Wimbledon to introduce finalset tiebreakers from 2019
LONDON:THAT epic 70-68 fifth set at Wimbledon will never be matched or surpassed, or even challenged. The All England Club said on Friday it will introduce final-set tiebreakers next year, starting when the score reaches 12-12 in the decider.
The grass-court Grand Slam tournament is the second of the four majors to use a final-set tiebreaker to determine a singles match — either the fifth set in a men’s match or the third set for the women. The US Open, however, starts its final-set tiebreakers at 6-6. At the Australian Open and the French Open, players still have to win by two games in the final set in singles matches. “Our view was that the time had come to introduce a tie-break method for matches that had not reached their natural conclusion at a reasonable point during the deciding set,” Wimbledon chairman Philip Brook said in a statement. In a tiebreaker, the first player to get seven points — leading by at least two points — wins the set.
In 2010, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played the longest match in tennis history at Wimbledon. The match took more than 11 hours and lasted over three days before Isner won 70-68 in the final set.
According to Wimbledon CEO Richard Lewis, many players were in favour of the change. “There were mixed views, it’s fair to say. But predominantly, players favoured the final-set tiebreak,” Lewis said. “They recognise the quality of tennis goes down, players start playing not to lose, rather than the excitement or the determination to win. And they recognise it affects the quality of matches on subsequent rounds.”
CONTINUED ON P 8