	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

U.S. OPEN

September 9, 2011

John Isner

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

A. MURRAY/J. Isner
7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. John, despite the fact you lost, do you feel you played some of the best tennis you've ever played in that match?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I played pretty well. Not in the first two sets. I couldn't really free up to go for my shots, especially on the one side. The wind is behind you, and, you know, I just wasn't swinging out on the ball. I'm not gonna have any chance against him in I'm just rolling the ball in.
Somewhere along in that third set I started to get more comfortable and I started playing better. So for sure, you know, I played well in the third and fourth set. Just didn't go my way at the end.

Q. How badly was your ankle bothering you?
JOHN ISNER: Oh, it didn't. I thought it was going to be worse than it was, but it wasn't an issue at all. Didn't hinder me one bit.

Q. Is there one or two points in that fourth set that are gonna give you nightmares tonight, for the next week?
JOHN ISNER: I think that sort of, I mean, half tank, half volley he hit, because he thought his second serve was out, and he like was like walking to the sidelines. Went like that and I hit the ball back, and he reflexed it. I mean, how often does he make that shot? Probably not more than 50%, you know.
If I get that point there, I like my chances to serve it out. We'd still be out there right now.

Q. What about in the tiebreaker? You had the two dropshots that hit the net.
JOHN ISNER: Well, he played a good tiebreaker, for sure. First point of the tiebreaker I felt like I hit a good reflex return, and he hit an even better dropshot.
You know, I double-faulted at 1-All, but then, you know, he just played well. I missed that gimme volley. That was bad. That was kind of -- you know, that hurt, because that put me down, I forget, 6-2 or something like that.

Q. I think it was 5-2.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, 5-2. So, you know, that's a big difference with him serving at 5-2 rather than up 5-3. All I had to do was put it in the court because he was off the court, and I took my eye off of it.

Q. Did you get nervous? This is your first chance at a spot like this.
JOHN ISNER: Um, I was a little bit nervous. I think that comes with the fact that, again, I wasn't swinging out like I felt like I should have early on in the match. I was just guiding the ball.
That was a little bit of nerves. It just took a while to free up. So a little bit of nerves. But, you know, I wasn't nervous once I got settled.

Q. If you take a step back and you look at the two weeks as a whole, having the best results of your career so far? I mean, how do you think you will look back at this?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, it's been a good run for me, but, you know, I'm still disappointed right now. I'm not satisfied.
You know, I would have liked my chances in a fifth set today had it gone that way, but it wasn't to be. He was the better player today. He deserved it. But for sure, you know, this is a good thing to build on, and I've had a really good summer.
I'll take some time off and then I'll, you know, try to finish the year strong. You know, a lot of people think the tennis season is over after the Open, but there are a lot of big tournaments to be played.

Q. When you go home, what will you work on? You said you were rolling the ball in. What will you work on?
JOHN ISNER: Well, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. A lot of times when you take the court it's just a feel out there, and I didn't have the feeling from the get-go. That was something that I was doing in my other matches. I was swinging and hitting the ball the right way.
But today it took me a while to start doing that. So it's nothing that, you know, I don't feel like I need to work on, you know. I just gotta keep doing the same thing.

Q. With your serve, a lot of people think you have potential to be a top 10 player, and I think you think the same thing. What is separating you from making that leap at this point?
JOHN ISNER: Not much when you get to this stage of the tournament. If I could win today, that puts me so much closer to the top 10, because with points and whatnot, with each match won it's a big, big jump.
So I'm pretty sure I'll be back in the top 20 after this tournament, you know. And if I can finish the year strong, I'll have a good opportunity to get in the top 10 because I was pretty lousy the first five months of the season, to be honest. I'll pretty much have a good chance to move up once the season starts next year.

Q. Now that it's behind you, can you tell us how much the rain delay affected your feeling today? Do you think it would be a good idea to start the tournament maybe a day earlier?
JOHN ISNER: No, the rain delay wasn't an issue for me. It is what it is, you know. It's the same for all of the players, especially guys on the bottom half of the draw. We all had to deal with it.
I was just chilling the whole time throughout. It probably would have been nice, you know, had I won my round of 16 match a day earlier to have a day off, but, you know, I didn't. It was the same for everyone.
As far as it starting a day earlier, I don't think so. I mean, this is pretty rare, how it...

Q. They do it at the French. Has that helped you there at all? Have you felt any advantage starting on a Sunday?
JOHN ISNER: No. I don't know. I don't think I've ever played on a Sunday.

Q. Roger is pretty emphatic that Super-Saturday, its time has come and gone.
JOHN ISNER: Super-Saturday? What's that?

Q. Playing the final and semifinal back to back. It's the only major that does that. Federer said last night its time has come and gone. It should be gone. What's your take on that?
JOHN ISNER: I don't know. I haven't thought about it. I've never been in a semifinal, so...

Q. First time US Open quarterfinals, Ashe venue; what was there that nobody could describe that now you've been there you know what it's like? What were you feeling that nobody can tell you about?
JOHN ISNER: Um, there is good energy on the court, especially at times when you play well and you forge ahead in the match. I would have really liked to have gotten that fourth set under my belt, and I think the energy would have been even better at that point.
So it's just fun to play out here. You know, it's our home Grand Slam, and the crowd's gonna support the Americans. That's what I felt like today.
It helped me a lot, and I think it could have helped me even more so had I been able to extend the match.

Q. When you look back on all your shot selections, did you okay all the dropshots that you tried, or was that a little bit of a shot selection because of the new environments?
JOHN ISNER: No, it's a shot that I knew going in I was going to have to hit because he sometimes will play back behind the baseline. He plays incredible defense. You know, I won some points on the dropshot, and, you know, I didn't win some points on the dropshot.
But, you know, on my forehand side that's the shot I like to hit, so I think it's pretty effective, you know. But against him, he's one of the better, you know, retrievers and defenders in the game, so a couple times it didn't work out.
But it wasn't like a panic or anything. I knew what I was doing.

Q. Being in the tiebreak, was that kind of where you wanted to be? You have had such success in tiebreaks. Did you feel at the beginning of that, Okay, this is exactly my kind of situation?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, you know, I was comfortable in that situation. But at the same time, it was a little disappointing, because on that breakpoint at 4-All, it was kind of a flukey point. I felt like I maybe could've, should've gotten that break and then it wouldn't have been in a tiebreaker.
I felt comfortable. He outplayed me. I thought he played well.

Q. With the way Murray has been playing right now, how do you like his chances against the big 3 or Roddick if he comes back in this match?
JOHN ISNER: Well, I mean, this surface is probably his best, I would say. He's playing very well after coming off his Cincinnati win, so he's very confident. I think he showed that today at times.
So I think no matter who he plays, whether it's Rafa or Andy, I don't think he'll be an underdog. I think if anything it will be a tossup with him. He's playing very well.

Q. How is his return compared to other people you've served against?
JOHN ISNER: It's very good. I think more so than his return is everything after the return. You know, he'll block the serve back and then he'll just -- he plays incredible defense; that's what he does.

Q. That first set when you guys were at 5-All and you broke him and you guys were on serve, how disappointing was that, because your serve is such a great weapon for you?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, it was. I think the sun had a little bit of an issue on that side I got broken. Took a while for the sun to move out of my way.
But I didn't play a good game there and I paid the price for it, that's for sure. You know, it would have been nice to have maybe gotten that first set, but it didn't happen. You know, it is what it is.

Q. With you, Andy, and Mardy having a great run here, does that take some of the pressure off of what's wrong with American men's tennis? How do you feel about that? You made the mark.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, you know, I think it maybe takes a little bit of the pressure off. I personally don't feel any pressure, but, you know, having guys do well at this event is a good start for us. And, you know, we do have, in my opinion, a good crop of players, you know, going at it now.
Obviously with Andy and Mardy they're gonna be there for at least a few more years. Myself, Sam Querrey, we'll be coming back; Donald is playing well. So there is a good amount of players.

Q. How many shirts did you get through today?
JOHN ISNER: No, it wasn't as bad as yesterday. I think maybe like six or so. But, yeah, I'm a sweater.

Q. You said it took you a while to get going, until the third set. Do you have a reason for that?
JOHN ISNER: It's just a different setting out there. You know, to be honest, I don't have much experience on that court. I never hit a ball on it until warmup today, this year, so it's just very different. And the wind is -- it's the windiest court here at the site, and it's just something I wasn't quite, quite used to.
So maybe that has something to do with it.

Q. Talk about the breakpoint. Did that linger longer than it should have in the fourth set?
JOHN ISNER: No, I don't think so, because it's not like I got broken the next game or anything.
You know, I still, you know, still liked my chances when it got to a tiebreaker, but just -- I don't think it lingered. I think at that point you can't let anything like that bother you.
But, I mean, he won the point fair and square. It was just kinda weird how he did it.

Q. You've played on that court before.
JOHN ISNER: Uh-huh.

Q. Just this year you're saying?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, this year.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297