US OPEN 2011: Andy Murray beats JohnIsner to reach semis

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Andy Murray ended marathon man John Isner's best run at a Grand Slam tournament.

The No. 4-seeded Murray dealt with No. 28 Isner's big serve and used a variety of lobs and pinpoint passing shots to win 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2) at the U.S. Open on Friday, reaching his fourth major semifinal this season.

Murray, one of tennis' top returners, weathered 17 aces at up to 140 miles per hour from the six-foot-nine Isner but repeatedly got back serves topping 130 m.p.h. and managed to break the American twice in a row bridging the first two sets.

"It's so frustrating playing against him because you feel like you're playing good tennis, and it's so hard to break him," said Murray, who has won his past 10 matches.

While Murray is a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, Isner was playing in his first quarter-final at a major tournament, and he acknowledged afterward that jitters affected him at the outset.

"I wasn't swinging out like I felt like I should have early on in the match. I was just guiding the ball," said Isner, who lives in Tampa, Fla. "That was a little bit of nerves. It just took awhile to free up."

To date, Isner is best known for winning the longest match in tennis history, 70-68 in the fifth set in Wimbledon's first round in 2010, when he pounded 113 aces over its record 11 hours, five minutes.

Isner repeatedly has said he aims to be known for a more important victory in the late stages of a top tournament, but that'll have to wait.

"It's been a good run for me, but I'm still disappointed right now," Isner said. "I'm not satisfied."

In Saturday's semifinals, Murray will face defending champion Rafael Nadal or 2003 champion Andy Roddick, who were to play later Friday.

The other semifinal was set up by Thursday's quarter-finals, and it'll be a big one: No. 1 Novak Djokovic against No. 3 Roger Federer, who's won five of his record 16 Grand Slam championships at the U.S. Open.

Djokovic is 62-2 with nine titles in 2011, including at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. His first loss this season came when Federer ended Djokovic's 43-match winning streak in a thrilling French Open semifinal.

Murray's past Grand Slam final appearances include losses to Djokovic at the Australian Open in January and to Federer at the U.S. Open in 2008. He's seeking to become the first British man since 1936 to win a Grand Slam title.

As it is, Murray is now only the seventh man in the Open era to reach at least the semifinals at all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single season. Three of the others are Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.

Trying to push Murray to a fifth set, Isner got the fourth into a tiebreaker, where his serving is usually a significant advantage.

Not this time.

Isner's play was littered with mistakes down the stretch: He double-faulted to trail 2-1, slapped what he later called a "gimme volley" into the net to make it 5-2, put a drop shot into the net for 6-2, then missed a forehand return on match point, ending things after thee hours, 24 minutes.

"He put a ton of pressure on me," Murray said. "It was a relief to win that fourth-set 'breaker."

While he doesn't serve nearly as fast as Isner does regularly, Murray did a good job with that part of his game Friday, hitting 14 aces of his own. After facing - and saving - a break point in the second game of the match, Murray won 42 of the next 51 points he served, helping him grab a two-set lead.

It took nearly two hours of action, but Isner finally did break, going up 2-0 in the third set when Murray sailed a backhand long to lose serve for the only time. That helped Isner prolong the match by winning that set, capping it with a 139 m.p.h. ace, while first lady Michelle Obama looked on from the stands.

Rain earlier in the week forced the U.S. Tennis Association to delay the men's final from Sunday to Monday for the fourth consecutive year, and three of the four men's quarter-finalists in action Friday were on court for a third straight day.

Friday's temperature topped 27 C, and at the start of play, the blue sky over a mostly empty Arthur Ashe Stadium wasn't marred by a single cloud. Those conditions favoured Murray, whose training regimen includes spending weeks practising in the heat and humidity of Florida each summer.

He's also got a more varied game than Isner, who primarily relies on his serve and forehand setting up chances to rush the net, where his significant wingspan can cover a lot of territory. Murray showed off his full repertoire, including lob after lob that would arc over the lanky Isner - no easy task - and curl in near the baseline.

"More so than his return is everything after the return," Isner said. "He'll block the serve back and then he'll just - he plays incredible defence. That's what he does."

While Isner did win the point on 50 of his 75 forays to the net, Murray found holes through which he was able to zip passing shots off both wings, often on the run.

A key moment came with Isner holding two break points while Murray served at 4-4, 15-40 in the fourth set. By now the stands were more full, and Isner was feeding off the partisan spectators' energy.

On the first break point, Murray delivered a 129 m.p.h. ace. On the next, he hit a second serve that Isner thought might have been a fault - a replay shown on TV showed it caught the back of the service line - and Murray won the point with a stretching half-volley.

"He reflexed it. I mean, how often does he make that shot? Probably not more than 50 per cent," Isner said. "If I get that point there, I like my chances to serve it out. We'd still be out there right now."

Murray eventually held serve there, but he clutched at the small of his back later in that game. In the next game, Murray's feet got tangled, sending him tumbling to the court, but he quickly rose after losing the point.

At 5-5 in the first set, Murray got an opening on Isner's serve and barged right through. One of Isner's five double-faults set up break point, and when he pushed a forehand long, Murray had a lead.

"I didn't play a good game there," Isner said, "and I paid the price for it, that's for sure."

That was part of nine consecutive points that Murray won on Isner's serve. That stretch included a break to start the second set, when Murray didn't make an unforced error until the eighth game.

But Murray's level began to sag a bit in the third set, while Isner elevated his play, making things far more interesting - until the lopsided tiebreaker.

"I played well in the third and fourth set," Isner said. "Just didn't go my way at the end."

Murray denies inspired Isner in four



Friday, September 9, 2011



A week ago Friday afternoon, Scottish tennis star Andy Murray was toiling away on Louis Armstrong Stadium, down two sets to none in a second-round match and looking like he may bow out of the US Open early for the second year in a row.

But the world No. 4 rebounded in five sets to beat 41st-ranked Robin Haase, a Dutchman playing in just his second Open. Murray ran through his next two matches in straight sets, and on this Friday afternoon was once again made to work -- in four sets, not five -- in a hard-fought victory over American John Isner, 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2) on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The six-foot-nine Isner, making his first appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, had Murray on the ropes for much of the third and fourth sets, his booming serve buffered by a blossoming net game and -- at times -- a forehand that couldn't miss. Playing in front of First Lady Michelle Obama, Isner's net play was a sight to be seen for a majority of the latter two sets, pinning the agile Murray to the baseline.

It did not prove to be quite enough against the 24-year-old Murray, who was a finalist at Flushing Meadows in 2008. In a competitive fourth set, Murray fought off break points in the ninth game, including one by kissing a second serve off the service line and putting away a half-volley backhand.

In the tiebreaker, Isner double faulted early to give Murray a 3-1 lead and then came unraveled. He missed a gimme forehand volley with a shank into the next to go down 5-2, then tapped a drop-shot attempt into the tape. On match point, Isner's service reply landed well wide, launching Murray into his eighth Grand Slam semifinal in his last 17 majors.

Isner had won 13 of his last 14 tiebreaks at the Open, but could not hold his nerve in front of the home crowd, bowing out to the higher-ranked player.

"This surface is probably his best, I would say," Isner said of Murray. "He's playing very well after coming off his Cincinnati win, so he's very confident. I think he showed that today at times."

The loss ended Isner's nine-match win streak, stretching back to the Winston-Salem Open which he won in his home state the week prior to the Open. Murray had also won nine in a row, his tenth victory punching his ticket into the semifinals.

It is there that Murray is set to take on the winner of the Andy Roddick-Rafael Nadal match that was set to follow in Arthur Ashe. The last time Roddick and Nadal met at a major was at the 2004 US Open, when the American dispatched Rafa in straight sets in a secound-round battle, 6-0, 6-3, 6-4.

It was just the second meeting between Murray and Isner, who is the 28th seed here. The Scot defeated Isner with ease at last year's Australian Open, blowing past the American in a fourth-round encounter in straight sets, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2.

Both men employed short-game tactics in the early-afternoon encounter, Isner winning 50 of 75 net approaches while Murray snuck one drop shot after another over the net, exploiting his 26-year-old opponent's lack of speed.

"It's so frustrating playing against him," Murray said on court after his win. "You feel like you're playing such good tennis, but it's so tough to break him. He started serving well [in the third set] and put a lot of pressure on me. I'm relieved to win that in a fourth-set breaker."

Match Facts

- Isner had 17 aces to Murray's 14

- Isner hit 55 winners to Murray's 47

- Murray was 2 of 5 on break points for the match

- Isner finished the US hardcourt season 16-5

Arthur Ashe Stadium - Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
John Isner USA (28) 5 4 6 62
Andy Murray GBR (4) 7 6 3 77


An Interview With: Andy Murray

Friday, September 9, 2011


Q. Is there any problem with your back? You were clutching at it?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. Well, it was sore right at the end that I kind of felt after a serve a wee bit awkward, but it's all right just now.

Q. How satisfying is that in all the circumstances, the opponent, the circumstances of the match, the tournament?

ANDY MURRAY: I thought it was a really high standard today. I thought I played really well. I hit the ball very clean from the back of the court. You know, when he's serving you have no option other than to just try and get yourself in the rallies. You're under a lot of pressure on your own service games, so you don't want to just be rash and start trying to make huge winners or do anything stupid. You know, I didn't give him too many opportunities to break me and did a good job on my own serve.

Q. What is that mental pressure like playing with someone with his style?

ANDY MURRAY: I mean, it's tough, because like in the third and fourth set he started to play better and he started to take like more risk, you know. A lot of times that can sort of be what you want them to do, because, you know, him or Karlovic -- John's a better player from the back of the court than Karlovic -- but when they're going for big cuts, especially early on in the match, normally they'll make quite a lot of mistakes. If you're solid from the back, then that's a good thing. But, you know, when you're having to serve all the time, and, you know, when he goes through patches like in the third and fourth sets where he's hitting like 120 miles an hour second serves, then you're just trying to hang on to your own serve. You're trying to just chase every ball down. It may look like you're playing defensively or whatever, but it's not the case. You know, it's just what happens. You can't take chances against someone that's serving 140 miles an hour and their second serve is bouncing, you know, like up here on the second serve, and then he's mixing it up with 120 miles an hour second serves into your body. You've just got to try and find a way to win, and I did that.

Q. With the way you're feeling now, how do you think you'll be tomorrow?

ANDY MURRAY: I'm feeling fine now. A lot of times that's the case. It's kinda how you wake up the next day. It was hot today. It was a pretty long match and it was warm. You know, it's not like you are you go into kind of a classic endurance when you play against him. You have to be so explosive. You're not like having 30 shot rallies that you might have against Rafa. You're having to react all the time and stretch for balls and chase down like drop volleys. It's a different sort of fitness against him. So I just have to see how I feel in the morning, but I feel good just now.

Q. There is a stat going around that you're the seventh man to get to the semis of all the Grand Slams in the same year. Is that pretty gratifying to reach that stat?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. It is, yeah.

Q. How big a point was that in the fourth set when he had the breakpoint and you just managed to half-volley that win?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, well, of course it was, because, you know, I wasn't really getting many chances on his serve. So, yeah, some of them were -- yeah, I think the serve was really close. I think it was in. But, yeah, I just sort of just wandered forward. I sort of wandered forward, and kind of by his reaction I think he thought it was out. I just kind of reacted. As soon as he hit the forehand, I just sort of ran sort of through the ball and made it. It was a huge, huge point obviously, because if you go a break down against him, he's tough to break.

Q. John said the wind was a bit of a factor for him. Was it for you? What was it like out there?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it's always tough normally on that court. You know, the wind picks up, and from one end you have to do a lot of running. From the far side of the court from where you come in, you know, it's very easy to dictate the points and make the guy move a lot. But from the other side you have to just kind of scrap and hustle and try and find ways to win points. I think as well for him the first set or the second set more so the sun was quite difficult for his serve. But once that moved, he started serving way better. It was so tough to break him.

Q. It looks as if we're going to get the top four in the semifinals again. Can you talk a little bit about that, this stranglehold you guys have got on the slams is pretty impressive, isn't it, over the last few years?

ANDY MURRAY: I mean, I think it's good for tennis. I think everyone has played great tennis in the slams this year. That's, I think, probably what people would like to see, would be you to play your best tennis there. I think at the French it happened, and it nearly happened also at Wimbledon. You know, Roger lost in the quarters. Rafa got injured at the Aussie Open. It's been very close to happening in almost all four of them, so it's been great consistency. Glad to be part of that.

Q. How would you feel about a Sunday start here and spacing things out a little better?

ANDY MURRAY: No, just Monday and Tuesday first rounds is fine with me. I don't think - I just don't think it's necessary to have extra days. If they want to put an extra day in, then they better increase the prize money substantially because it's an extra day's work for us. It's happened before at tournaments where they think, Oh, we'll put an extra day in, and then, you know, the tournament is getting a big increase in their -- because obviously it's a weekend so they'll get more people through the door, but that money doesn't go back into the prize money at all. So I'd rather just keep it Monday, Tuesday starts rather than the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

Q. The French example doesn't appeal to you?

ANDY MURRAY: No. I just like the way it is with the Monday/Tuesday starts and no semifinal and final at the weekend. The game I think now has just become so physical and so demanding that, you know, you look at a way a lot of the guys move that if you -- obviously this time it's different because of the rain and stuff -- but if you play a match on Saturday and a long five set match, be four and a half, five hours, and to recover and play good tennis the next day is very difficult.

Q. If we could assume that Rafa's two sets up, this is becoming quite a familiar scenario for you right now, playing him in the semis of a slam. Do you feel that maybe each time it happens you've learned something from the last time? It's never gonna be easy, but do you think it gives you any more chance?

ANDY MURRAY: Well, I've beat him before in the semis; I won against him also at the Australian Open. And when I've won against him, it's always been on hard courts. It's a good surface for me to play him on. Obviously at the French I would go into that match not being a favorite; then Wimbledon I've got a chance, but his record has been great there. I think on the American hard courts I think it's a close, close matchup.

Q. Tournament supervisors said the decision to move the match was a collaborative decision between the tournament and the players. Were you involved in that and what are your opinions?

ANDY MURRAY: I wasn't involved in that. I didn't speak to anyone about it. I almost would have preferred it if they just left it just as it was on the Sunday, because now the guys on the other half are playing like a normal slam. They're playing one day on, one day off, you know, from the quarterfinals onwards. If they kept it as it was, they would have had to play three days in a row and we would have had to play four days in a row. I would have rather had that. So I didn't speak to anyone about it.

Q. Were you expecting them to make that announcement, or was it a surprise to the players?

ANDY MURRAY: Got told they were thinking of moving it to Monday. I said in here the other day I just would have liked them to have kept it how it was.

Q. This is the third time in a row that you've played, if it is Rafa in the semis. What in particular will you need to do if you're gonna get past him?

ANDY MURRAY: Well, I need to serve well, and then try and be patient from the back of the court but dictate the points when I can. When it's windy on that court from one of the ends, it's very difficult to dictate the points. Very difficult. So from the side when I have the wind with me, I'll be looking to make him move. You know, but the serve is very important against him. If you can get free points on your serve and you can like hold comfortable service games, you can put pressure on him that way. But if you're not, then you have to play a lot of rallies. He obviously doesn't make many mistakes and his ball is very heavy, so that makes it tough.

Q. Mary Joe's haircut. You seemed to like it.

ANDY MURRAY: I saw her getting her haircut as I was warming up this morning, so I just thought I'd throw it out there. But, yeah, I saw her in there this morning.

Q. (Comment about Rio Ferdinand Tweets.)

ANDY MURRAY: I think he likes tennis a lot. I never actually got to meet him, but he's sent me messages for the last few years, and he's quite a prolific tweeter, as well. Yeah, it's nice. But, you know, if you get sort of into all of that stuff right now, you know, there will be a lot of support back home. You need to just try and stay focused.

Q. We've got three boys in the junior semifinals. Is that an encouraging thought?

ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. I mean, it's great. I mean, I've always said the last few years, you know, when I've spoken to people sort of at the LTA or whatever and they said, Yeah, like there would be one junior in a junior slam, and they were like, Yeah, but it's about seniors. It's actually not really when you look at the you know, the guys that have won junior slams and you look at the top 10, like in the rankings, like top 10 junior rankings, the amount of guys that get through into the top 100 in the seniors is a pretty large number. So, you know, if they can keep pushing their ranking up, and we've got a pretty good chance of one of them winning here, that's always good. It's good. Good for them.

An Interview With: John Isner

Friday, September 9, 2011

Q. John, despite the fact you lost, do you feel you played some of the best tennis you've ever played in that match?

JOHN ISNER: Yeah, I played pretty well. Not in the first two sets. I couldn't really free up to go for my shots, especially on the one side. The wind is behind you, and, you know, I just wasn't swinging out on the ball. I'm not gonna have any chance against him in I'm just rolling the ball in. Somewhere along in that third set I started to get more comfortable and I started playing better. So for sure, you know, I played well in the third and fourth set. Just didn't go my way at the end.

Q. How badly was your ankle bothering you?

JOHN ISNER: Oh, it didn't. I thought it was going to be worse than it was, but it wasn't an issue at all. Didn't hinder me one bit.

Q. Is there one or two points in that fourth set that are gonna give you nightmares tonight, for the next week?

JOHN ISNER: I think that sort of, I mean, half tank, half volley he hit, because he thought his second serve was out, and he like was like walking to the sidelines. Went like that and I hit the ball back, and he reflexed it. I mean, how often does he make that shot? Probably not more than 50%, you know. If I get that point there, I like my chances to serve it out. We'd still be out there right now.

Q. What about in the tiebreaker? You had the two dropshots that hit the net.

JOHN ISNER: Well, he played a good tiebreaker, for sure. First point of the tiebreaker I felt like I hit a good reflex return, and he hit an even better dropshot. You know, I double faulted at 1-All, but then, you know, he just played well. I missed that gimme volley. That was bad. That was kind of -- you know, that hurt, because that put me down, I forget, 6-2 or something like that.

Q. I think it was 5-2.

JOHN ISNER: Yeah, 5-2. So, you know, that's a big difference with him serving at 5-2 rather than up 5-3. All I had to do was put it in the court because he was off the court, and I took my eye off of it.

Q. Did you get nervous? This is your first chance at a spot like this.

JOHN ISNER: Um, I was a little bit nervous. I think that comes with the fact that, again, I wasn't swinging out like I felt like I should have early on in the match. I was just guiding the ball. That was a little bit of nerves. It just took a while to free up. So a little bit of nerves. But, you know, I wasn't nervous once I got settled.

Q. If you take a step back and you look at the two weeks as a whole, having the best results of your career so far? I mean, how do you think you will look back at this?

JOHN ISNER: Yeah, it's been a good run for me, but, you know, I'm still disappointed right now. I'm not satisfied. You know, I would have liked my chances in a fifth set today had it gone that way, but it wasn't to be. He was the better player today. He deserved it. But for sure, you know, this is a good thing to build on, and I've had a really good summer. I'll take some time off and then I'll, you know, try to finish the year strong. You know, a lot of people think the tennis season is over after the Open, but there are a lot of big tournaments to be played.

Q. When you go home, what will you work on? You said you were rolling the ball in. What will you work on?

JOHN ISNER: Well, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. A lot of times when you take the court it's just a feel out there, and I didn't have the feeling from the get go. That was something that I was doing in my other matches. I was swinging and hitting the ball the right way. But today it took me a while to start doing that. So it's nothing that, you know, I don't feel like I need to work on, you know. I just gotta keep doing the same thing.

Q. With your serve, a lot of people think you have potential to be a top-10 player, and I think you think the same thing. What is separating you from making that leap at this point?

JOHN ISNER: Not much when you get to this stage of the tournament. If I could win today, that puts me so much closer to the top 10, because with points and whatnot, with each match won it's a big, big jump. So I'm pretty sure I'll be back in the top 20 after this tournament, you know. And if I can finish the year strong, I'll have a good opportunity to get in the top 10 because I was pretty lousy the first five months of the season, to be honest. I'll pretty much have a good chance to move up once the season starts next year.

Q. Now that it's behind you, can you tell us how much the rain delay affected your feeling today? Do you think it would be a good idea to start the tournament maybe a day earlier?

JOHN ISNER: No, the rain delay wasn't an issue for me. It is what it is, you know. It's the same for all of the players, especially guys on the bottom half of the draw. We all had to deal with it. I was just chilling the whole time throughout. It probably would have been nice, you know, had I won my round of 16 match a day earlier to have a day off, but, you know, I didn't. It was the same for everyone. As far as it starting a day earlier, I don't think so. I mean, this is pretty rare, how it...

Q. They do it at the French. Has that helped you there at all? Have you felt any advantage starting on a Sunday?

JOHN ISNER: No. I don't know. I don't think I've ever played on a Sunday.

Q. Roger is pretty emphatic that Super Saturday, its time has come and gone.

JOHN ISNER: Super Saturday? What's that?

Q. Playing the final and semifinal back to back. It's the only major that does that. Federer said last night its time has come and gone. It should be gone. What's your take on that?

JOHN ISNER: I don't know. I haven't thought about it. I've never been in a semifinal, so...

Q. First time US Open quarterfinals, Ashe venue; what was there that nobody could describe that now you've been there you know what it's like? What were you feeling that nobody can tell you about?

JOHN ISNER: Um, there is good energy on the court, especially at times when you play well and you forge ahead in the match. I would have really liked to have gotten that fourth set under my belt, and I think the energy would have been even better at that point. So it's just fun to play out here. You know, it's our home Grand Slam, and the crowd's gonna support the Americans. That's what I felt like today. It helped me a lot, and I think it could have helped me even more so had I been able to extend the match.

Q. When you look back on all your shot selections, did you okay all the dropshots that you tried, or was that a little bit of a shot selection because of the new environments?

JOHN ISNER: No, it's a shot that I knew going in I was going to have to hit because he sometimes will play back behind the baseline. He plays incredible defense. You know, I won some points on the dropshot, and, you know, I didn't win some points on the dropshot. But, you know, on my forehand side that's the shot I like to hit, so I think it's pretty effective, you know. But against him, he's one of the better, you know, retrievers and defenders in the game, so a couple times it didn't work out. But it wasn't like a panic or anything. I knew what I was doing.

Q. Being in the tiebreak, was that kind of where you wanted to be? You have had such success in tiebreaks. Did you feel at the beginning of that, Okay, this is exactly my kind of situation?

JOHN ISNER: Yeah, you know, I was comfortable in that situation. But at the same time, it was a little disappointing, because on that breakpoint at 4-All, it was kind of a flukey point. I felt like I maybe could've, should've gotten that break and then it wouldn't have been in a tiebreaker. I felt comfortable. He outplayed me. I thought he played well.

Q. With the way Murray has been playing right now, how do you like his chances against the big 3 or Roddick if he comes back in this match?

JOHN ISNER: Well, I mean, this surface is probably his best, I would say. He's playing very well after coming off his Cincinnati win, so he's very confident. I think he showed that today at times. So I think no matter who he plays, whether it's Rafa or Andy, I don't think he'll be an underdog. I think if anything it will be a tossup with him. He's playing very well.

Q. How is his return compared to other people you've served against?

JOHN ISNER: It's very good. I think more so than his return is everything after the return. You know, he'll block the serve back and then he'll just -- he plays incredible defense; that's what he does.

Q. That first set when you guys were at 5-All and you broke him and you guys were on serve, how disappointing was that, because your serve is such a great weapon for you?

JOHN ISNER: Yeah, it was. I think the sun had a little bit of an issue on that side I got broken. Took a while for the sun to move out of my way. But I didn't play a good game there and I paid the price for it, that's for sure. You know, it would have been nice to have maybe gotten that first set, but it didn't happen. You know, it is what it is.

Q. With you, Andy, and Mardy having a great run here, does that take some of the pressure off of what's wrong with American men's tennis? How do you feel about that? You made the mark.

JOHN ISNER: Yeah, you know, I think it maybe takes a little bit of the pressure off. I personally don't feel any pressure, but, you know, having guys do well at this event is a good start for us. And, you know, we do have, in my opinion, a good crop of players, you know, going at it now. Obviously with Andy and Mardy they're gonna be there for at least a few more years. Myself, Sam Querrey, we'll be coming back; Donald is playing well. So there is a good amount of players.

Q. How many shirts did you get through today?

JOHN ISNER: No, it wasn't as bad as yesterday. I think maybe like six or so. But, yeah, I'm a sweater.

Q. You said it took you a while to get going, until the third set. Do you have a reason for that?

JOHN ISNER: It's just a different setting out there. You know, to be honest, I don't have much experience on that court. I never hit a ball on it until warmup today, this year, so it's just very different. And the wind is -- it's the windiest court here at the site, and it's just something I wasn't quite, quite used to. So maybe that has something to do with it.

Q. Talk about the breakpoint. Did that linger longer than it should have in the fourth set?

JOHN ISNER: No, I don't think so, because it's not like I got broken the next game or anything. You know, I still, you know, still liked my chances when it got to a tiebreaker, but just -- I don't think it lingered. I think at that point you can't let anything like that bother you. But, I mean, he won the point fair and square. It was just kinda weird how he did it.

Q. You've played on that court before.

JOHN ISNER: Uh huh.

Q. Just this year you're saying?

JOHN ISNER: Yeah, this year.