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U.S. OPEN

September 5, 2009

John Isner

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

J. ISNER/A. Roddick
7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How do you explain how you beat Andy Roddick at what he does best: serving, forehand, tiebreaks?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, that's kind of my game. Hit big serves, get into the net, hit my forehand heavy, dictate play with that.
I know he does that really well also. But it's my strength, as well. Maybe I was a little bit fortunate to win tonight. But I played well and I think I deserve it.

Q. How do you think you were fortunate?
JOHN ISNER: I don't know. When a match is that close, it hinges on, you know, a few points here and there. Maybe could have closed it out in three sets. I had breakpoints there. But that's just the competitor that he is. He brought it back, took it to a fifth set. From there, it's really anybody's game, so...

Q. Can you go back to the first match point that you had in the fourth set. He hit an ace and all of a sudden wins 13 straight points. Was that game still in your head when you were serving at 5-All?
JOHN ISNER: No. There's nothing I could do about that. If I had that match point, if I missed the overhead on top of the net, maybe it's still in my head, but he aced me. I couldn't do anything about that.
You know, I guess I did lose 13 points, now that I think about it. I like serving first in the third set. Once I got that first hold in the third set, I felt more comfortable and I knew I had a shot.

Q. Is it different to beat a mentor than it is to beat another highly ranked player who you don't have that relationship with?
JOHN ISNER: No. I mean, I wouldn't say so. Obviously Andy and I are really good friends off the court. On the court, we're going to lay it all out there.
You know, I obviously wouldn't -- I don't like that he's out of the tournament. I mean, it kind of stinks that we played in the round of 32. But I don't think it was any different, no.

Q. Couple nights ago when I asked Andy to set up this match, I asked what had changed about your game, he said you were playing more like you did when you first turned pro. Do you agree with that? If so, why?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I think so. Playing more aggressively. Now that I've won a lot of matches this year, even though I got sick, I still kind of picked it up right after that.
So it's kind of similar to 2007. I came from college winning all the time pretty much. So I was real confident then, and I'm confident now.
I think last year, you know, I kind of hit a rut and I wasn't hitting on all cylinders when I came into this tournament, and that's why I lost first round.
He's probably right in some respects there. I am playing like I was in 2007, only better.

Q. Is the improvement mainly in conditioning as well as just match experience?
JOHN ISNER: I think match experience, conditioning. I think physically I'm a lot stronger. Spend a lot of time in the weight room. Got to put most of the credit with my new coach, though. In February -- I went to Australia, cramping in the third set in Australia. Wasn't really playing that great. I came back and I played in Memphis, Delray Beach, was just playing horrible. I started working with him. Next thing I went out to Indian Wells, I did well there. I've just been playing well ever since.

Q. Does he emphasize more off-court work?
JOHN ISNER: No, he's more on-court. He knows my game. We both work -- I mean, practice, he's on the court with me at Saddlebrook in Tampa. So we're good friends off the court, too. He can kind of relate to me.
So, uhm, yeah, the stuff he's done with my game, the way I go about thinking in a match, has helped me a lot.

Q. You said in your first press conference that your fitness was still getting back to full level. Did you feel an urgency had you to close the match out early?
JOHN ISNER: I felt comfortable. I sweat a lot. My leg was cramping a little bit in the fifth set. I overcame that.
You know, it was nice weather out there. It's not that humid. You know, it's not too hot. You know, that kind of helped. If that match maybe started at noon, might have been a different story. I'm glad it went the way it did.

Q. Were you as calm on the inside as you appeared on the outside throughout that match?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I really was. Never panicked. If I lose that match, I have nothing to hang my head about. Played well. Maybe a little bit more the pressure's on him. He's expected to do so well here. Nobody expected me to win. Kind of looked at it that way. Just went out there and, you know, just played free. Didn't think too much.

Q. Did you expect to win?
JOHN ISNER: I did. Yeah, I knew I had a shot. Once I got that first set, I definitely knew I had a shot. I played really well in the second set. Obviously, when you're up two sets to love, you've only got one more to go, so...

Q. Can you articulate what this win means to you?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I don't really know how to describe it just yet. It's obviously, hands down, the biggest win of my career. Nothing even compares. To do it at the stage I did it on is pretty spectacular. Maybe it will sink in a little bit more tomorrow.
But I know I can really do some damage here. So I'm not satisfied just yet.

Q. Andy only got 48% coming into the net tonight. It's a big momentum shift at 2-3 in the breaker when Andy made the approach shot and you passed him. The whole thing of him trying to make a net appearance, you shutting him down, do you feel that was something you talked about beforehand, or did you feel for it and go for it at that point?
JOHN ISNER: I would say I more felt it at that point. I liked my chances getting in. I was volleying well tonight. You know, I figured on a second serve, he's gonna put the ball back in play. I didn't want to get in a rally with him. I wanted to keep it short.

Q. So it was in your mind, you made the decision you were gonna serve and volley before you hit it, or did you feel good after you hit it?
JOHN ISNER: I knew before. Like I said, I volleyed well. I've been working on that a lot with my coach. I felt comfortable out there. I felt like during the course of the match I was serving and volleying a good bit. So it wasn't foreign to me at that point. I did feel real comfortable doing it. Told myself I was going to do it. If it works out, great. If it doesn't, that's fine. It's still 4-All, or whatever. I'm still in the tiebreaker.
Obviously, definitely glad I did it. I was really confident at that point.

Q. Seeing Karlovic out there, how much either talking to him or watching how he's played has sort of affected how you've evolved the last few years?
JOHN ISNER: I don't really talk to him that much. I don't know.

Q. Watching the way he plays?
JOHN ISNER: I think we're a little bit different. He slices his backhand all the time. I kind of hit over it. I don't know how to answer that.

Q. You're wearing a Georgia Bulldog cap tonight. What has that program meant to you?
JOHN ISNER: Everything really. I didn't really have pro aspirations out of high school. I wasn't good enough. So I went to college. I got stronger and I spent four years with Coach Diaz.
You know, when I left, knew I was equipped to play pro tennis and make a decent living doing it. He really means everything to me. I still keep in touch with him often. He set me up for really what I'm doing today.

Q. Compared to 5,000 or 6,000 barking fans in Athens to the New Yorkers tonight...
JOHN ISNER: I've got to say it's similar. I think the New York crowd, they just want to see five sets. Obviously, they were pulling for Andy. They were pulling for both of us.
The hair was kind of standing up on the back of my neck at some points in the match. The same situation in Athens when we were playing NCAAs there. Smaller crowd, but right on top of you. Obviously all 100% pulling for us.
It was similar. Both great experiences.

Q. Can you talk about Fernando Verdasco.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, he's a lefty. Lefties aren't fun to play. I'll sit down with my coach and figure out -- come up with a little bit of a game plan. I don't like to overthink it. Do a couple things, work on a couple things maybe tomorrow, try to implement them in the match I guess on Monday.
It's a different match. He hits the crap out of the ball. He's so physical and in such great shape. I'm going to have to put in another effort like I did tonight to beat him.

Q. When Andy was asked how he likes your chances against Verdasco, he said it depends how he can pull up physically. Do you think you have the quickness and the physical? Will your legs hold up to face Verdasco?
JOHN ISNER: I think I'm strong enough. I've put that work in. It's up to me really, if I take care of my body, which I do really well. I'll get a massage tonight. I'll get a massage tomorrow.
Tomorrow will be huge. I won't hit too long. Just break a sweat. You know, put some ice on my arm or my knee or whatever and I'll be ready to go.

Q. Will you practice against a lefty tomorrow?
JOHN ISNER: I think I am, yeah, with a junior, a guy playing the junior US Open.

Q. Can you talk about the D.C. loss you suffered to Andy earlier this year, what you were able to take away from it.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, that loss, I was really kind of worn out there. He beat me fair and square. He wore me out. He was real physical that match. He had me on a string really.
I felt better physically coming into this match. I returned a lot better. Even though I only broke serve once, I felt I put a good amount of pressure and made a lot more returns than I did in D.C., made a couple of adjustments on my return of serve and some certain parts of my game that helped out a lot.

Q. Are you surprised with how quickly your success has come?
JOHN ISNER: Uhm, yeah, I would say. Especially when I got sick, if you told me this would be happening, I wouldn't believe it. You take a month off and don't do anything, you lose a lot of your strength, a lot of your -- I was playing well then. I kind of had to rebuild that confidence back up.
I think now I'm back in tip-top shape. I feel strong. You know, like I said, I wouldn't have believed this three months ago. Now that it's here, I think I can keep it going.

Q. With your Georgia roots, have you talked at all with Melanie during your career? Your thoughts on her performance?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, we both have the same agent. I know her through that. Obviously, she's from Georgia. She's a really nice girl. I have spoken to her a good amount this tournament. So I guess we're making the state of Georgia proud.

Q. What were some of your conversations?
JOHN ISNER: When she beat Dementieva, I sort of told her that was a great job. She's so gutsy. She plays with her heart out there. Same thing happened today.
So I think we really kind of have the same attributes. We fight really well. Although she didn't go to college, I think we got a little Bulldog in us. She's a little Bulldog. She's feisty. That's why she's doing so well.

Q. When you saw her result, did that pump you up?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah. To be honest, it did. That was kind of an underdog story. Probably not many people gave her a shot against Sharapova. It went long, obviously. We were waiting around in the locker room forever. But I actually kind of enjoyed that. I figured if I had a decently long match with Andy, it would kind of end at nighttime. I wanted that atmosphere. It's a little bit better than playing at 11 or 12.
The only thing that stunk about it, I went out on court and Georgia was halftime in the game. They got crushed, unfortunately. They were down 10-7 at halftime. I didn't know till I walked off the court that they lost.

Q. Maybe that was for the best.
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, maybe it was. I was watching the game, and we scored right away. I get really emotionally involved. My coach had to sit me down and tell me to take it easy. I use up a lot of energy watching football.
I kind of calmed down, took it easy, tried not to get too emotionally involved after that.

Q. How much did the mono compel you to reevaluate?
JOHN ISNER: I knew I had to work on the conditioning a little bit harder. It was definitely a process. I started out slow on the court and in the gym. I didn't want to go at it too hard 'cause there were times before when I've taken some time off and I started working too hard too early, and I would kind of get hurt. My knee would start to hurt. So I worked smart. Once I got like a week of practice under my belt, I knew I could start pushing it harder.
I think I spent a good three weeks at Saddlebrook just working on my game, working on my fitness, getting my strength up. That's helped a lot.

Q. Moving forward, do you change your routine versus who your new opponent will be, or do you stick to the same routine?
JOHN ISNER: Like on court or prematch?

Q. On court.
JOHN ISNER: It will be a little bit different against Verdasco. With me, I just try to do what I want to do. I don't really worry about -- he has a good forehand, but I'm still going to try to hit my backhand hard cross-court to his forehand because that's my game. I don't want to change my game too much. I won't change my game too much.

Q. Did Andy's conditioning, all that loss of weight in any way inspire your own dedication to your career?
JOHN ISNER: Well, it's not only that. I think just Andy in general pushes every American player because he's the guy that we all look up to. I'll still continue to look up to him. He sets the bar real high. He's 5 in the world. Nobody's even close to him in America.
He's really the guy that all of us kind of aspire to be and try to be better than him, if that's possible. So I think it's not that, you know -- he was fit before, but he's even fitter now. I think he, in general, just the way he competes, his attitude going about a match inspires me.

Q. What is your official game style? Who are you out there on the court as a game style right now?
JOHN ISNER: I'm confident in my groundstrokes that I can hang with guys. Obviously I want to put pressure on people. That starts with my serve, my serve and my forehand. I'm looking to hit forehands on the court, hit it big, let it rip. So I'm definitely an aggressive player.
I'm not that much of a counter-puncher, but I think my serve and forehand kind of sets the tone for my game. Obviously, I try to get into the net. I don't serve and volley a hundred percent of the time, but like to mix that up, don't want to give my opponent the same look every time.

Q. Offensive all quarter now?
JOHN ISNER: Yeah, my backhand is steady. I try to use my backhand to set up my forehand. I think from the back, everything kind of goes through my forehand. On my serve, you know, just go out there and grip it and rip it and hold serve.

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