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I just got done watching Novak Djokovic defeat Marcos Baghdatis in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. As you can tell by the picture above, the match went nearly five hours, lasted five sets, and it was an utter duel that tested endurance, strength, moxie, and heart. Only a day earlier, I saw Djokovic grind for four hours in a four-set 4th round win over Lleyton Hewitt. That same day, second seed Rafael Nadal, who has since reached the semifinals, rallied from down two sets to beat Mikhail Youzhny in five, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. That was an incredible turn of events in which the better player won out in the long run. Putting all this together, plus many other years of watching both men's and women's tennis, and I'm led to conclude that the women are missing something. They are missing the magic that the men put on display at each Grand Slam event. They are missing five-set matches.
When you think of some of the greatest matches of all-time, what do you think of? You're all but guaranteed to see the 1980 Wimbledon final between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe on everyone's list. Why? Not only did the match give Borg his fifth straight Wimbledon singles title, but it also went five sets, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7, 8-6, with the 4th going 19-17 in a tiebreaker. The 1975 US Open semis between Guillermo Vilas and Manuel Orantes would have to make the list. Orantes rallied from down two sets and 0-5 in the fourth set -- one game away from losing, to win in five sets. The 1989 French Open Final between Michael Chang and Ivan Lendl was another legendary match. Down two sets to none, Change fought back, and eventually won it in five sets -- serving underhand in the fifth because of injury.
I'm not saying women's tennis is devoid of excitement. That's far from how I feel. I'm saying that women's Grand Slams are missing one key factor -- the aspect that would make their matches more meaningful, more significant, and more memorable. Sure, Jennifer Capriati's '02 Australian Open comeback win against Martina Hingis in the finals was impressive, but how much drama was built in those three sets? Not nearly as much as the amount of tension and excitement that's generated in five sets.
Furthermore, not only is the drama and excitement heightened in five-set matches, but they allow for the better player to win out -- they help to eliminate the chance factor. It's similar to baseball divisional series going best of five games, while the World Series is best of seven. The men are out there dueling in World Series matches every single round in Grand Slams. The women are going just best of three, often times breezing through hour long two-set matches.
In order to distinguish Grand Slam events from all other minor events, and more importantly, to augment the legacy and increase the memorable factor of their matches, the women need to start playing best of five sets. It's about time they made the change, and it should only be welcomed by tennis fans across the world.
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