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WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPENAugust 18, 2013John IsnerCINCINNATI, OHIO R. NADAL/J. Isner THE MODERATOR: John will move from 22 to 14 in the Emirates ATP ranking tomorrow. Questions for John? Q. John, not a bad week. Came down to a couple points in the tiebreaks. How much better do you feel coming out of this week than going into it? JOHN ISNER: I feel so much better. As I said before, maybe the early loss in Montreal was a blessing in disguise. I believe it was. It gave me some time to rest up and come here and get ready to go. That's what I did, and I played extremely well all week. Thought I played well again today. Unfortunately, it just wasn't good enough. As I said on the court, it's nothing to‑‑ going to hold my head up high after today's match and after this whole week. But Rafa was better than me today. Q. John, how badly did you want that approach shot back in the first set tiebreak when you went right back to Rafa instead of going inside out to the open court and you then missed the volley afterward? JOHN ISNER: Yeah. I mean, you know, if he guessed and he guessed right, there's nothing I can do about that. I was happy. I was fine with the approach shot. The volley was one that‑‑ it was one of those things, I just had to make it. Even though he was super fast, he was sort of off the court, and I just‑‑ I stoned it really. That was all she wrote in that first set. But, no, I had‑‑ you know, I had, I think, a few chances at 5‑6‑‑ or 6‑5, 15‑40, and he came up with two really big serves. I knew I wasn't going to have a million chances on him, but when I did have a couple shots, I needed to take them, and I did it today. But he kept on‑‑ you know, he kept on coming up with the goods. I thought he played a very smart match, and I knew he would. That's what he does. That's why he's so good. He's constantly adjusting to every circumstance, and he did today with me. Q. John, looking forward to Winston‑Salem? Still going to play or take that week off? JOHN ISNER: As of right now, I'm flying to North Carolina tonight. That's where I'm from anyway. I have some time to think about it. But really, right now, I just need to maybe take some time to reflect on this week. But as of right now, I'm going to North Carolina. Q. Physically, how do you feel after a strong week, tough, tough matches back to back to back? JOHN ISNER: I feel very good. It's very encouraging, considering how I left Wimbledon. I played, I don't know how many matches this summer. Q. Twenty. JOHN ISNER: 20 matches. I don't know‑‑ since Wimbledon, I don't know if anyone on tour has played 20 matches. So I played a lot, and I've won a bunch of them, and a lot of very, very encouraging results. My body held up. So going forward here in 2013, it's very encouraging. Q. John, are you a little torn about Winston‑Salem, thinking, well, maybe I could really use the rest, but, hey, those are my hometown people, they're looking forward to seeing me? JOHN ISNER: Well, yeah. I mean, I don't know, like I said, it's something I haven't thought about at all. I haven't even thought about that tournament, period, this whole week, considering my focus has been on this Masters event, trying to win my first ever title at an event like this. Rafa's got 27 of them. I'm just trying to get‑‑ that's incredible. THE MODERATOR: 26. JOHN ISNER: 26? THE MODERATOR: 26. JOHN ISNER: I thought last week was 26. Excuse me, 26. I was just trying to get my first one, and that was my whole focus this week. As I just said, I'm going to North Carolina tonight. Q. John, do you think there's a clear‑cut favorite for the US, and what's this week done for your self‑belief? It must be absolutely sky high. JOHN ISNER: I would say Rafa is the favorite going to the US. Clear‑cut? I wouldn't say that. I think he'd probably say the same. If you compare maybe him and Serena, I think maybe like Serena is probably a more clear‑cut favorite on the women's side than Rafa is on the men's side, but he certainly is going to be super tough to beat considering he just won back‑to‑back Masters events on hard courts. He has actually not lost a match on hard courts this whole year. He's got a lot going for him. And as always, the field is going to be extremely tough. But for me, it's such an encouraging summer so far. I've played‑‑ the last few years, I've played well leading up to the US Open. Again, that's the case this year. So I'm looking forward to that event for sure. Q. John, you brought up Serena. Obviously, she's had a huge year as well as Rafa. Do you feel like‑‑ we talk about American tennis‑‑ that she's sort of the flag bearer for both sides in some ways? She's sort of carrying‑‑ JOHN ISNER: Men's and women's? Q. Yeah. JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I do. I know when you talk about American tennis in general, she's the biggest name, and rightfully so. She's pretty dominant. Q. Apart from the couple of points that obviously went the wrong way for you, is there something that you wanted to do before getting on court that you didn't manage to do? JOHN ISNER: No. I thought I executed my game plan. It wasn't so much‑‑ as in every match I play, it wasn't so much tactical out there for me. My two best shots are my serve and my forehand, and I hit both of those shots extremely well today. I mean, I was crushing a lot of forehands today. I was going for it, and a lot of them were finding the court. Look, I didn't face a breakpoint against one of the greatest returners of all time. That's super encouraging. I thought ‑‑ I went out there and did everything I could do to win the match. It just wasn't enough. Q. John, you're one of the few guys who can play Rafa really tough. You don't have a winning record against him, but a lot of guys don't even take him to tiebreaks. JOHN ISNER: I don't have a win against him. Q. So do you take a lot of heart from that, that you can push him to the edge and make him have to play his brilliant‑‑ you know, most best tennis? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I do. I have the belief that I could beat anyone, and I know‑‑ no matter who I'm playing, I'm not going to‑‑ I'm not the type of guy that's going to go out there and lose 1 and 1 or 1 and 2, just because of my serve. If I'm dialed in and I'm focused, I'm very tough to beat, no matter who I'm playing. So I expected a close match today. That's exactly what it was. But a lot of those key points just didn't go my way, but I have absolutely nothing to complain about. I caught a lot of breaks this week, and sometimes that's just how it goes. Q. John, do you think the match you had against Ryan Harrison at the French was important for your confidence? I know you've had‑‑ you'd had a bit of a skid on five‑setters before that. You talked about it carrying over. Can you sort of pointed to that match as something that maybe flipped for you here? JOHN ISNER: That's a good question. I haven't thought about that. That was a very positive match for me considering I was down 2‑Love, and I was able to come back and win and not only sort of get rid of that five‑set monkey off my back, even though I did lose a five‑setter the next match. That match was pretty big for me even though‑‑ and even the match I lost against Tommy Haas, that super long one, that was pretty encouraging as well. I feel like I've been really playing, ever since the French Open, I've been playing very good tennis. And, again, at Wimbledon, I thought I was playing well and hitting the ball well. It's just something that‑‑ something just sort of started clicking for me really at Wimbledon. And unfortunately, I had that injury, but it didn't really carry over. Q. You finished the first set where you had three set points, winning a higher percentage of points on your second serve than your first serve. Do you think it's just a statistical quirk or there's a technical reason behind it? JOHN ISNER: No. I mean, my second serve is tough, and on a court like this, it bounces up really high. So my opponents really aren't going to be able to‑‑ a lot of these guys aren't going to be able to hit really an offensive shot off of it. But off of my serve today, I was playing my forehand extremely well. So whether it was a first serve or second serve, I don't really think it mattered too much. I was‑‑ you know, I was looking for a forehand on that next shot, and I was looking to hit it big. And for the most part today, a lot of those found the right spot on the court for me. Q. Would it surprise you if you were tagged as a dark horse going into the US Open? JOHN ISNER: No. I think I've been tagged as‑‑ I mean, like I said, it doesn't matter the surface I'm playing on, I know I can‑‑ I'm sort of a pain in the ass for a lot of these players. You know, if I'm feeling strong and feeling fit and ready to go, I know I can give anybody a tough day on the court, and I believe I can beat anyone too. Q. Did you give Greg that shirt? JOHN ISNER: No, he got that. It looks good on him. Q. Given the speed of the US Open and the surface, and your experience against guys like Djokovic, fast players, are you putting a premium on really attacking and more serve and volley to get to your forehand quick and put it away? JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I need to attack. It doesn't matter the surface. It's not so much serve and volley. I don't consider myself a natural serve and volleyer, but it's my serve and forehand. Today I tried to attack as much as I could, but against Rafa, it's a lot easier said than done because of the ball he's hitting. If he's making a lot of first serves, which he did today, if I wasn't able to hit a return within a foot of the baseline, at worst he was neutral, and he was a lot better than me at that stage. He just hits such a big ball, and it's so hard to get on the offense against him. So today that was‑‑ you know, I tried to be as aggressive as I could, but that's the same way I need to be in every match. Q. John, a bit of an offbeat question, but at the Open, you get to request a song if you get to play on Ashe to play when you walk out. What's your choice? JOHN ISNER: Oh, gosh, I don't know. I'll probably do something lame like a WWE entrance. I've done that before. Actually, that's probably where I'll go. Q. John, would winning the US Open Series possibly play into your decision to go down and play Winston? JOHN ISNER: I don't know. So Rafa won it‑‑ I mean, right now, he has the lead? Q. Yeah, like by 15 points or something. JOHN ISNER: No, that doesn't‑‑ I hadn't even thought about that. I didn't even know the standings, period. I assume I'm in second place? Okay. Well, I've had a great summer, so there's nothing to complain about, but he's won two Masters events, so that's pretty darn good. Look, as I said, I'm going to North Carolina tonight. Fortunately for me, I have some time to think about it. Q. John, do you think there's any reason you're in so many tiebreaks? JOHN ISNER: Yeah. I mean, I serve extremely well, and I'm a tough player to break no matter who I'm going up against. But at the same time, my advantage on my serve is sort of sometimes a disadvantage in the other areas of my game. But a guy like Rafa, it doesn't matter who he's playing. He doesn't get broken much, period. So I knew I wasn't going to break him six, seven times today. I was just trying to get him maybe once or twice. And I had a couple chances, but they just didn't go my way. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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