World No.3 Dominic Thiem has unexpectedly lent his support behind an idea to replace the final set of best-of-three matches with a tiebreaker instead.
The three-time Grand Slam finalist says he still prefers the existing scoring format in the sport but believes such a change would create excitement for fans watching. The comment comes after the Austrian played in a series of exhibitions where a final tiebreaker was in play. Under the format, the winner is the first player to get to 10 points with at least a two-point advantage. At the Thiems 7 exhibition last week, he lost a decisive tiebreaker against Andrey Rublev. However, Thiem made up for the defeat on Wednesday by downing Matteo Berrettini 10-8 in the decider to win the Bett1 Aces event in Germany.
“I still prefer the common scoring format. Though I would welcome a match tie break in the third set. This format could also be built in from time to time in the early rounds of the tour, as it creates a lot of excitement for the audience,” he said earlier this week.
On the ATP Tour players are required to play three full sets. If the match is level at 6-6 in the decider, then they have to play a seven-point tiebreak to decide the winner. However, the format differs in the Grand Slams with each having a slightly different rule when it comes to the final set. For example, at Wimbledon a tiebreak is implemented if the score reaches 12-12 in the decider, but at the US Open the tiebreak is played when the score reaches 6-6.
Thiem also took part in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown which had a complete set of new and different rules to usual. Including playing four 10-minute periods continuously with players taking it in turn to serve twice in a row. Founder Patrick Mouratoglou says his event aimed to attract a younger audience to the sport, however Thiem isn’t convinced it should be implemented on the ATP Tour.
“On the regular tour, you should leave it as it is,” he concludes.
Since the ATP Tour came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Thiem has played 26 matches in four different countries – Austria, Serbia, France and Germany. Sebastian Ofner, Richard Gasquet and Rublev are the only players to have beaten him in those matches.
