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DAVIS CUP BY BNP PARIBAS WORLD GROUP QUARTERFINALS: SERBIA v U.S.A.April 5, 2013John IsnerBOISE, IDAHO N. DJOKOVIC/J. Isner THE MODERATOR: Questions for John. Q. Seemed like the first and third set were really tight battles; second set your serve wasn't as effective for some reason. What happened there in the second set? JOHN ISNER: No, I think after the first set he became a lot more comfortable. That's what it looked like to me. He started playing really well. In the second set, yeah, I don't really remember, but I'm sure I could have served better. I didn't. I think the mistake on my part was‑‑ I got off to a good start. You know, I just had to do my best to hold onto that little lead I had. I let him back in it. Granted, he played a good game, but I didn't make many first serves that game. Doing that against this guy, it is not a good recipe. You want to make first serves, and I didn't do in that one game in the first set. That was critical, because I think he became a lot more comfortable at that point. Q. In the tiebreak, I think second point, forehand, unforced error, and he sat on the lead there. Seemed like once he got confidence on his own serve he was really tough to break, huh? JOHN ISNER: Yeah. I don't know stats or anything. I felt like he served well. Like I said, I don't know the numbers, but even if he doesn't serve well he's still tough to break because everything else he does is world class, best in the world really. So, you know, it was tough. First set, if I could have got this under my belt, things may have been a little bit different. But it just wasn't to be. Q. Can you talk about his return game, how mentally tough is like when you have two shots that look like a winner against anybody else and he gives them back? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, he gets to a lot of balls. I knew that going in. That's why he is where he is right now. A lot it has to do with his defense. He hit some, you know, outside of that just returns of serve where I felt like I hit a pretty good serve and it comes back. His hands are so quick and he stands in on the baseline and he was able to get my serve back. That caused me a lot of trouble. Q. Novak said that he thought the turning point was the first set when he was able to break back. Do you agree with that? JOHN ISNER: Yeah. Q. What was Jim saying to you during the course of the match? JOHN ISNER: Just keep going for my shots. I felt like I did. I mean, I'm sure I played some points too passively out there, but I'm not going to beat him on a baseline rally. I'm not going to win the majority of those I should say. He agreed with me. I even sort of felt it, saw it, when he was able to get back in the first set. He got a lot more comfortable. I don't think he was too comfortable at the beginning. That's one of the reasons I was able to get up. The conditions are pretty tough. The balls, you know, you watch on TV and in the crowd, but the balls do fly. He was feeling that a little bit, and I felt it a lot, too. But, you know, he was able to get even in that first set. Wish it could have been different. Q. He was able to hit a lot of really good passing shots when you came to the net. Is that generally the case against him, or was that better than usual? JOHN ISNER: No, he hits a lot of good passing shots. Nothing new there. A lot of times they weren't like Mach 10 passing shots, but he places them well. I felt like he did that pretty well today. He played a smart match. He was solid. Won't going for too much. You have to ask him. I thought he played pretty well. He's so good at what he does. He was better than me. Q. Going into the third are you thinking, I got to hope the guy's level drops a little bit, because if he continues at this level it's almost impossible? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, not impossible. Going into the third I just told myself to just try to stay ahead, 1‑0, 2‑1, 3‑2. I did that up until 5‑All. I had one slight chance in the third set that he erased with a good serve. I thought he served well. Feel like he made a lot of ‑‑ a good percentage, and then sometimes he would throw in a kick, especially on the ad side, which on this court it gets up pretty good and it's tough. I'm standing back trying to ret run his normal first serve and he did that. The third set though I felt like I was staying positive and doing everything I could do. I fought as hard as I could. He was just better. Q. He was talking about the possibility of playing doubles. Would that surprise to you see him out there team? JOHN ISNER: No. I know he doesn't play much doubles. I rarely see him play doubles on the tour. But then again, he's Novak Djokovic. Maybe be a little bit foreign to him, I guess, but he does so many things well on the singles court. A lot of that can translate to the doubles court. Maybe it will depend on the result of this match, so we'll see. Q. You know you get the long wait for the fifth match at the end. JOHN ISNER: Yeah. Q. What's that like not knowing what the situation is going to be and waiting that long to play again? JOHN ISNER: It's fine. In my mind I have to be mentally prepared to play a fifth rubber. It could go either way. I could easily be out there in a fifth rubber. We could win 3‑1, they could win 3‑0 from this point on. I just got to do my best to keep positive and do what I need to do tomorrow to get ready for Sunday. Q. (Question regarding watching the doubles rubber tomorrow.) JOHN ISNER: Yeah, no, I'll watch‑‑ I'll practice. I don't know what time they play, but I'm assuming I'll practice before and cheer them en. I won't waste too much energy. I don't want to be too crazy. But I certainly will cheer those guys on. Q. Do you have any advice for Sam playing Novak on Sunday? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I'm not going to tell him anything. Captain Courier is way better at that. But it's simple: He needs to go after his shots, play big, and see what happens. Sam has beaten him before. We believe he can beat him again. I think Sam believes that as well. It will be very tough. We all know that. Q. What did you think about the crowd out there? Not a sellout or filled to capacity, but seemed really loud. JOHN ISNER: Yeah, the crowd was great. This is a very good tennis town. I think Greg Patton does a great job in this community with his team and with tennis in general. I love it here in Boise. I thought the crowd was great. You know, assuming they will be very loud tomorrow as well. The Saturday matches, it's just one match, and feels like these guys normally save a lot of energy for that one doubles match. So tomorrow will be great as well, regardless of what the score is. Q. (Question regarding Viktor Troicki.) JOHN ISNER: What he does best is his defensive play. He's not going to blow you off the court with a lot of winners per se, but he retrieves a lot and makes you hit a lot of extra balls. So the game plan is the same for me: I got to go out and keep playing big and believing in it and try to cut down on my errors. I made too many errors today. But if it comes to me versus him, I'll be excited and ready to go, that's for sure. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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