Mac's suggestion that men should play 2 out of 3

mcenroefan

mcenroefan

Hall of Fame
Any thoughts on J Mac's opinion that men should start playing 2 of 3 instead of 3 of 5? I believe the implication is that it is a better test of tennis skill as opposed to stamina. In today's era, this is a particulalry interesting and thought provoking suggestion.

Thoughts?
 
forzamilan90

forzamilan90

Legend
IDK about that, that would diverge from history in a big way, having the guys play less sets. I like the current system as it is.
 
I

iriraz

Hall of Fame
In that case,u could see a lot more surprises and i doubt it`s in the interest of the tournaments,TV,sponsorship etc if lots of top guys lose early.The longer the matches,the more it favours the better players and at the end of the day the Grand Slams are the biggest tournaments,it should be a lot tougher to win then a regular ATP event.
I can`t imagine having a 2 week tournament,where men play best of 3 set matches with a day off in between.
 
mcenroefan

mcenroefan

Hall of Fame
It definitely has its upside and downside. One thing I like about it though is the instantaneous pressure on the top players....pressure with the very first serve.

They'll never do it but I would like a 2 of 3 system with slightly longer sets....maybe 7-8 game sets.

I don't particulary appreciate matches in this era that turn solely upon stamina in the 5th set.

Too radical of course but does make for interesting conversation.
 
TennisDawg

TennisDawg

Hall of Fame
How about 2 of 3 in the early rounds. 3 of 5 from the quarters on to the final. It would make for a better final IMO, the two left standing still have some reserve to play some quality tennis instead of making it a marathon.
 
mcenroefan

mcenroefan

Hall of Fame
Actually, it does bring up an interesting theoretical question:

How many times would Fed, Nadal or Nole crashed out of a GS if it were 2 of 3?

Put a better way, which of the top three would have more trouble adapting to a 2 of 3 format...which would be the best in a 2 of 3 format?
 
Mick

Mick

Legend
last summer, a friend of mine went to see a Serena Williams match. He complained that it was over too quickly. If you cut the match into 1 set, it could be done in 15 minutes.
 
R

rafan

Hall of Fame
What should be addressed is this ridiculous situation with the fifth set whereby the players have to go on and on (like Cilic had to and Isner) until they get 2 clean games - now that is stupid
 
R

rafan

Hall of Fame
mcenroefan said:
Actually, it does bring up an interesting theoretical question:

How many times would Fed, Nadal or Nole crashed out of a GS if it were 2 of 3?

Put a better way, which of the top three would have more trouble adapting to a 2 of 3 format...which would be the best in a 2 of 3 format?
Click to expand...

Well the thing to do is take a look at what happened in the three setter matches and how they compare with the the stats
 
Sentinel

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
Mick said:
last summer, a friend of mine went to see a Serena Williams match. He complained that it was over too quickly. If you cut the match into 1 set, it could be done in 15 minutes.
Click to expand...
Are you sure he was complaining? Must have been delirious with joy that it finished so fast :) but you mistook the delirium with complaining.
 
kishnabe

kishnabe

Talk Tennis Guru
I think it would be better to lower the height of the net....and allow better flatter hitting and serves.

Or speed up the courts like the 90's!

Will show better skills than boring grinding.
 
BHiC

BHiC

Rookie
iriraz said:
In that case,u could see a lot more surprises and i doubt it`s in the interest of the tournaments,TV,sponsorship etc if lots of top guys lose early.The longer the matches,the more it favours the better players and at the end of the day the Grand Slams are the biggest tournaments,it should be a lot tougher to win then a regular ATP event.
I can`t imagine having a 2 week tournament,where men play best of 3 set matches with a day off in between.
Click to expand...

I disagree with the fact that we would see many more upsets. We do not see upset after upset in other tournaments that are best 2 out of 3, so I see no reason to believe that we would see it at the Grand Slams were they to change. If there were more upsets, then I still think that would help the sport. If someone with a great story has a breakthrough major, then it might attract more media attention. I think that tennis would increase in US media coverage dramatically were someone such as Brian Baker to make the finals of Wimbledon.
 
ollinger

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
I've long felt the same way as Mac about this. Best of five gives a player too much time to potentially play badly before getting started, and the early sets just lack urgency for the fans, who are as likely to head for the food court as be in their seats for these marathons.
 
P

papertank

Hall of Fame
I think it's fine the way it is. There is no reason men should play best of 3. And I'm fine with women playing best of 3 because that means we see less of them.
 
TennisDawg

TennisDawg

Hall of Fame
If we limited to 3 of 5 sets in the early rounds, the upside would be that we don't have as many boring 5 setters in the early rounds. i.e. yesterday's Sam Querry vs Cilic match. If all professional tennis matches were like that, I would stop watching Pro Tennis.
 
SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
Best of 3 wouldn't be a bad idea of it was first to 8 games for each set rather than 6 games. (If you want to make it it more about stamina, then go with first to 9 games/set).

If the women want equal pay, then let them play best of 3 sets with first to 8 games per set. The women should be able to handle that.
 
Mustard

Mustard

Bionic Poster
Both men and women should be playing best of 5 sets in the majors. These are the biggest prizes in tennis and should be the hardest to win.
 
Nostradamus

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
mcenroefan said:
Any thoughts on J Mac's opinion that men should start playing 2 of 3 instead of 3 of 5? I believe the implication is that it is a better test of tennis skill as opposed to stamina. In today's era, this is a particulalry interesting and thought provoking suggestion.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

J Mac ignorance is bliss. Tennis is about stamina not just skills. If it was just about skills, marcelo Rios would have won 10 majors.
 
C

CRWV

Rookie
no net cord lets, leave in adv. scoring, best of three, no tiebreak!

Imagine if guys Isner and Querrey had to learn how to construct a break of serve or play 150 games/match. :) :lol:
 
M

Moose Malloy

G.O.A.T.
I wouldn't be surprised if best of 5 is removed from the majors in the next 10-15 years, except maybe just the finals. the writing has been on the wall for sometime, look at how many best of 5 set matches at non slam events there were in 1990. then 2000. and today.

The slams will still be hugely popular events with best of 3 format & the tv networks(who really run the show) will be much happier with best of 3.

and we probably wouldn't have as many matches suspended due to darkness with best of 3.

this isn't really such a crazy idea by Mac at all(again the tv networks would love it)

and maybe players will have longer careers(today we have so many more 30 year olds on tour compared to 10-20 years ago, maybe we'll have a bunch of 40 year olds on tour in the future with only best of 3 used)

fyi the USO used to have best of 3 through the round of 16
 
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Def

Def

Semi-Pro
Moose Malloy said:
I wouldn't be surprised if best of 5 is removed from the majors in the next 10-15 years, except maybe just the finals. the writing has been on the wall for sometime, look at how many best of 5 set matches at non slam events there were in 1990. then 2000. and today.

The slams will still be hugely popular events with best of 3 format & the tv networks(who really run the show) will be much happier with best of 3.

and we probably wouldn't have as many matches suspended due to darkness with best of 3.

this isn't really such a crazy idea by Mac at all(again the tv networks would love it)

and maybe players will have longer careers(today we have so many more 30 year olds on tour compared to 10-20 years ago, maybe we'll have a bunch of 40 year olds on tour in the future with only best of 3 used)

fyi the USO used to have best of 3 through the round of 16
Click to expand...

I thought that was only for doubles?
 
Mustard

Mustard

Bionic Poster
Moose Malloy said:
I wouldn't be surprised if best of 5 is removed from the majors in the next 10-15 years, except maybe just the finals. the writing has been on the wall for sometime.
Click to expand...

That would be really horrible.

Moose Malloy said:
the tv networks would love it
Click to expand...

Would they? I can't imagine how they could possibly sell the contemporary champions as better than their predecessors if they get rid of the best of 5 set format. None of this "history" stuff will wash at all.
 
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MichaelNadal

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
Mustard said:
That would be really horrible.



Would they? I can't imagine how they could possibly sell the contemporary champions as better than their predecessors if they get rid of the best of 5 set format. None of this "history" stuff will wash at all.
Click to expand...

That would be a huge, huge controversy, and should never happen.
 
big_bill

big_bill

Rookie
Dumbest suggestion ever to come from Johnny Mac's lips. I do however agree with him that there should be 5th set tiebreakers. Tradition is great but frankly tennis matches become tedious and boring with no end in sight. Tiebreakers enhance the drama.
 
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cc0509

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
mcenroefan said:
Any thoughts on J Mac's opinion that men should start playing 2 of 3 instead of 3 of 5? I believe the implication is that it is a better test of tennis skill as opposed to stamina. In today's era, this is a particulalry interesting and thought provoking suggestion.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Personally, I think it is a good idea. Best of five are often too long and boring in many cases, with some of the lesser players especially.
 
S

sundaypunch

Hall of Fame
big_bill said:
Dumbest suggestion ever to come from Johnny Mac's lips. I do however agree with him that there should be 5th set tiebreakers. Tradition is great but frankly tennis matches become tedious and boring with no end in sight. Tiebreakers enhance the drama.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what the general public thinks about a 5-set match.
 
C

chatt_town

Hall of Fame
Yea, but then it would be a regular ole tourney. Why even call it a major? I like it the way it is. The fat@$$es and spoiled brats need to get their game together and get their fitness up to snuff. Don't penalize the players the take their game seriously. That's all changing the major would be about. Giving some random guy a chance to win a tourney he shouldn't be able to in the first place.


mcenroefan said:
Actually, it does bring up an interesting theoretical question:

How many times would Fed, Nadal or Nole crashed out of a GS if it were 2 of 3?

Put a better way, which of the top three would have more trouble adapting to a 2 of 3 format...which would be the best in a 2 of 3 format?
Click to expand...
 
roysid

roysid

Hall of Fame
The only reason men should do it is to protest against equal pay in slams with women but number of sets aren't equal. This would bring the ITF to its knees.

Otherwise, 5 set classics are the great gems that would get lost. That differentiates the slams from other tourneys.

Can you imagine a cliffhanger math..fought for 5 sets going to the end..the emotions and the feeling everyone gets is unbelievable.
Like
Nadal - Djokovic AO final
Fed - Roddick W final
Fed - Nadal W final

And this year, Djoko-Tsonga, Fed- Del Potro in French
Nadal - Rosol, Fed- Benettau in W.
 
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