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SONY OPEN TENNISMarch 23, 2013John IsnerMIAMI, FLORIDA J. ISNER/I. Dodig THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Tough start. JOHN ISNER: Yeah. Q. How did you get back into it and turn it around? JOHN ISNER: I just tried to stay positive. I told myself it really can't get much worse than it was up to a certain point. I was able to turn it around once I got back even in that second set. I felt pretty confident from there, and I started playing better. I started moving better and moving my feet better and getting to the balls in time; whereas before I was just flailing at the ball and everything was missing. I was missing everything. But once I got that little spark, gave me a little extra energy, and you know, it went from there. Q. Going back to 2011, I guess you are 5‑0 in third‑set tiebreakers. What was it about getting into that third set? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I'm confident in tiebreakers. I have certainly played a lot of them. I think tiebreakers normally favor a guy with a big serve, which I have. It's just something that I don't know ‑‑I really tend to play my best in a tiebreaker, for whatever reason. I wish I could sometimes play a little better outside of that. But, you know, it's a situation I have been in before, and I was in it again today. I have won a lot of close matches in my career; I have lost a lot of close matches. Today was one that I won. Q. You seem to go the distance a lot. You play three sets when you can go three sets; you play five sets when you can go five sets. It's a bad habit. JOHN ISNER: Yeah, well, the way I play, my margins are thin. Novak Djokovic won 6‑1, 6‑0 last night. I'm never going to do that. I'm just not. I'm not going to break serve as much as he does. What I do have is a good serve on my side, but today was actually unlike a lot of my matches. For instance, I saw the stats going off the court. I think I served like 76% and like 27 aces, 0 double faults, and I lost my serve four times. That's negative. That's a negative thing, but it's also a positive that I lost my serve four times and was still able to win the match. So today was a little bit different but the end result was the same in the third set tiebreaker, and I'm just happy to get through. I certainly could have easily lost that match. Q. How bad did you need this win mentally? JOHN ISNER: I needed it for sure. You know, I tried to stay positive. I have been working hard. You know, I know that winning matches out here is not easy. You know, the highs, when you're playing well, feel amazing; the lows, when you're not playing so well, don't feel so good. So you have just got to take it as it is, and there will be times when I'm playing well and winning a lot of matches. There will be times ‑‑ like this year so far I haven't played my best and lost, you know, lost matches I feel like I could have won. But just trying to stick with it, and, you know, just keep doing what I need to do outside of tournaments to try to give myself the best opportunity. Q. Can you talk about that call when he was serving for the match at 6‑5? How did you see that? JOHN ISNER: Yeah. Well, I don't know. I mean, I guess it's sometimes up to the umpire's discretion, but I believe the rule is on my side. It's happened to me a lot as fast as I serve, and sometimes my serves get called incorrectly. You know, when the ball is called out and the ball is technically still in play and he challenged it and whatnot. I guess I caught a break, for sure, but it's happened to me the other way a bunch. But I guess that's just the rule. Q. I know you are probably asked this a lot since Andy Roddick retired, but do you feel any extra pressure with American tennis to kind of take that mantle? JOHN ISNER: No. I don't. I don't compare myself to Andy, and I don't know if anybody else compares me to him, either. You know, I just try to enjoy it. I try not to put too much pressure on myself. That's when I play my best. Sometimes it's hard not to. I want to do well, but I don't ‑‑that's not pressure. I'm not feeling pressure from everyone else expecting me to do well. I just want to do well myself. Andy is a guy that if I can really have half the career that he had‑‑ I mean, he had an unbelievable career, so I'm just trying to keep improving every day. He's someone that a lot of us look up to and did look up to when he was on tour. Q. Any thoughts on playing Cilic next? Do you have a court preference for it? JOHN ISNER: No and no. Not yet. I don't play tomorrow. I don't know. Someone told me he's got like an unbelievable record against Americans. Like something crazy like 15‑0 or something. So try to put a 1 on his record. Q. Are you hearing the Ultra Festival at night? JOHN ISNER: No. I can sleep through anything. Once I get out, I can sleep through a train wreck. Do not hear it, which is good. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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