“Taking care of my body and my health is my full-time job.”
― John Isner
“I love building a team around me, and being able to support a group of people is one of the best feelings I’ve come to know during my career; I imagine this is what a lot of business owners can relate to this.”
― John Isner
“Everyone wants to start the year off well.”
― John Isner
“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.”
― John Isner
“You can’t not love it here in Paris. It’s amazing.”
― John Isner
“It is very hard to stay up there in the Top 20.”
― John Isner
“The good wins are still great, and you are on cloud nine when that happens, but the losses sting.”
― John Isner
“My marriage and my career are my two top priorities.”
― John Isner
“Any time you get to come to New York and be near New York City, that is a very cool opportunity.”
― John Isner
“I’ve always stayed hungry.”
― John Isner
“Tennis is a funny sport.”
― John Isner
“It’s very important to be rested.”
― John Isner
“You cannot just play tournament after tournament like maybe I did when I was 23, 24 years old.”
― John Isner
“Davis Cup is a completely different animal.”
― John Isner
“In any match, making a lot of first serves is very important, especially for me.”
― John Isner
“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.”
― John Isner
“When you’re out on the court, you’re fighting against yourself and it can be tough.”
― John Isner
“I always have to play very aggressive on the court. It’s something that’s easier said than done.”
― John Isner
“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.”
― John Isner
“I grew up in a nice neighborhood in Greensboro, N.C., which is not too big, but definitely not a small town.”
― John Isner
“When I fly overseas, I usually fly business class. If not, my knees are going to be at my chin.”
― John Isner
“I always ask for the exit row when flying. Airlines are pretty accommodating and most of the time I’ll get it.”
― John Isner
“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.”
― John Isner
“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.”
― John Isner
“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.”
― John Isner
“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.”
― John Isner
“I think college tennis makes you tough.”
― John Isner
“I was playing 60, 70 matches a year in college. In the pros, unless you’re winning, you’re not playing that many.”
― John Isner
“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.”
― John Isner
“You know, Slams are tough. It’s the most physical, in my opinion. You’re playing three out of five.”
― John Isner
“My confidence sort of comes and goes very quickly.”
― John Isner
“For the most part I consider myself a mentally strong player.”
― John Isner
“You’re going to lose points and gain points throughout the year.”
― John Isner
“I’m not really focused on my ranking.”
― John Isner
“I stopped eating airplane food; it’s not that good.”
― John Isner
“I try to bring a lot of water on the plane with me and eat a really good meal.”
― John Isner
“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.”
― John Isner
“Usually I’m traveling for tennis, so the most important thing for me is to not get jet lag.”
― John Isner
“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.”
― John Isner
“I was always a late bloomer.”
― John Isner
“I was always so big, it took me a long time to grow into my body.”
― John Isner
“I always knew that my best tennis was going to be in my late 20s.”
― John Isner
“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.”
― John Isner
“I almost went with basketball over tennis.”
― John Isner
“I can’t beat guys consistently playing like I’m 5-foot-10.”
― John Isner
“There are a lot of things that go on between the lines of a tennis court, mentally, physically and whatnot.”
― John Isner
“People seem to think when you lose a match it’s because you are not working hard.”
― John Isner
“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.”
― 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.”
― John Isner
“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.”
― John Isner
“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.”
― John Isner
“I want to be a top-10 player and I want to win a Grand Slam tournament.”
― John Isner
“I had no idea I was going to be this tall. Had I known that, I honestly would have stuck to basketball.”
― John Isner
“My family and friends, they know that I’m a really good competitor.”
― John Isner
“I’d love to have Trump come watch me. That would be awesome.”
― John Isner
“When I travel to a grand slam, I need to look for a place to stay for me, my family and my team.”
― John Isner
“I have a coach and I have a chiropractor, who works to keep me healthy. I pay their salaries. I pay for their flights as we travel around the world on a weekly basis, and I pay for their hotels and meals while we’re on tour.”
― John Isner
“My expenses are largely a fixed, sunken cost, regardless of how much revenue I earn.”
― John Isner
“I try not to make a habit of spending the whole year losing in the first rounds of events, but tennis is one of those sports where nothing is guaranteed.”
― John Isner
“Everyone works so hard on their game and on their body. Most of the time, it comes down to who is more relaxed mentally; on the court while playing and off the court.”
― John Isner
“There is so much that goes in to being a good tennis player. It’s not just what you can do well on the court, it’s between the ears as well.”
― John Isner
“As a tennis player, or any professional athlete, our career has a shelf life. I don’t want to waste any opportunities, I don’t want to look back on it when I’m 45 and think I could have done a lot more.”
― John Isner
“For me, I relish playing tournaments in America.”
― John Isner
“That’s the most fulfilling thing I’ve experienced ever, being a father.”
― John Isner
“As anyone who is a father or mother out there can tell you, it’s pretty amazing.”
― John Isner
“Practicing hard doesn’t guarantee you anything.”
― John Isner
“Sometimes I think the easiest way to introduce what goes into managing the expenses of a tennis career is to take a look at another pro sport and notice some of the differences.”
― John Isner
“My coaches, trainer and agency have all helped make me the player and the business that I am today.”
― John Isner
“Being able to travel with family and friends so they can cheer me on as I play is something it’s hard to put a price on; my point is simply that for all of this, there is indeed a price.”
― John Isner
“People often come up and tell me how much money I make in a year, which is funny because I don’t think it’s something I’ve ever said to someone.”
― John Isner
“A tournament pays me to show up because the fans want to see me and I move the needle at the box office? That’s amazing. It’s good for tennis, good for me and good for the event. If a sponsor wants to pay to put their company name on my shirt because they think I’m a strong ambassador for their brand? Heck yes.”
― John Isner
“I’ve played with Prince racquets my entire career.”
― John Isner
“The way I see it, the prize money is a reflection of my on-court performance, but the sponsorships are something more personal, connected more to people and fans, and to my values.”
― John Isner
“Prior to our daughter being born, I think getting married is another big step. That definitely settles things down personally.”
― John Isner
“Everything has gone pretty fluidly in my personal life, so I think that certainly helps.”
― John Isner
“A lot of players have had it worse than me. Look at a guy like Andy Roddick, incredible Hall of Fame player, but he ran up against Roger so many times in big finals.”
― John Isner
“If someone had told me at fourteen that I’d be six-ten, I might have stuck with basketball, in all seriousness.”
― John Isner
“I didn’t know I could even be a professional tennis player, honestly. All this is actually very, very unexpected.”
― John Isner
“In the past, I’ve played where I only just rely on my serve.”
― John Isner
“The mental part of the game, being able to free up on the tennis court, is much easier said than done.”
― John Isner
“Probably the most infamous story in our family: My oldest brother took a U-lock bike lock and locked my head to the bedpost. And he didn’t just do this for a minute or two; he did this for a couple hours. I was maybe 8 or 9, and he was maybe 15.”
― John Isner
“I’ve done a good job putting some meat on my bones since my freshman year of college. It’s taken a lot of work. I was just under 200 pounds my freshman year; I was 6’8′ and 198 pounds.”
― John Isner
“At 19, I didn’t have a hair on my face. When I was 20, I looked 14.”
― John Isner
“A big upper body is not a great thing for tennis, and for me, flexibility is important.”
― John Isner
“When I left college, I just thought I could play tennis to delay getting a regular job and go there and try to make ends meet. But it’s been a very different experience for me, fortunately.”
― John Isner
“For many years, tennis was the most important thing in my life. That was great. Nothing wrong with that.”
― John Isner
“Outdoor tennis plays into my strengths a little better.”
― John Isner
“Nothing against the Olympics. I played in 2012 and it was an incredible experience. It’s different for tennis players than for swimmers and track and field athletes. That’s the pinnacle of their sport and not so much the pinnacle of tennis.”
― John Isner
“Tennis is not really a traditional Olympic sport.”
― John Isner
“Our biggest events are the Grand Slams and are always going to be the Grand Slams.”
― John Isner
“The coaches that I have have done an incredible job with me, obviously the stuff we work on on the court.”
― John Isner
“I haven’t really worked with, like, a mental coach or anything.”
― John Isner
“It’s awesome to have the crowd on your side.”
― John Isner
“In a tiebreaker, you generally have a lot of adrenaline running through. It’s all about just holding your serve, trying to hold two serves at a time, trying to stay ahead in the tiebreaker, constantly put pressure on my opponent.”
― John Isner
“Yeah, certainly you want to try to save your energy at a Grand Slam.”
― John Isner
“The best part about traveling for work is that it’s better than sitting behind a desk!”
― John Isner
“The hardest part about traveling for work is that I’m a big guy, so traveling is sometimes uncomfortable for me.”
― John Isner
“My favorite tournament is the U.S. Open because the atmosphere is great.”
― John Isner
“What I most look forward to about traveling to MEMPHIS is the great food.”
― John Isner
“The best thing about being 6’9” is that it helps with my tennis game, especially with my serve.”
― John Isner
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