Wimbledon’s epic semi-final exposed a huge double standard but fifth set tiebreaks are not the solution

LAST night Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were involved in another semi-final epic, the match hailed a Wimbledon classic. SAM GROTH writes there’s double standards at play after the John Isner-Kevin Anderson epic sparked an age-old debate.

Kevin Anderson of South Africa, right, meets John Isner of the US on the court after defeating him in their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London, Friday July 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Glyn Kirk, Pool)

THE John Isner v Kevin Anderson semi-final epic at Wimbledon has sparked an age-old debate of deciding-set tie-breaks being introduced to the sport.

For me, it’s an exaggerated and drastic reaction which, besides threatening a terrific tradition of tennis, has also highlighted an astonishing double standard and some big issues with Wimbledon as a tournament.

Why remove a part of the sport that encompasses all the skills we work so hard on?

The current format tests every part of you as an athlete. It highlights everything that makes great players stand out from the rest. It’s not just tactical, or mental, or physical, it’s a combination of everything.

If you go out and battle for four of five hours only for it to come down to a tiebreak – it’s a rough way to go out.

Matches like Kevin and John’s are an anomaly it doesn’t happen every day – not even at every grand slam. But unfortunately how people react to them often relates to who was on each side of the net.

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Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in a five-set epic. Pic: AP

In this case the majority of the coverage has been about how long they spent on court, not the actual spectacle that fans got to watch for close to seven hours.

Last night Novak Djokovic beat Rafa Nadal in another five-set classic, but already that match seems to be spoken about very differently. It’s being hailed for the magnificent clash it was.

But because Friday night was Kevin and John this will be remembered and discussed more for the time it took and calling for changes to the sport as opposed to a classic form the ‘golden age players’.

Kevin and John’s match should forever be regarded as one of the greatest semi-finals of all time.

South Africa's Kevin Anderson (L) shakes hands after winning against US player John Isner

That’s how I see it. Other won’t agree.

After the match, Pam Shriver asked people on Twitter if they were “bummed” not to have seen the ‘marquee semi-final completed’ which is unfair on Kevin and John.

These two had every right to be first up on Centre Court playing for a shot in the final there’s no reason Novak and Rafa should have gone first.

Let’s not forget that Kevin has now made two of the last four grand slam finals.

There has to be more respect in how people have reacted to this match.

I can totally relate to Kevin and John calling for rules to be looked at in the immediate aftermath of the contest but I would hope that once the emotions have settled and they have had time to reflect they will change their views on altering what is a terrific part of this sport.

It’s easy to say things on the spot when exhausted and faced with the prospect of backing up for a grand slam final.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts after play was suspended during his men's singles semi-final match against Spain's Rafael Nadal

The truth is there are some very simple changes that could be made to help avoid this kind of thing in the future – unfortunately that would require the All England Club to open their eyes to change.

They’re very stuck in their ways and while I appreciate the traditions they have at Wimbledon, they shouldn’t be protected more than the integrity of the sport.

Why not use the middle Sunday to actually play matches? Why not start the day’s play a little earlier if there is a concern that matches will run long? And why not work with the local council on extending that ridiculous 11pm curfew?

We’re talking about two weeks of the year, local residents are disrupted as it is, what’s an extra hour of play here and there going to do?

Also, they have a roof and sound is protected to a degree. Let’s make changes to the Wimbledon set up before messing with the sport.

Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a ball to Novak Djokovic

Wimbledon organisers need to be called out on being so set in their ways. Just look at what happened earlier this week.

With the men’s final clashing with the World Cup final the question was asked – will the grand slam make alterations if England got through?

As it happened, England were knocked out but not before the All England Club delivered a flat out no, a total refusal to consider any changes.

We’re talking about arguably the biggest event in world sport outside of the Olympics that only comes around once every four years, yet Wimbledon won’t budge.

It underlines just where the All England Club is at when it comes to entertaining any simple tweaks that could make significant impact on how the event as a whole runs.

Unfortunately for tennis, their unwillingness to consider even that kind of change means I don’t see them adjusting timings and schedules going forward.

This will only play into calls for a fifth set tiebreak rule being honoured and a great tradition lost.