By Chris Oddo | Friday September 25, 2015
The era of Davis Cup marathons will end this year as the ITF announced plans to introduce a 5th-set tiebreaker.
Photo Source: ITF
In an attempt to eliminate marathon fifth sets at its international competition, the ITF has elected to adopt a fifth-set tiebreaker for all its competitions beginning in 2016.
More: Belgium Chooses Site, Surface for 2015 Davis Cup Final
During this year’s Davis Cup, Leonardo Mayer and Joao Souza battled for six hours and 42 minutes, including a 150-minute fifth set, in the longest Davis Cup singles match in history.
With new fifth-set rules in effect, the match will likely stand as the competition’s longest for eternity.
Self-billed as the World Cup of tennis, Davis Cup has been the subject of scrutiny for years, with many lamenting the rigorous nature of the event and calling for format change in order to lure more of the game’s top stars into participating regularly. Today's decision was seen as positive by some, and perhaps the beginning of a period of change for the event.
On the other side of the fence are purists who see the competition as an opportunity to shine in a world-class event that is not completely dominated by tennis’s big four. Because of the lack of regular attendance of top players, many lesser-known players—and nations—have been afforded the opportunity to shine on a big stage and gain valuable big-match experience.
The decision was met with mixed reactions on social media on Friday. Thought it is slightly polarizing, the ITF's decision to go with a 5th-set tiebreaker likely won’t change the fact that the event is poorly attended by the biggest stars in the game.
For that to happen, a much-debated format change would have to be originated by Davis Cup organizers. Many feel that if Davis Cup took place every other year instead of annually, or if the semifinals and finals took place at a neutral site over one long weekend, attendance and interest would be heightened.
In other news, the ITF announced its replacement for recently departed President Francesco Ricci Bitti, whose 16-year tenure ended voluntarily on Friday. American Dave Haggerty, 58, will take over for a four-year term. Haggerty served as Chairman, CEO and President of the USTA in 2013-14, and was a Vice President on the ITF Board of Directors in 2013-15. He is a former President of the Tennis Industry Association and a current board member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.