my forehand side.

Q. Do you think you'll have an everlasting bond with Mahut from now on?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah.

Q. He'll be one of the special guys on the tour whenever you see him?
JOHN ISNER: Probably so. We weren't great friends before that match. But obviously we have so much respect for each other after playing that, you know, I'm sure we'll eventually sit down and laugh about it.

Q. Years from now when you talk about the 2010 Wimbledon, what's the word, the phrase that will come to mind?
JOHN ISNER: Just nonstop, I would say.

Q. Is it true that you drink a lot of coconut water? Do you feel that was one of your secret weapons the last couple days?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I actually do. I've been drinking that for a while now, a company called -- it's called Vita Coco. It helps rehydrate me really well. Years past I'd have issues with cramping. But ever since I've started drinking that the night before, the day of my match, I've nipped that problem in the bud.

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