[ad_1]
WIMBLEDON, England – "Nothing like that will ever happen again," said John Isner, winning a fifth set, 70-68, against Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010.
Friday, the organizers of Wimbledon have formalized this decision by announcing that they would adopt tiebreakers for the final at all matches in 2019.
While the US Open had a decisive game in the final at 6-6 for decades, Wimbledon will mark the finish line later, at 12-12.
Philip Brook, president of the All England Club, organizer of Wimbledon, said in a statement that the decision was made after consulting with players and officials and analyzed "two decades of match data". consideration.
"Although we know that cases of extended matches into the last set are rare, we think that a tiebreak at 12-12 creates a fair balance between giving players plenty of opportunities to finish the game. match to their advantage, while ensuring that the match will end in an acceptable time, "said Brook.
The ultramarathon of Isner and Mahut lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes and lasted three days. But it was a first-round match, and although Wimbledon was subsequently called to break a tie for the last set, the club held up.
What ultimately led to the change was the A loss of 6 hours and 36 minutes against Kevin Anderson in the semifinals this year. Their fifth set was extended to 26-24 and resulted in the semifinal on the central court between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, completed in two days. This disrupted the schedule and left the winner, Djokovic, without a full rest day before the final.
He was even cooler than Anderson and won the title. But the club officials were clearly worried about the prospect of the fifth set of the marathon. Isner may be 33, but he does not plan to retire soon.
"We had to do something after Wimbledon this year and 12 games, everything is a good time," said Boris Becker, triple singles champion, at Wimbledon, in a message on Friday. "On the grass, a tiebreaker can be a game of luck, but after 12 games in the fifth set, both players also need it for the next match to be fresh enough. Anderson's done after the semifinals.
Since 2000, 28 men's matches at Wimbledon have recorded fifth sets over the 20-game mark. In one case only, the winner has won more than one round. It was in 2016 when Sam Querrey defeated Lukas Rosol in a fifth set in the first round; Querrey then reached the quarter-finals. In 2009, Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14, in the final but did not have to play another match.
Isner and Anderson have called for the introduction of a tiebreaker in the final set after their semifinal this year, and Anderson had already upset Federer in a quarterfinal match that took place Was extended to 13-11 in the last set.
This type of score line will still be possible in 2019, but 70-68 will now be out of the question, at least at Wimbledon.
The French Open and the Australian Open, for the moment, still have no tiebreaker in the last set, although it may not be very long, the leaders of the four Grand Slam tournaments to be held in Singapore starting Sunday.
"Personally, I do not see the reason not to include it now, at least in all Slams," Anderson said in July, looking as tired as he'd been after Isner.
Source link
