MELBOURNE, Australia(AP) John Isner was looking on the bright side after his three-set loss to Andy Murray in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Sunday.
His eight-match winning streak to start 2010 - including his first ATP tournament victory in Auckland - was over, but the hard-serving, 6-foot-9 American is pleased with the way he's playing.
This is a great start to the year,'' Isner said after falling to the fifth-seeded Scot 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2.Obviously, I would have liked to have kept on going in this tournament, in the big one. To make the final 16 here, I won eight matches in a row at this level, it's a great accomplishment.''
The 33rd-seeded Isner, who had friend and Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith in his players' box, plans to return to the U.S. to play some indoor tournaments and improve his fitness.
I'm a lot fitter now than I was last year, and I'm going to continue to work on that,'' Isner said.Just to see how kind of fit Andy Murray is, is kind of something to strive for.''
Isner reiterated he would play Davis Cup if asked. U.S. stalwarts Roddick and James Blake have already said they won't play this year, so his chances are good.
Isner said he went through some lean times after winning frequently in college in 2007.
I kind of regressed in 2008, which is not unusual,'' the 24-year-old said.I kind of got ahead of my learning curve.
``Now I'm more professional about things. I know that I can make a living, and make a really, really nice living playing tennis. So I'm going to work hard ... and know that this is my career for the next 10 years. I'm not going to waste any opportunity.''
Smith wasn't the only NFL player in the Rod Laver Arena crowd on Sunday. Buffalo Bills receiver Terrell Owens was also there after attending several matches during the first week of the tournament.
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WHAT A PAIN: Dinara Safina's back is giving her so much pain that she's going to need help packing her bags.
The 23-year-old Russian limped off the court in the first set of her fourth-round match at the Australian Open on Sunday when she was trailing fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko 4-5.
Later, after hobbling into her media interview in obvious pain, Safina said she told her coach at 3-2 that she could not move.
My back again; it suddenly hit me,'' Safina said, her eyes welling up.It was getting worse and worse. I have no idea really how it could happen. It's really, really terrible.''
She said it felt exactly like the pain that forced her out of the WTA Championships in Doha in October for six weeks of rest. She said at the time that one of the discs in her lower back was starting to fracture, and that she had been bothered by pain for three months.
But the Russian said that an MRI before the tournament showed her condition was improving.
``I just don't know what happened. It's shocking,'' the world No. 2 said.
Safina said she was even in too much pain to even lie down for treatment on the physiotherapist's table.
I cannot make any movement,'' she said.Whatever I try to move, it hurts terribly.''
Her next plan is to see her doctor in Germany, but she is not sure when she'll feel able to fly.
``I guess I will ask my team to help me to pack my bags, because I really don't know how to move now,'' Safina said.
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BIRTHDAY WISH: Maria Kirilenko had a childhood dream: to be playing in a Grand Slam tournament in Australia on her birthday.
``I think my dream comes true,'' Kirilenko said Sunday night, an hour before she turned 23.
The Russian advanced to her first Grand Slam quarterfinals after No. 2 Dinara Safina retired from the match with back pain.
Kirilenko said she would not be celebrating her birthday with champagne.
No, I don't want to get drunk before my next match. It's going to be difficult for me to play then,'' she laughed.Maybe after when I finish with my tournament I will celebrate with the girls from the locker room, with all my friends.''
For now, she is remaining in the moment. Her next opponent is China's Zheng Jie.
I'm focused, you know, and I'm still in the tournament,'' Kirilenko said.I just need to be ready for my next match because the tournament is not finished. I need to keep going.''
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QUIET, PLEASE: The whistling and singing fans bothered Andy Roddick during some of his serves against Fernando Gonzalez.
When he complained to chair umpire Enric Molina during a break in play, he was told that any unruly fans would be escorted out.
Roddick, who won the fourth-round match 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, shook his head.
``All you have to do is spot one person out of 15,000, and then we can do something about it? That's a good option,'' Roddick said sarcastically from his chair.
The American, who has had run-ins with court officials twice in this tournament, said the umpire's polite requests for the crowd to quiet down were not effective.
``This is one of those arguments we have again and again where I get frustrated because there's a lack of common sense involved,'' Roddick said.
Molina took the conversation in stride, responding with a smile that he had a lot of other things to pay attention to in the match.
``You're serving at deuce-40, I have to watch that, too,'' Molina said.
Roddick is not shy about expressing himself on court, often in an angrier tone than he used on Sunday. In his first-round match at Melbourne Park, Roddick berated at line judge after tripping over his foot.
The next match saw Roddick swear at the chair umpire over a line call and he left without shaking the umpire's hand. He later acknowledged he wasn't ``100 percent right'' in that argument.
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PLAYING ROGER: There are times, Rafael Nadal admits, when he'd rather be like Roger Federer.
But only on his Playstation.
While Nadal says he is very happy with his performance so far at this year's Australian Open, in the Playstation world he'd rather be Federer than himself.
Nadal says his own avatar on the Playstation game just didn't have the winning moves.
I am only the defensive guy, 2 meters behind the line. ... I don't run,'' Nadal said of the game.Better to choose another player.''
In real life, the 23-year-old Spaniard is the defending champion at the Australian Open after beating Federer in five sets in last year's final.
Nadal is 13-7 against Federer, but has taken the top year-end ATP ranking from the Swiss player only once. Except for 2008, Federer has finished every year on top since 2004.