KRISTEN’S KOURT: THE TIEBREAK DEBATE

Written by: Staff on 31st May 2012

KRISTEN'S KOURT: THE TIEBREAK DEBATE

epa03243636 Paul-Henri Mathieu of France returns to John Isner of the USA during their second round match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 31 May 2012. EPA/IAN LANGSDON |

By Kristen Tracy

I’m pretty sure John Isner should start avoiding best of five matches against Frenchmen whose last name begins with “Ma.”

Watching today’s match between Isner and Paul Henri Mathieu at the French Open was painful. Not because it was a bad match, or because one player just slaughtered the other. In fact, it was the exact opposite. There was so much fight and heart coming from both players, which is exactly why watching it was so difficult. By the end of the match, both players looked like they could just collapse. I’m actually surprised either was able to walk off the court.

The match was everything a grand slam match should be. It was exciting, controversial (those French fans can be brutal), and full of incredible shots coming from both players. But as the match – and the fifth set – went on, I found myself just wanting it to end, regardless of the outcome.

The toll the match took on both Isner and Mathieu brings me to the ultimate point of this piece. For years, the US Open has been set apart from the other three grand slams for one big reason: it is the only major that allows a tiebreak in the fifth set. For tennis fans, the suspense of no tiebreak in the fifth set of match provides that much more excitement. If you’re a die-hard fan like I am, then you could probably sit and watch tennis 24/7 and still enjoy every second of it. But even I know there’s a line that can’t be crossed.

While I (and I’m sure everyone here at 10sballs.com) selfishly love the idea of no tiebreak in a fifth set, I know enough to know that it’s not good for the players. Let’s look back at Wimbledon 2010. Though John Isner fought for over 11 hours to win a first-round match, the toll it took on his body caused him to miss almost the entire summer leading up to the US Open – and even then he played his opening round with a seriously messed up ankle.

John McEnroe commented extensively today as the fifth set between Isner and Mathieu progressed, about how bad having no tiebreaker really is. Not only were both players on court for almost 6 hours but Mathieu, the victor of today’s battle, will have less than two days to rest before he is expected to go out and fight all over again. And I’d be very surprised if Isner tries to even practice anytime in the next week or so.

Not only did today’s marathon match cause trouble for the players on court, but Maria Sharapova and her opponent were forced to wait in the locker room for hours until their match was eventually cancelled and both players were sent home. It may not seem like a huge deal, but it causes not only an imposition on the players, but it also means that the winner of that match (presumably Sharapova) will have to play two days in a row at some point in the tournament.

Imagine being a player on the ATP tour and your match ends up going to a fifth set. Isn’t there a greater relief knowing that no matter what, it will be over in no more than 13 games? It has to be exhausting to just play and play, never knowing when the match will be over. As a fan, I find it incredibly stressful. As a player I’m sure it’s even worse. If you ask me, Melbourne, Paris, and London all need to take a page out of Flushing Meadows’ book and implement a fifth set tiebreaker – to save the sanity of the players, the fans, the media, and the game of tennis in general.

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Topics: 10sballs.com, French Open 2012, John Isner, Kristen Tracy, Kristen's Kourt, Paul Henri Mathieu, Roland Garros, Sports, Tennis