Best-of-Five: How second nature has been strengthened in 2020

Is tennis due for a makeover? The best-of-five system has been recently called into question. Here’s why the case for the extended format has only strengthened in 2020.

Tennis’ scoring system has been called into question over the last few months. A fixture in tennis since pretty much the dawn of time (or, for a more accurate statistic, 1877), it seems as though critics became tired of the same storylines throughout the five-month stoppage of play. The Ultimate Tennis Showdown was a huge hit, so let’s abolish a founding rule of the game we all love, why don’t we?

In all seriousness, it’s a legitimate debate to have. It’s been abundantly clear that the Big 3 is going to reign supreme over the ATP Tour until they retire or simply drop dead after playing into their 50s (let’s hope against the latter).

"“I think it’s an amazing idea for 2020. We can re-evaluate for the future after that. I think it’s the worst time to get guys to play best of five. For several reasons: they’re not in peak physical and mental condition, having been in quarantine, all these odd times going on on tour right now,” Rothenberg said in June."

This is an extremely interesting claim made by one of tennis’ leading journalists, Ben Rothenberg, back in June. It’s a smart idea on the surface. After many months of not playing competitive matches at the tour level, players would surely begin the restart sluggish and nowhere near 100%. This was most clearly shown with Dominic Thiem at the Western & Southern Open. He was destroyed 6-2, 6-1 by Filip Krajinovic in Round 1 and looked like he’d been running through molasses instead of the quick DecoTurf courts of New York City.

Okay, I admit. I don’t think a best-of-five match would’ve helped Thiem at all in that particular match. Granted, it doesn’t matter anyway given the fact that only Grand Slams utilize the longer format, but still. If Thiem performed that badly, who’s to say he wouldn’t falter the same way just a week later for the US Open?

It wasn’t just Thiem, either. Even World #1 Novak Djokovic looked shaky down the stretch, especially in his last two matches. The eventual champion came back from a set down in both matches, but nevertheless, questions were raised.

To briefly explain what the “best-of-five abolishment” even is, here’s the reasoning behind it. Rothenberg explains that best-of-five gives a supreme advantage to players with top-notch physical conditioning and for the extra and excitement (and in turn, revenue) that it brings to the sport.

Of course, all three members of the Big 3 are at the very top of the list when it comes to physical condition. They’ve trained their bodies throughout their entire careers to withstand the many hours of the grueling, back-and-forth battle that the sport is with the best-of-five format.

Take it away, and what would’ve resulted?

Let’s take a look. The 2012 Australian open Final is regarded as one of the greatest matches in recent history. The 5-hour, 53-minute epic between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic saw both players push themselves to their absolute limits, producing some of tennis’ finest moments of the decade in the process. Take away best-of-five and you’ve got a standard, 3-set Djokovic victory, void of any tension, excitement, or incredible play.

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What about a more recent match? Roger Federer’s last Grand Slam final saw him go the distance with Novak Djokovic before losing 13-12 in the fifth set. It was immaculate tennis from the pair, but take away best-of-five and the historic tiebreak at 12-all (the first in tennis history) would never have happened. Djokovic would’ve taken a tight three-setter for the title.

Maybe those examples are stretching it a little. Let’s go back to the orignl basis of Rothenberg’s argument: the 2020 season. Dominic Thiem was beaten soundly in New York for his final tuneup match before the US Open. Surely, a best-of-five abolishment would only benefit the tournament given the results.

Less than two weeks later, those truthers were proven exactly why best-of-five is truly a welcome experience in tennis. Dominic Thiem not only made it out of the first round but made it all the way to the title match and was set to face off against another player who saw an early exit just two weeks prior: Alexander Zverev.

If the match had just been best-of-three, Zverev would’ve taken the match in straight sets in what experts would call “the flattest performance of Thiem’s career”. Now, factor in best-of-five, and what would you get? An instant classic.

Thiem fought back from two sets down in a match where he began looking just as he had in his loss to Krajinovic. By the end of the match, he was firing winners left and right, enough to create an hour’s worth of highlights. Ultimately, he was crowned the champion in what was the marquee moment of his career.

Best-of-five doesn’t favor the Big 3, as much as some seem to think it does. It just so happens that Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic are the three greatest players to ever play the game and coincidentally were pitted against each other for 15 years (and counting). There shouldn’t be any move to try and make the sport “fairer” for the other players whilst knocking down the legends a peg in the process.

They are beatable. We’ve seen it happen. Yes, they’ve trained their bodies to last a lifetime out on the court and have had years more experience shifting strategies mid-match in order to remain at peak level. This is simply the life that everyone has to deal with.

Even the first three days at Roland Garros has given the sport some high-level matches to justify keeping the extended format. Stefanos Tsitsipas just came back from two sets to love down for the first time in his career to advance to the next round. Corentin Moutet and Lorenzo Giustino made tournament history with a 6-hour, 5-minute marathon that Giustino eventually won 18-16 in the fifth set. Where would these moments be without best-of-five?

Next. 3 reasons why Jannik Sinner can go the distance at this year's Roland Garros. dark

Let’s slow the roll on changing the game. Tennis needs it more than anything. It provides the sport premium excitement and legendary comeback moments that simply wouldn’t have been found anywhere else. When players take down the Big 3, they’ll have deserved it. This will be when tennis truly changes, and there’s no need for a rule change to streamline the next generation.

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