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ROGERS CUP MEN


August 10, 2012


John Isner


TORONTO, ONTARIO

J. ISNER/P. Kohlschreiber
6‑7, 6‑4, 6‑4   (3rd round)


J. ISNER/M. Raonic
7‑6, 6‑4   (QF)


THE MODERATOR:  John Isner 3rd career ATP Masters Series 1000 semifinalist.
First question.

Q.  Congratulations on the win, John.  You said out there didn't feel like you were tired even though you only had about two hours rest.  Did you just feel warmed up then?
JOHN ISNER:  No, I felt all right out there, and I thought I would feel fine.  The way I looked at it is I was at a bit of an advantage, in my opinion, because he hadn't played in a few days.
You know, I played a match just earlier, a match I could have lost, 6‑4 in the third set.  Any time you win match like that it sort of gives you confidence, so I went out there telling myself I had nothing to lose.
But I was feeling pretty good.  So although he may have been a little bit fresher, I guess I was a little bit more‑‑ I don't know how to say it‑‑ in tune with the tournament.  I played a little bit more than he had, so I didn't think it was going to be a disadvantage for me.

Q.  Was there anything special about the match, anything sort of curious about you guys being the two biggest servers that you thought about eventually having a match against him?
JOHN ISNER:  I knew eventually I would cross paths with Milos.  Only a matter of time when we're playing the same exact tournaments pretty much every week.
Other than that, also I knew the match was going to be super close.  Any time you have two players that serve like we do, wasn't going to be much that was going to separate us.
Fortunately for me, he sort of let me back in that first set.  He was serving up a break and he didn't play a good game at all.  You know, he'll say that, too.  He played a pretty crappy game, to be honest.  So I was very lucky there.
The tiebreak or was a coin flip and I won it really, so lady luck was on my side.

Q.  You seemed a little edgy in the breaker, very angry at yourself a couple times.
JOHN ISNER:  No, I was up, what, 6‑4, served for it at 6‑5, and didn't play a very good point.  Didn't play too aggressively and he was more aggressive; therefore, he won that point at 6‑5.
But I knew after that I had to buckle down and concentrate first and foremost on my serve.  I served very well from that point on.  I think I made three first serves, three unreturnable serves once I got 6‑All.

Q.  Did you get any advice from your old 88 year old grandfather before the match?
JOHN ISNER:  No, I'm just glad that he's here.  He made the trip up from a North Carolina.  Doesn't get to watch me all too often.  Even though it's very late for him‑ he's usually in bed by about 9:00 ‑ I think he would sacrifice that to watch grandson play.

Q.  Look ahead to playing Gasquet in the semifinals.
JOHN ISNER:  What?

Q.  Look ahead to playing him.
JOHN ISNER:  Like what about it?

Q.  Yeah.
JOHN ISNER:  Yeah, he's good.  He's got probably one of the best backhands in the game.  He's so solid from the baseline.
The game plan is going to be simple for me:  Just go out there and try to take care of my serve.  If I can do that, I know I'm at least going to be in the match.
He's better than me from the baseline, to be honest, but I probably have a little better serve than him.  Going to be a little bit of a contrast in styles and a very tough match.  Probably both won't be that fresh, but I'm looking forward to it.
I think last time I played him was about three years ago or something, so it's the first time we've played in a while.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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