AO - Deciding set tiebreak a dud

Well I am again formally registering my opposition to the decision taken by organisers of the Australian Open to trash the traditional method of determining who wins the fifth set (main draw men’s singles) and third set (main draw women’s singles).

We have all become used to each of the 4 Grand Slam tournaments dispensing with advantage sets, and allowing tie breaks for the first four sets (main draw men’s singles) and two sets (main draw women’s singles).

And the US Open decision to go further and have all sets decided by tie break was unashamedly all about timing, advertising and TV commitments.

All those changes brought in a standard tie break which begins when players are level at six games apiece.  The tie break finishes when a player reaches seven points but needs to have a two point clear margin. 

eg 7-2 or 7-5 or 9-7.

The Australian Open decision to join the US Open and have all sets decided by a tie break is inconsistent because the tiebreak itself is different but that is not at the heart of my objection.

The justification to introduce a deciding set tie break in the first place was to end all the suffering caused by long drawn out matches with players dropping like flies in the unbearable Melbourne heat.

Ok, so let’s investigate the empirical evidence and show us to what extent this apparent scourge of tennis overtime has been spent by our precious on court warriors.

I will use the last 3 Australian Opens as facts, and since the tie break is instituted when games are at 6-6 in the deciding set, I will look for that as a key measure.

2016 Australian Open

Men’s Singles 

Out of 127 Main Draw matches:

Two lasted beyond 6-6 in the fifth set  1.6%

Women’s Singles 

Out of 127 Main Draw matches:

Four lasted beyond 6-6 in the third set  3.1%

All up 2.4%

2017 Australian Open

Men’s Singles 

Out of 127 Main Draw matches:

Three lasted beyond 6-6 in the fifth set  2.4%

Women’s Singles 

Out of 127 Main Draw matches:

Four lasted beyond 6-6 in the third set  3.1%

All up 2.8%

2018 Australian Open

Men’s Singles 

Out of 127 Main Draw matches:

Five lasted beyond 6-6 in the fifth set  3.9%

Women’s Singles 

Out of 127 Main Draw matches:

Seven lasted beyond 6-6 in the third set  5.5%

All up 4.7%

OVER THE PAST 3 YEARS only 3.3% OF MAIN DRAW MATCHES WENT PAST THE POINT WHERE A TIE BREAK WOULD HAVE SAVED THE TRAUMA OF OVERTIME FOR THE PLAYERS

So why the wide sweeping change when a problem doesn’t exist, certainly not to the extent proclaimed ?

Already this lottery, which in effect it is, has destroyed at least one singles match in the 2019 Australian Open, where the two players were not suffering, and should have been allowed to settle the contest under traditional rules of advantage.