After so many Wimbledon 5-setters, Novak Djokovic would be OK with best-of-3 in early rounds (2024)

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LONDON (AP) — Every so often, a debate bubbles up around whether it makes sense for men to keep playing best-of-five-set matches at Wimbledon and other Grand Slam tournaments. Consider Novak Djokovic a staunch advocate for keeping the format — at least in the latter stages of majors.

He would be OK, however, with cutting back to best-of-three earlier.

There were 34 matches that went the distance at the All England Club across the first three rounds, the most to that point at any Slam in the history of the Open era, which began in 1968. As the fourth of seven rounds began Sunday, all it was going to take was one more five-setter to equal the mark for the most at an entire major tournament.

“Nowadays you can only see them in Grand Slams, right? That’s what I guess excites both players and the crowd,” said Djokovic, who has won seven of his men’s-record 24 major championships at Wimbledon.

The allure is tied to the drama associated with the possibility of comebacks, of twists and turns.

Perhaps he’s a bit biased: Djokovic is 40-11 in five-setters. He hasn’t been pushed that far during this edition of Wimbledon.

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“I enjoyed those throughout my career,” he said. “They’re an important aspect of the history and of the future, as well, of the sport.”

But the 37-year-old from Serbia, who has spent the most weeks ranked No. 1, did concede that there is merit to arguments made against sticking with the best-of-five format in this day and age of limited attention spans and, as Djokovic put it, the need “to attract a young audience.”

Five-set matches that can last for four, five, six hours are not ideal for athletes, of course, but also spectators or TV broadcasters.

“The only thing that I’m maybe thinking it could be good to consider is ... opening rounds that could go best-of-three, then you move into the hybrid of best-of-fives from the fourth rounds or quarters. I don’t know. That’s just me,” he said. “I think best-of-five, particularly in the last three or four rounds of a Slam, you need to keep.”

Without best-of-five, the sport would lose the sorts of turnarounds that have been happening at Wimbledon at an unprecedented rate: Djokovic’s opponent in the fourth round on Monday, Holger Rune, won his match Saturday night against Quentin Halys 1-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-1, already the 10th comeback from a two-set deficit.

Less than halfway through the fortnight, that is a record for a full Wimbledon.

“Managed to raise my level, raise my tennis, when it mattered,” said Rune, who had never won a match after dropping the first two sets.

The All England Club has hosted some of the sport’s longest matches, including, most famously, the longest ever: John Isner’s 11-hour, 5-minute defeat of Nicolas Mahut in the first round in 2010 that stretched over three days and concluded at 70-68 in the fifth set.

That, and Isner’s 26-24 loss to Kevin Anderson in the decisive set in the 2018 semifinals, helped prompt Wimbledon — and every Slam — to adopt a first-to-10 tiebreaker at 6-all in the third sets of women’s matches and fifth sets of men’s. Before that system was put in place, the All England Club briefly tried a tiebreaker at 12-all in the fifth, which was how Djokovic’s victory over Roger Federer in the 2019 final was resolved.

“One of the most exciting matches I’ve ever played in my life,” Djokovic called it.

Might feel differently if he hadn’t erased two championship points and come out on the winning end.

Still, the wear-and-tear that comes with playing five sets makes players keen to avoid going the distance, so they can conserve energy for later matches. Djokovic hasn’t been pushed to five yet during this tournament, but defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was by Frances Tiafoe, for example.

That’s nothing compared to Ben Shelton, a 21-year-old American, who needed to win three five-setters in a row just to make it to his showdown against No. 1 Jannik Sinner on Sunday. No man has won four straight matches in five sets at a major, and Shelton didn’t get the chance to try; he was beaten 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (9) by Sinner.

This year’s Australian Open had a total of 35 five-setters, tied with the 1983 U.S. Open for the most at a major. Why are there so many lately?

“There’s just so many good players right now. There’s not really any (easy) draws — maybe, if you play some clay-court guys on grass that are not comfortable. But for the most part, everybody’s playing good on all surfaces. And the level of tennis is at a super, super high stage,” said Denis Shapovalov, who lost to Shelton in five on Saturday. “You just have to be ready to grind from Round 1.”

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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

After so many Wimbledon 5-setters, Novak Djokovic would be OK with best-of-3 in early rounds (2024)

FAQs

After so many Wimbledon 5-setters, Novak Djokovic would be OK with best-of-3 in early rounds? ›

After so many Wimbledon 5-setters, Novak Djokovic would be OK with best-of-3 in early rounds. LONDON (AP) — Every so often, a debate bubbles up around whether it makes sense for men to keep playing best-of-five-set matches at Wimbledon and other Grand Slam tournaments.

Are Wimbledon matches best of 3 or 5? ›

All matches are best of three except for men's singles, which is best of five. Wimbledon has best-of-five in the last of round of qualifying for men's singles, otherwise all qualifying matches are best-of-three.

How wealthy is Novak Djokovic? ›

2021 The World's Highest-Paid Athletes Earnings

He narrowly missed a calendar-year Grand Slam with a loss in the 2021 U.S. Open final. His $153 million in career prize money as of September is the most ever.

How many times has Djokovic reached the Wimbledon final? ›

Victory would mean a sixth Grand Slam final since turning 35 (equalling Ken Rosewall's record); he would reach his third Wimbledon final since turning 35 (no man has done that in the Open era), he would be into his 37th Grand Slam final (breaking his own record) and his 10th Wimbledon final (only Roger Federer reached ...

Is Wimbledon doubles best of 5? ›

The pairs in today's final are 2 of the 10 teams to have won multiple Tour-level men's doubles titles in 2024. This year is the 2nd time that all Wimbledon men's doubles matches are played as best-of-3 sets. Prior to 2023, Wimbledon men's doubles matches were played as best-of-5 sets.

Is Wimbledon qualifying best of 5 sets? ›

The Wimbledon Qualifying Competition follows a knockout format, with men playing best of three sets for the first two rounds, and best of five sets for the final round. Women play best of three sets throughout the competition.

Is tennis best of 3 or 5 sets? ›

There are typically 3 sets in a standard tennis match. However, in some tournaments, such as Grand Slam events, men's singles matches are played as best of 5 sets.

Is Djokovic richer than Nadal? ›

The French Open player Navarro has a whopping net worth of around $ 3 billion which surpasses the likes of Federer ($ 550 million), Rafael Nadal ($220 million) and Novak Djokovic ($240 million).

Does Novak Djokovic donate money? ›

Novak Djokovic has pledged to donate the €200,000 he earned for his gold medal in Paris to Serbian charities, according to B92. The funds were awarded by the Serbian government. Serbia will also open a museum dedicated to Djokovic.

How much does Lacoste pay Djokovic? ›

The fashion brand pays approximately $9.4m (€8m) annually to serve as his kit supplier. As part of the deal, Lacoste has released a range of Djokovic branded attire, known as the Novak Djokovic collection. According to Sportcal, Djokovic makes $25.9m annually from his endorsement deals.

How many times has Alcaraz beaten Djokovic? ›

How many times have Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz played each other? Seven. Djokovic currently leads the head-to-head 4-3. In May 2022, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz stepped on to the clay of Madrid to face each other for the first time on the ATP Tour.

What major has Djokovic won the most? ›

He has been ranked No. 1 for a record total of 428 weeks in a record 13 different years by the ATP, and finished as the year-end No. 1 a record eight times. Djokovic has won a record 24 Grand Slam men's singles titles, including a record ten Australian Open titles.

Which man has won the most Wimbledon titles? ›

Wimbledon men's singles - players by number of titles won 1968-2024. Legendary Swiss tennis player Roger Federer tops the list of the most Wimbledon tennis titles won by a professional male tennis player.

When did men's doubles at Wimbledon become best of three sets? ›

In 2023 it was decided that Gentlemen's Doubles match formats will be changed from best-of-five sets to best-of-three sets due to complaints from partaking players; all other events are best-of-three sets.

Who is the best male doubles tennis? ›

The current world No. 1 players are Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

Who won 5 straight Wimbledon? ›

Björn Borg (1976–1980) and Roger Federer (2003–2007) share the record for most consecutive victories with five.

Is Wimbledon final best of 5 or 7? ›

Match formats

Matches in the Gentlemen's Singles are best-of-five sets.

Can a tennis match have 3 or 5 of these? ›

Points, games, sets and matches

Tennis is played in points: Four points win a game, six games win a set, and two or three sets win a match. You can decide how long you want your game to be but most matches are played as best-of-three or five set contests.

Is Wimbledon all knockout? ›

Both the men's and the women's single competitions are made up of 128 players. At the beginning of Wimbledon fortnight they enter a series of single elimination knockout matches, until just two remain in the final.

Is tennis best of 5 or first to 5? ›

Matches on the ATP Tour (and Hologic WTA Tour) are best of three sets. If a player wins the first two sets, the third is not played. At Grand Slams (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open), men play best of five sets, while women play best of three.

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