Zverev’s intervention came at the China Open in Beijing on Thursday, weeks into a debate kicked off by Tennis Australia chief executive Andrew Abdo. Speaking to France 24 after his opening-round win over Cameron Norrie, the German, who is world number two, said the five-set format is the thing that defines a Grand Slam.
“It’s history,” he said.
“It’s the toughest thing to win in our sport because we play best-of-five sets.”
He insisted the players are not asking for the change.
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“I don’t know a single player who would like to play best-of-three sets.”
The debate took off in early September, when Abdo told the SportNXT summit in Melbourne that the four majors might one day trim the format in order to connect with younger audiences.
“Maybe in the future, Slams at different rounds or at different lengths of duration,” Abdo said. “Maybe we’re not playing best-of-five all the way through.”
The Australian Open quickly distanced itself from its own CEO, saying on social media that “while innovation is part of the AO’s DNA, five-set tennis is here to stay”.
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Zverev invokes Djokovic
Zverev then pointed to Novak Djokovic.
“Maybe Novak wants to play best-of-three because, of course, he’s getting a bit older now,” Zverev said. “But I think if you would have asked him this 10 years ago or 15 years ago, for sure not.”
Alcaraz: shorter matches would kill the Slams
Carlos Alcaraz had used almost identical language the day before. At his pre-tournament press conference at the Japan Open in Tokyo, the Spaniard told reporters that abandoning best-of-five would strip the majors of what makes them unique.
“The Grand Slams are playing best of five. If we take away that and play the best of three, I think we’re killing the legacy of the Grand Slams and killing the Grand Slams,” Alcaraz said.
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“We have been playing best-of-five matches at the Grand Slams since the very beginning, and I think that is what makes those tournaments different and special. So I wouldn’t touch anything from that, and for me it’s okay to play the best of five.”
Zverev, who won the US Open last month to add to his Roland Garros title in June, is chasing Jannik Sinner for the world number one ranking during the Asian swing. He plays Shang Juncheng in the second round in Beijing.
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