Wimbledon: Roger Federer calls for tie-breaker at 12-12 in fifth to halt marathon matches
Swiss feels it is unfair on players to go on so long
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Roger Federer has called for a tie-break at 12-12 in deciding sets at Wimbledon to stop matches, such as John Isner v Jo Wilfried Tsonga from the weekend, running for hours. The Swiss seven-time winner at SW19 feels matches which run and run are unfair on the competitors who struggle to bounce back in their following rounds and also on those waiting to come on to court.
"I don't know," Federer said when asked if a tie-break should be introduced at 6-6 in the fifth set. "Maybe they could make a tie-break at 12-all. Yeah, it is rough for not only the players playing, but also the players that follow that court.
"I think it's super cool, and that's the match I was watching: Isner v Tsonga. I didn't care about any other match that was being played other than that match. It is very cool if it goes 12-all, 14-all, 18-all, 20-all, further and further. But the chances get slimmer and slimmer to win that next round. Like the [US] Open, they have a breaker in the fifth.
"They can make a compromise and make a tie-breaker at 12-all. Play another six service games each. Usually it doesn't go to that, anyway, to 12-all. If it does go there, you had your chances to break or not to break, so you're happy maybe to be in a tie-breaker."
Tsonga beat Isner 19-17 in the fifth set in a match that lasted four hours and 24 minutes.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments