Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka has spoken in favour of reducing men’s matches from best-of-five to best-of-three sets at grand slam tournaments.
Azarenka, who is currently has a world ranking of 61, wrote on Twitter that reducing the length of men’s matches will help improve the overall quality of the tennis that is played. In recent years there has been a debate concerning the use of best-of-five matches. A format that has been already removed from the Davis Cup and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games by the International Tennis Federation.
“Men should just play best of three in my opinion! Will be much better quality of tennis and hopefully no ruined finals or semifinals because of the exhaustion… like has happened quite a bit.” Azarenka wrote in reply to a question she was asked on Twitter.
During the Wimbledon Championships, two marathon men’s semi-final matches impacted on the scheduling. Kevin Anderson’s win over John Isner and Novak Djokovic’s triumph over Rafael Nadal amounted to more than 11 hours of playing time combined. Djokovic’s match had to be finished the following day, which resulted in a delay to the women’s final.
In light of the marathon encounters, three out of the four grand slams have introduced a final set tiebreak. The French Open is the only exception. Supporters argue that some of the most memorable and greatest comeback matches in the history of the sport have been five-sets. One example was Djokovic’s epic win over Nadal at the 2012 Australian Open that lasted just under five hours.
On the other hand, Azarenka argued that many top quality men’s matches would continue to happen if they were played over three sets instead of five.
“Why wouldn’t there be those matches? So in your opinion there never been an amazing 3 set match for the history books? Really? Makes not that much sense to me. But that’s my opinion. I’m not trying to change yours.” She said in one reply on social media.
Azarenka is not the first player to express this opinion. Last year Billie Jean King said she would like there to be the same format for both men and women in the majors. In an editorial for the Times, King wrote ‘The men wouldn’t wear out as fast. Best-of-five is way too much for them.’ Angelique Kerber spent a total of nine hours and 53 minutes on on the court on route to winning the women’s title at Wimbledon. In comparison, Djokovic required almost double at 17 hours and 53 minutes.
Since voicing her support for the shortening of matches, Azarenka has been hit with a series of comments from those who disagree with her view.
“All I’m saying is different people like different things, so if it’s not what you like just go on and move along and do what makes you happy. But stop forcing what you like or your opinion on other people. Voice your opinion and be free, but it’s okay to disagree, just be nice.” She said.
At present, no grand slam tournament is considering a reduction in the length of men’s matches to three sets.
Azarenka is currently playing at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. She will take on fourth seed Karolina Pliskova is her second round match on Thursday.
