I want to be a top-10 player and I want to win a Grand Slam tournament.
— John Isner
Playing four years of college, when you're playing for someone other than yourself, I think it makes it a lot more fun.
There are a lot of things that go on between the lines of a tennis court, mentally, physically and whatnot.
My theory is that I'm just closer to the sun than everyone else. I weigh more than everyone else, I'm taller than everyone else. When it's really humid and hot outside it's going to take a bigger toll on me.
I was always a late bloomer.
I've learned how to sleep on airplanes. When I'm taking a trans-Atlantic flight or going to a different continent, I will always read because reading puts me to sleep. When you watch a movie, you have all that light coming to your eyes, but with reading, I can't get through 15 or 20 pages.
I'm not really focused on my ranking.
My confidence sort of comes and goes very quickly.
I was playing 60, 70 matches a year in college. In the pros, unless you're winning, you're not playing that many.
Up until I was a junior at Georgia, I felt that when all was said and done, I'd at least have a college degree to fall back on when tennis was finished.
I always ask for the exit row when flying. Airlines are pretty accommodating and most of the time I'll get it.
There's a lot of times I'll just play too passive and since I'm not going to play defense as well as most guys can, I can't get away with passive play.
I know where I'm ranked, but I don't look at it that much, I don't study it that much. You really can't look at it that way, you've got to try to win as many matches as you can, and it's cliche, but you've got to take it one at a time.
You cannot just play tournament after tournament like maybe I did when I was 23, 24 years old.
I've always stayed hungry.
The good wins are still great, and you are on cloud nine when that happens, but the losses sting.
A lot of times when I'm confident and relaxed on the court, I'm going to be a pretty tough out. But when I'm not so confident and not so relaxed, I tense up and my balls fall short and everything. It just sort of unravels.
That would be a huge honor, if I ever were to become the No. 1 American. It's something that I've always wanted to, you know, achieve that. For me, if were to happen, it'd be great. I'd try to hold onto that spot as long as possible, but I know there'd be a lot of people nipping at my heels to try to get to that No. 1 spot.
I've sort of always pulled for the heels, like the bad guys. So I think if I were a pro wrestler, first I'd need to bulk up, and second I'll need to get sort of a bad-boy persona.
I can't beat guys consistently playing like I'm 5-foot-10.
I always knew that my best tennis was going to be in my late 20s.
People think when you're struggling and not winning matches it's because you're not working hard. That's the biggest misnomer in tennis.
I try to bring a lot of water on the plane with me and eat a really good meal.
You're going to lose points and gain points throughout the year.
You know, Slams are tough. It's the most physical, in my opinion. You're playing three out of five.
I think college tennis makes you tough.
I felt a ton of pressure in '08. A lot of great things were expected of me right out of the gate, and I brought some of that on myself with those great early results. But I wasn't a good enough player to make a run every fourth or fifth tournament. I wasn't as good a player as my ranking indicated.
When I fly overseas, I usually fly business class. If not, my knees are going to be at my chin.
I always have to play very aggressive on the court. It's something that's easier said than done.
In any match, making a lot of first serves is very important, especially for me.
It's very important to be rested.
Any time you get to come to New York and be near New York City, that is a very cool opportunity.
It is very hard to stay up there in the Top 20.
Everyone wants to start the year off well.
That's why I enjoy Davis Cup, and I really enjoyed college tennis. It's very special. You want to go out there and compete your hardest, because you don't want to let anyone down. You want to absolutely give it your all for your team. And that's sort of the mentality I've taken to pro tennis.
People seem to think when you lose a match it's because you are not working hard.
I almost went with basketball over tennis.
I was always so big, it took me a long time to grow into my body.
Usually I'm traveling for tennis, so the most important thing for me is to not get jet lag.
I stopped eating airplane food; it's not that good.
For the most part I consider myself a mentally strong player.
I think the more matches that I play, the better shape I'm going to get in. That's the best type of fitness you can do.
We never got much in the way of material things, but if you can be spoiled by good cooking, my mom spoiled me three times a day all my life.
I try not to eat too much, but I always get hungry before a match. I make sure I have enough fuel in my body. I'll eat pasta and a little bit of protein usually. I'm pretty much eating a full meal.
I grew up in a nice neighborhood in Greensboro, N.C., which is not too big, but definitely not a small town.
When you're out on the court, you're fighting against yourself and it can be tough.
Davis Cup is a completely different animal.
Tennis is a funny sport.
My marriage and my career are my two top priorities.
You can't not love it here in Paris. It's amazing.
