Novak Djokovic could lose early with best-of-3 at Slams, & you don't want to see that: Bartoli
The trio of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have had a vice-like grip over the tennis world since the mid-2000s. Fans have grown accustomed to seeing one of these three winning Major titles, in what has been an incredible display of durability and longevity at the events that matter the most.
The Big 3's supremacy over the rest of the field, especially at the Slams, is nearly impenetrable; they have won 56 of the last 67 Slams, and the last 13 consecutively.
But the Slams are played in the best-of-five format, and in recent years, a few have suggested that they should switch to best-of-three. That, according to the contrarians, would not only help reduce injuries on the men's tour but also help other players compete on a more level playing field with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
On the "Match Points" talk show hosted by Josh Cohen for Tennismajors.com, former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli spoke about the possibility of the Slams switching to best-of-three format in Slams - at least for this season.
If Novak Djokovic goes out and loses to a big server in the first round, you will have nobody left in the draw: Bartoli
When she was asked by the host what her stand on the topic was, Bartoli put down her foot on wanting to keep the best-of-five tradition alive. She also thinks the best-of-three format would result in more early-round upsets.
“I know for Roland Garros, they won't use it," Bartoli said. "And I think it's a valid point. You don't want to have a top seed going out losing 7-6, 7-6 to a big server. Now your top seed is out of the tournament and all of a sudden the one who is selling tickets is out of it and you don’t want to see that."
There have been many Slam epics contested in recent times between Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. And as Bartoli pointed out, if one of them loses early, then the spectators would be deprived of some classic battles. That in turn would hurt the revenues of the tournament, which would be bad for everyone involved.
Bartoli asserted the commercial aspect of the whole debate as she continued:
"If you are US Open organizer, and you have Novak Djokovic coming in and Rafael Nadal says he won't play. Now you don't have Roger, you don't have Nadal. So the only top seed you are relying on is Novak Djokovic. He goes out to play a big server and loses 7-6 7-6 in the first round. And all of a sudden you have nobody left in the draw."
However, the Frenchwoman also noted that the best-of-five format might not always be in the players' best interest, as it could prove to be too physically taxing on the players.
"I know for the players that it's gonna take a toll on their body to play five sets, especially at the US Open on hard. But it is how it has always been," Bartoli said.