John Isner, who had a 6-6 record going into Miami and lost in his first match at Indian Wells, says that from a mental standpoint, he needed to pull off a three-set win over Ivan Dodig in his opener.
“I needed it for sure,” No. 23 Isner told reporters. “I tried to stay positive. I have been working hard. You know, I know that winning matches out here is not easy, the highs, when you’re playing well, feel amazing; the lows, when you’re not playing so well, don’t feel so good. So you have just got to take it as it is, and there will be times when I’m playing well and winning a lot of matches. There will be times like this year so far I haven’t played my best and lost, matches I feel like I could have won. But just trying to stick with it, and, just keep doing what I need to do outside of tournaments to try to give myself the best opportunity.”
Isner, who will face Marin Cilic in his next match, added that he doesn't feel any pressure to take over the mantle of U.S. tennis with the retirement of former No. 1 Andy Roddick.
“I don't compare myself to Andy, and I don't know if anybody else compares me to him, either,” Isner said. “I just try to enjoy it. I try not to put too much pressure on myself. That's when I play my best. Sometimes it's hard not to. I want to do well, but I don't. That's not pressure. I'm not feeling pressure from everyone else expecting me to do well. I just want to do well myself. Andy is a guy that if I can really have half the career that he had, he had an unbelievable career, so I'm just trying to keep improving every day.”