A final set tie-break could be implemented in the Australian Open as soon as next month, according to a report by The Times.
It has been reported that the grand slam event has been granted authorisation to use tie-breaks in the final set of matches in a bid to shorten them. Following in the footsteps of Wimbledon, who made a similar move earlier this year. The decision to change the scoring was triggered by two marathon men’s semi-finals matches that took place at Wimbledon in June. Kevin Anderson required six hours and 36 minutes to defeat John Isner. Then Novak Djokovic spent more than five hours to overcome Rafael Nadal. The length of those matches meant that Djokovic’s clash had to be finished the following day, which caused a delay to the start of the women’s final.
“I think if you ask the players, when you get stuck in these positions, playing such long matches, it’s very tiring,” Anderson told reporters earlier this year. “It’s very tough, playing six-and-a-half hours, whatever we were out there for.
“I personally don’t see the added value or benefit compared to, say, at the U.S. Open where we’re playing tie-breaks in the fifth set.”
Unlike Wimbledon, the Australian Open is set to use a super tie-break in the final set of matches. Once the score reaches 6-6, players will then play a first to 10 points tie-breaker with the winner must having an advantage of at least two points. At Wimbledon, they will use a standard tie-break when the score reaches 12-12 in the decider.
Talks are now underway about if the new format would be used at next months Australian Open. There is a possibility that it could instead be trailed at junior and qualifying draws before being applied to the main draw in 2020.
This year, a total of 12 matches went beyond the 6-6 mark in the decider at the Australian Open. Five in the men’s tournament and seven in the women’s. Men’s matches are best-of-five sets and women’s are best-of-three.
In the history of grand slam tennis, the US Open was the first event to implement a final set tiebreaker back in 1970. At present, the French Open is the only event to indicate any changes to their scoring system in the future.
Tennis Australian is yet to comment on the report by the Times. The Australian Open will get underway on January 14th at Melbourne Park.
