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BNP PARIBAS OPENMarch 12, 2012John IsnerINDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA J. ISNER/J. Monaco THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Gutted out a return game end of both sets. That's gotta feel good, right? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, for sure. Especially in the first set, I mean, I wasn't really that close. But, yeah, I played a good game at 6‑5. The second set I felt like I was in all of his service games. It finally paid off for me at the end. So it's good to finish in two sets. Q.  Obviously he's gonna make you play a lot of long rallies. Looks like you were conscious of hanging in there, waiting for your opportunities. Talk about that. JOHN ISNER: Yeah, he's very, very good from the baseline, very strong from the baseline. The other thing he does is makes a lot of first serves. It's not necessarily a huge serve, but out there today if I didn't hit a very good return off of a first serve I was on the run. So like I said, he serves a high percentage of first serves, and that's what makes him tough. But when he did miss a first serve out there I thought I played pretty well, aggressively. I thought I played the right way. Q. Are there times where you feel your serve is not working for you, or is it 99% of the time it's there? JOHN ISNER: There are some times I haven't served my best. I played a match in Sydney this year. It was gale force winds out there and I didn't serve too well. But for the most part, I normally feel pretty solid and pretty confident on my serve. Q. Everyone tries to focus on the match ahead, but you probably can't help notice some of the upsets in your quarter of the draw. Have you been noticing? What crosses your mind when you see Murray lose and Mardy lose? JOHN ISNER: To be honest, I didn't know I was in Murray's section. I know I don't play Mardy now. I play against Ebden. That's about it. I have no idea who I would play if I were to win. But I'm not‑‑ like I said, I'm not focused on that. Just this match at hand. Q. How surprised are you at not playing Mardy? JOHN ISNER: Um, yeah, I would say a little bit surprised. After I won my match today I sort of expected‑‑ you know, I thought I would play Mardy, but that's why you play the game. So it's a little‑‑ it's different. I mean, he beat Mardy, so I'm gonna have to play very well to win. Q. What are your thoughts about playing Matt? JOHN ISNER: I don't know too much about him, so I'll leave that to my coach and then I'll go out there and play. Q. Sometimes in sports it's sort of a matter of gut feeling and momentum both in tournaments and maybe in careers as a whole. Do you feel a gut feeling that you're kind of ready to take it to the next level and get up there? JOHN ISNER: I don't know if it's a gut feeling, but I believed going into this year that 2012 would be better than 2011. I believed in 2011 that it was going to be better than 2010. I still believe that I'm improving as a player and there is a lot of room to improve for me. I am ranked No. 11 right now, and I feel like I can still play much better and keep on improving. So with that I hope comes a higher ranking. So for me, I'm definitely, definitely not satisfied. I wouldn't say it's a gut feeling. Everybody is so good. I could have easily lost that match today and be down in the dumps right now. Q. And if you look at your career, I think it's fair to say that you have had an incredible record in big stage, big tournament matches, from Nadal at Roland Garros and obviously Wimbledon, US Open, so forth. Could you talk about that, your feeling for the stage? Did the play in Athens help at all? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, playing big in big situations in college tennis I seem to always rise to the occasion. I think I love playing in front of a good crowd. When you go out there, like, the only thing I can control is how I compete, and I want to compete my hardest, you know, during the big stage. If it's not good enough, so be it. But at least I know I went out there and tried my absolute hardest. I think as a player everybody enjoys, you know, playing big matches and matches where the crowd is really into it. This tournament in particular seems every match has a great atmosphere out there, especially for the Americans. So I want to do my best. Q. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate yourself as a competitor? JOHN ISNER: Very‑‑ I don't want to toot my own horn here. (Smiling) I don't know, 9? I guess there'sstill ‑‑ I still can keep improving in that, too, I think. Q. Speaking of gut feelings, can you tell me if Peyton Manning will go to the Broncos or not? What's your gut feeling on that? JOHN ISNER: My gut feeling is Arizona. I haven't been up to date on today's ‑‑ or what's going on today with the Peyton Manning saga. But for some reason my gut says Arizona. I'm usually wrong. Q. I know you're a big football fan. JOHN ISNER: It's not Carolina. Carolina doesn't need him, which is good. Q. Who is the better brother, the better player? JOHN ISNER: Oh, gosh. It's tough to say. I would say Peyton. Q. Do you think you can make it as a tight end or... JOHN ISNER: No. Q. How about Andy? JOHN ISNER: No. One hit across the middle and my ribs would shatter. So I'd need to put on about 60 pounds, then maybe. Q. Obviously against Ebden you don't know him that well, but obviously it's a match on paper you're supposed to win. How do you approach that with, you know, going in there as the favorite at this stage of the tournament? JOHN ISNER: I'm just gonna go into that match and tell myself that if I don't play well I'm gonna lose. So that's the kind of mentality I like to take if I'm playing guys that I guess I should beat or I'm ranked higher than. Everybody is so good, I need to be on my game. And if I'm not on my game, I need to compete very well ‑ or at least just hang in there. So I'm not‑‑ I'm just focusing solely on this match. It's gonna be tough. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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