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AUSTRALIAN OPENJanuary 18, 2012John IsnerMELBOURNE, VICTORIA J. ISNER/D. Nalbandian THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. You seem to like these extravagant matches, John. It was another bit of an extravaganza, wasn't? What do you make of it all at the end there? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, it was. It was a lot of fun, first off. Very similar to my match here last year where I lost 9‑7 in the fifth on that same court. So I tried. You know, I told myself I didn't want to, you know, repeat that effort. I wanted to actually win that one. It felt really, really good to win it. Q. What was your take on the whole can we use Hawk‑Eye, can't we use Hawk‑Eye situation with David at the end? JOHN ISNER: I don't really know what was going on, but, you know, obviously the ump didn't think he challenged in time. But maybe because of the crowd noise the ump, you know, couldn't hear it or whatnot. So I don't know. I mean, the only thing‑‑ I just wanted to get to the changeovers and have a sip of water, so... No, that break went in my favor, for sure. Q. What did do in the fifth set against Nalbandian that you didn't do against Cilic last year? JOHN ISNER: I don't know. I mean, I think I played the big points better. I think I was going for my shots more. I mean, for two, three hours of that match I felt like he was just so solid, and he was just too solid for me. Only thing that was keeping me in was my serve, obviously. He from the back of the court was, you know, just not missing much and, you know, playing aggressively and playing really well. I knew he was capable of that. I mean, I was hoping he wasn't going to pull it out today. I felt like he played well, but I just hung in there. I mean, I was hanging by a thread, but, you know, I kept pulling even, you know, with my serve and I was going for my shots. Eventually it paid off. Q. When did you first have cramps? When did they start affecting you? JOHN ISNER: I mean, it was just on my right quad. I want to say it was like around 6‑All in the fifth. You know, every time I'd go to the changeovers I would just throw salt down my throat. It was disgusting, but... Q. Were you under the impression that you couldn't get treatment at any stage for cramps? JOHN ISNER: Well, I know that's the rule. Q. Well, you can get treatment for cramps at changeovers. JOHN ISNER: Yeah. I don't ‑‑ Q. Did you know that? JOHN ISNER: Yeah. I think I did, but I didn't think it would help. I mean, if you are a cramping, you're cramping. It kind of went away, actually. But, yeah, I didn't think it would help. I just knew I had to keep putting stuff in my body to try to alleviate the cramp in my right leg. Q. When you took the bathroom break and sat down and crossed your leg, did your muscle sort of get cold? JOHN ISNER: You know, I think he also took a bathroom break after the fourth set. That took quite a bit, and I think I got a little bit cold after that point. So maybe that had something to do with it. But, you know, I'm lucky we got out of there pretty late and the sun eventually went down. It wasn't that hot out there, so that helped me a lot. Q. Subsequently what have you done treatment‑wise, and how does it feel now? JOHN ISNER: My leg is fine. I just have a gnarly blister on my left small toe that it's all wrapped up right now. But my legs, they're a little tired, but it's fine. I'm already peeing clear, which is good. I have had enough water. Q. How much satisfaction do you derive from beating a guy like that in five sets under the circumstances, especially after your experience here last year? JOHN ISNER: It's a lot of satisfaction. You know, it's‑‑ it wasn't the best second‑round draw. He's one of the guys where you look at the entry list of a slam, and you say, you know, an unseeded guy you don't want to play. He's up there with Hewitt, Karlovic, Davydenko, a bunch of guys court there, and he's certainly one of them. I'm just glad I didn't play him first round. Got him second round. It was a tough draw. I knew I had my hands full and I knew it could go either way. Q. Could you make any comparisons on the level of physical fatigue you were feeling out there deep in the fifth set to what you felt in that match at Wimbledon a couple years ago? JOHN ISNER: Um, it was a little bit similar, but it was the same in the fact I just kept plugging along. I think I was tired out there, but I think for me I look‑‑ I always look more tired than I actually am sometimes. Sometimes even the first set I'll be‑‑ I'm a big guy, and in between points I may look exhausted, but I'm really‑‑ I mean, I got something in the tank. Q. Have you got kind of a mindset you can slip into when you go into these marathons? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, it is. I think one thing that helps me is my service motion, I feel like it's pretty natural. So even when I'm tired and my legs really aren't underneath me, I'm able to still get free points on my serve and make a lot of first serves and whatnot. When it gets to a point when I'm running on fumes, it's just serve and forehand, hit it as hard as I can. Q. You have been talking about improving your all‑around game a lot. Did you feel any of those attempts of improvements came through at any times today? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I do. I felt like I played well. I felt like I returned the ball well, but he had an answer for everything in these rallies. He was just winning them. He was way too good for me. But, you know, fortunately for me I had my serve. And if I keep on serve, just like in the Wimbledon match, I can't lose. That's what I focused on doing. He broke me a bunch in the first three sets, and then I clamped down after that. But, you know, he wasjust‑‑ like I said, he was just way too solid. I felt like I got to a couple of balls at the end in that last game that I was pretty proud of getting off, because he was going to the dropshot a lot. He was very successful with it today, and he went back to it in that last game. Q. If the decision was down to you, would it be a tiebreak in the fifth or would it be to play out? JOHN ISNER: No, I think play it out. No need to change the rules. US Open is the only one where you play the tiebreaker in the fifth. You know, I knew what I was up against, just had to try to get a break of serve. So if it took the whatever the number may be, I was going to go out there and give it my all. Q. This early in the season, how much of a gut check was that for you? JOHN ISNER: It was big. It was big. I like to‑‑ this is such an important tournament. It kind of sets the tone for the rest of the season. I think after that match I lost here last season I went into a big funk after that for the next two, three months. Very happy to win that. It will give me a lot of confidence going forward, give me a lot of‑‑ you know, my next event, you know, if Captain Courier decides to put me in, it would be Davis Cup, so it would give me confidence for that. It's huge. I want to keep on winning. I want to win my next one. The more I win, obviously the better I'm going to play in my subsequent tournaments. Q. Later in 2010 when you were discussing Wimbledon and the Mahut match, one of the things you said was part of the experience you didn't like was you didn't get to go on to the second week and have a chance to play Rafa. Now you have Lopez, and if you get by there, possibly get to Rafa. Can you talk about that? Actually not being known maybe just for the big five‑setter, but being able to move ahead? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I mean, this is‑‑ you know, it was four‑and‑a‑half hours or something, which is still, you know, seven hours shorter than that Wimbledon one. I think I'll have a lot more in the tank on Friday than I did at Wimbledon. So I really don't anticipate fatigue being a factor in my next match. If I lose, it's because I got outplayed. So, you know, I'll do everything I can to‑‑ you know, I have tomorrow off, which is very nice. So I'll rest up and take care of myself. I'll be ready to go. Q. You were sort of working the crowd at the end. Seemed to be really enjoying the atmosphere compared to Wimbledon, obviously where it's more stoic. Just having to do with the mood of the two tournaments, is there a change in attitude there? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I've played some really fun matches on that court here at this tournament. Today was no exception. The crowd, they're right on top of you. It's not the biggest stadium, but it's always packed. It's just a lot of fun. It's really loud. Yeah, you know, you don't want to kinda‑‑ you want to give it your all there, and that's what both of us did in front of that crowd. It was a lot of fun. Q. Was that a tribute to your quarterback there at the end there? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, it was at Cam Newton there, Superman. Q. Do you think the new clothing sponsor will be happy with almost five hours of air time today? JOHN ISNER: Yeah. I hadn't thought about that, but maybe they're sitting back smiling that I'm wearing their clothes. Q. They were on the wrong endof the one in 2010. JOHN ISNER: Sorry? Q. Mahut was wearing it... JOHN ISNER: Oh, yeah, that's right. Yeah, they were on the right end of this one. Q. Totally different matchup that's coming up against Lopez. Talk about that. Obviously you can serve and he's a good serve and volleyer; return game is going to be huge there, I think. JOHN ISNER: I played him somewhat recently. I played him in Paris and he didn't make many first serves. I was able to win that match pretty easily. I think he would say he did not play his best. I know he didn't. I think that will be important for me. I can take that match. You know, I think I will have some confidence from that match. But he's tough, lefty, and he can do a lot with his serve and a lot with his slice backhand and he's aggressive. It's just both to be a fun match, for sure. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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