Novak Djokovic has reignited a fierce debate over what format should be used at tennis tournaments after admitting he would back scrapping the historical tradition of best-of-five matches at Grand Slams.
The world No.1 has said he is a ‘proponent’ of the use of best-of-three at every tournament on the calendar. Arguing that it would be better for players’ health due to the length of the season and may help attract a younger demographic to the sport. At present the longer format is only used at the four Grand Slams with each of them having their own rules concerning how the final set is played.
“I am more a proponent of two-out-of-three everywhere, even though of course slams have always been best-of-five. It’s historically been that way, so I don’t know whether there is a chance at all for it to change,” Djokovic said following his win over Diego Schwartzman.
Continuing his comments, the 17-time major winner says he ‘doesn’t see a reason’ why players should play best-of-five. Three of his major titles have been won after he went the full distance. Furthermore, he has won 32 out of 42 matches on the ATP Tour when they have gone to a fifth set so far in his career.
“I just feel like the attention span, as well as the fans, especially the younger generation, is shorter. So in order for us to really improve the product, so to say, of tennis I think commercially and marketing-wise I feel like we have to adapt to that younger generation.” He said.
One point Djokovic makes in his argument was in reference to a study which suggested that the average age of a tennis fan is 61. It is the same study which Patrick Mouratoglou mentioned when launching his Ultimate Tennis Showdown competition. However those findings have their shortfalls and can’t be applied to the sport globally. It uses only the Nielsen television viewership data, doesn’t take into account the global internet audience, is only based on one specific region and was conducted back in 2017.
Whilst it is unlikely that the best-of-five format will be dropped anytime soon, Djokovic has said more should be done in exploring new opportunities for the sport. Although he hints that progress in this area is hampered by the sports tradition.
“Obviously we have been one of those sports that has stuck with the tradition a lot, which I respect, and I feel like this is something we have to keep, but at the same time we haven’t been really exploring some changes,” he said. “Whether it’s score or less sets or whatever. We have not really looked into that. Every time someone mentions that, I feel like there is not much of a support, not much of a willingness to really address that and strategically think about the things that could attract a younger audience as well to our tour, to our sport.”
Not everybody has the same view. Rafael Nadal, who holds the record for the most Grand Slams won by a male player, says he would be against such a move in the future. Over the years best-of-five matches have been removed from the ATP Finals, Masters events and the Davis Cup.
“I am completely against change in the Grand Slams. We have a day off. I think best-of-five makes a difference in these tournaments, on the slams and at the same time is part of the history of our sport.” Nadal commented said on Monday.
Djokovic will return to action on Wednesday at the ATP Finals.
