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DAVIS CUP BY BNP PARIBAS WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND: BRAZIL v USAJanuary 31, 2013Mike BryanBob BryanJim CourierJohn IsnerSam QuerreyJACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA THE MODERATOR: Questions, please, for the U.S. team. Q. Jim, can you talk about John's health status, the decision that you made to play him. CAPTAIN COURIER: Sure. Came into the week looking for clarity on John's knee, hoping it would respond the way it has. He practiced hard every day. He's had no setbacks. He's gone forward actually with the way he's feeling. Obviously, you can ask him the same question. From our eyes and our medical staff's eyes, we feel confident he's ready and set for 10 sets of tennis if he needs to play them this weekend. Q. John, can you add to that? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, what Cap said. I had a very encouraging week of practice, which is what I was looking for. To be honest, I didn't know how my knee was going to react when I really started to practice hard because it's been a while. I certainly had to take some time off. Like I said, practice is going well. That was the main decision for us. My knee hasn't been bothering me. I feel like I'm ready to go. These guys feel like I'm ready to go as well. That's why the decision was made. Q. John and Sam, can you address this is your first home tie and how you've been looking forward to this. SAM QUERREY: Yeah, I think we're both really excited. We've both been playing some away ties for three or four years, so to finally get one at home is thrilling for both of us. I think we're looking forward to it. First one on a hard court, which is nice. It will be nice to have the fan support, the crowds behind us, instead of getting the boos every time you step onto the court. It will be nice to get the home support. JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I think this is my seventh match. Sam probably has played just about the same amount. We've always had the red stuff underneath our feet, so it's been different to practice on hard courts during Davis Cup week. For basically our whole team, it was a pretty easy travel schedule to get here. It's not something we've been accustomed to lately. For Sam and myself, this is going to be a great opportunity. We've never played one at home. We're going to go out there and try to play our best. Q. John, can you talk about how much you're looking forward to playing a match again. Did you know you felt good enough to play two days ago or was it a decision last night? JOHN ISNER: I feel like it was yesterday after practice, I felt like I was good enough to go. This isn't a shot in the dark for us either. This is something we feel real solid about. Yeah, I haven't really played a real competitive match in a while. I don't really count what I did do in Australia as ultracompetitive because I was a little bit banged up. Might have to shake a little bit of rust off out there. Like I said, I had a good week of practice. I got to try to bring that type of play into tomorrow. Q. John, would you be concerned at all if you had two five‑setters this weekend? JOHN ISNER: I would be concerned even if my knee hadn't been bothering me. Anytime you play long matches, five sets, which I've done before, you're always concerned. You know you're going to have to, on the back end of that, rest up a little bit and do what you can to get your body back right. So, I mean, I'm prepared to play as long as it takes. I think everyone on this team is. Q. Jim, can you evaluate the opposition. Some of them aren't so well‑known. CAPTAIN COURIER: They may not be well‑known to you guys but they are to us. Certainly Bellucci has been a solid tour player now for years. Big lefty. Nice serve. Nice forehand. Likes to play offense when he can. Pretty big swings, as well. Alvez, a little smaller in stature than him, but also hits a pretty big ball. Big forehand. Pretty big around the court. The doubles team we're very familiar with. Bob and Mike have played several times. They're a steady force on the tour. They're pretty active around the court. We look for competitive matches in all the matches. Obviously, we'd love to win easily. I'm sure they feel the same way. We don't expect that at all. We're ready to put the helmets on and go to battle. It's the only way you can look at these things. Q. Bob, Mike, people almost concede the doubles point in Davis Cup to you guys. Is that a lot of pressure each time you get out there? Your record is fantastic. BOB BRYAN: That's flattering, but we have to go out there and play good tennis, have to execute. This is a team that has beaten us before. They beat us in a big match at the French. We really respect them. We know a lot of about them, they know a lot about us. But, yeah, it's going to be a war. These guys are both top‑20 players, both won tournaments this year. So they're playing well. We know what we have to do. We feel good. We have some momentum coming from Australia. But that definitely doesn't mean it's going to be easy. It's going to be a war. Q. Bob and Mike, can you talk about the last time you did play. I understand it was 2011. What was about their game that you couldn't cope? BOB BRYAN: Where else did they beat us? Last time we played them, we played them in Valencia, and we took them down. That's the one we remember the most. We just played them in Brazil in December. It was a big exhibition in Sao Paulo, which was fun. We clipped them in three sets. But, I mean, we've played them with different partners all over the world. It's not going to be a lot of surprises. We'll throw in a little wrinkle here and there to hopefully throw them off. They'll probably do the same. It's who plays better on the day. That's what it comes down to. Q. Bob, can you tell us what you've planned for your Micaela tonight? BOB BRYAN: Micaela and Michelle are driving right now, up the coast, five and a half hours. Should be here early afternoon. Have a little cake ready. We're going to have a birthday party in the team room, if you didn't already know that. CAPTAIN COURIER: Fired up. Q. Mike, you guys have experienced a lot of different Davis Cup crowds, atmospheres, things like that. For people who don't know, what is it like being in a Davis Cup match? MIKE BRYAN: Playing in a home match is unbelievable. The crowd goes nuts. They chant, USA. They're yelling your names. We have the Net Heads that come out. There's drums and music in between games. For us, we really get a thrill out of playing in the U.S. We feed off the energy. I know these guys will. You could tell, it's kind of like a Lakers game. It's unlike anything you see in tennis. For us, we treat these matches like they're Grand Slam finals, go out there and really feed off the fans. Q. Bob, what do you expect from the crowd tomorrow here? BOB BRYAN: Expect it to be loud. I'm hoping it's going to be packed. Our last ties over the last 10 years in the States have been full. So I'm expecting those guys to be loud, help our energy, help our focus, hopefully get us over the top. Q. John, you have played a lot of matches.  Getting to play at home and close to where you played at the University of Georgia, big Georgia crowds here every year for that football game. What is that like getting to play here at home indoors? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, it's nice. I've always flown over an ocean to go play Davis Cup. This tie I just got in my car and drove three hours. I do feel at home here. I know there's a lot of Georgia alum in Jacksonville. So hopefully I can get some obviously USA chants but Georgia Bulldog chants also would be accepted on my part. I'm very much looking forward to it. This city is amazing. We're going to have a lot of fun tomorrow. Q. Sam, what about starting things off? Any jitters? Do you feel like you get to set the tone for the team this weekend? SAM QUERREY: Yeah, a little bit. That first match is always a good one to try to get a win, set the team off on the right foot. I'm looking forward to starting off first. Had a great week of practice. I'm feeling great. John is feeling great. Bob and Mike are playing well. I think we're all feeling good and I'm excited to get things going tomorrow. Q. Jim, the different perspective playing in Davis Cup versus coaching it. What are the different emotions one versus the other? CAPTAIN COURIER:  Well, for one I'm on the court all day. I'm going to be out there all the time. It's a different kind of fitness level for me out there versus playing. It's a privilege to be on the court with these guys. These guys are going to give me all their best. They're going to go out there with their hearts on their sleeves and be ready to play. I'm there to help them see some things they may not be seeing, offer them support. But if they're playing well, I'll be watching just like you. Q. What do you expect from the fans? CAPTAIN COURIER: We expect the fans to be vocal for us. We expect them to be fair to the Brazilians as well. We expect it to be high energy. That's the difference between Davis Cup and more of a traditional tennis tournament, it's more like going to a college football game, a lot of energy going on, not necessarily during the points, but in between the points there's a lot of that. That's what makes it memorable for all of us lucky enough to participate in it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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