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AUSTRALIAN OPENJanuary 16, 2012John IsnerMELBOURNE, VICTORIA J. ISNER/B. Mitchell THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How did you feel out there today? JOHN ISNER: Not great, to be honest. I don't really feel like I'm in any sort of match shape, or I wasn't. Now I feel like after that match I'm fine and I'm ready to go and I'm going to get stronger. It's one of those things that I've only played one match in three months, whatever, two months. I just needed to get through that just to get my breath and lungs under me. Because you can run and do bike sprints, do all that crap, but the best practice is match practice. So I'm glad I got that. Q. Do you feel like you should have scheduled some more matches before you got here? JOHN ISNER: In hindsight, probably so. I mean, I did sort of an exhibition in Thailand the first week, the Brisbane week. Things didn't go well in Sydney. I've been over here a while; I just haven't been playing. That's how it was for me this year. Q. Can you take us through your off‑season, how you prepared physically. JOHN ISNER: Yeah. It was much better than last off‑season. Last off‑season I wasn't able to hit really at all because I had a thing with my ankle. But, you know, I was healthy. It was a good off‑season. I worked hard. I worked smart. I got in the weight room a lot. So physically, you know, once I left the U.S. I felt strong. Q. Did you put on any weight? JOHN ISNER: No, I don't think so. I don't think I needed to put on any more weight. If anything, I could have lost a pound or two. I kept my weight, but I feel like I got stronger. Q. Must be exciting heading into 2012? JOHN ISNER: I want to get in the top 10, that's for sure. You know, I think it's attainable, a very attainable goal for me. That's really my main focus. But, you know, I'm not going to be thinking too much about that. If I think too much about that, then I think I'll get away from everything and things won't go that well. But, you know, I'll just take it each tournament at a time, you know, and focus on the task at hand. If I do that well, then my ranking will keep moving up. Q. What did you focus on tennis‑wise since you had a better chance to train in the off‑season? JOHN ISNER: I worked on my backhand. You know, I changed it a little bit in the off‑season. To be honest, today I didn't hit it well at all. It was sort of ugly. So I need to get back to that. Q. What did you change? JOHN ISNER: Just, you know, a little bit of my backswing. Taking my backswing up higher instead of down low and going like that. You know, it's something I'll make a conscious effort in my next match to try to do, to try to sting my backhand more, not just roll it back and play, because that's when guys get me on the run. So I think a lot of that had to do with me not having my feet underneath me in today's match. I was kind of running through the ball. At times it wasn't pretty at all. I'm just very glad I got through it. Q. Your next match could be Nalbandian. Talk about him and the dangers he presents. JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I mean, I believe I'm 0‑2 against him. He's so solid. He's a guy that never goes away, no matter what the score is. And he can really light it up when he's feeling good. So if I do play him, I'm going to have to play my very best. If I play Nieminen, same thing. He won last week. May be a little tired out there right now, but if he can get through this match and have tomorrow off, he should feel really, really good, especially after winning last week. I think it's a tough draw, for sure. But it's a task and an obstacle I'm looking forward to tackling and seeing how I do. Q. What was your take on the players' meeting, the issues that are swirling around right now? JOHN ISNER: We were told not to speak to the media about it (laughter). It was interesting. It was interesting to be in that room and to see a lot of the players voice their opinions on certain issues. I think the number one issue was, you know, the total revenue distribution at Grand Slams. I think the players have a legitimate beef about it. That was one thing. But, you know, we'll see where it goes from here. I think Indian Wells is another players' meeting. You know, I don't really know what to say. I'm not one of the guys that's very vocal, rallying the troops or anything. But we'll just see where it goes from here. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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