‘I am completely against it’ – Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic clash over Grand Slam question
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal appear to be on another collision course after disagreeing over the format of Grand Slams.
Grand Slams have always been best-of-five tennis for the men and they are just about the only tournaments that still use it.
After his ATP win over Diego Schwartzman at the ATP Finals, Djokovic was asked if he was in favour of more best-of-five tennis, and he replied by saying he isn’t even in favour of it for Grand Slams, never mind more tournaments.
âI am more a proponent of two-out-of-three everywhere, even though of course slams have always been best-of-five.
“Itâs historically been that way, so I donât know whether there is a chance at all for it to change.
“I just feel like the attention span, as well as the fans, especially the younger generation, is shorter.
“So in order for us to really improve the product, so to say, of tennis I think commercially and marketing-wise I feel like we have to adapt to that younger generation.
âObviously we have been one of those sports that has stuck with the tradition a lot, which I respect, and I feel like this is something we have to keep, but at the same time we havenât been really exploring some changes,â he said.
âWhether itâs score or less sets or whatever. We have not really looked into that. Every time someone mentions that, I feel like there is not much of a support, not much of a willingness to really address that and strategically think about the things that could attract a younger audience as well to our tour, to our sport.â
When asked the same question, though, rival Rafael Nadal gave a ocmpletely opposite point of view.
âI am completely against change in the Grand Slams,” Nadal said. “We have a day off.
“I think best-of-five makes a difference in these tournaments, on the slams and at the same time is part of the history of our sport.â
- Join the tennishead CLUB and receive ÂŁ250/$350 of FREE GEAR including ASICS Gel-Resolution 8 trainers, shorts, shirt & socks
- Keep up to date with the breaking news & tennis action at our tennis news section
- Win amazing prizes by entering our competitions
- Learn more about your favourite players including Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic
- Check out the latest tennis equipment with our tennis gear reviews
- Receive regular updates in our legendary free newsletter
- Read in depth features with stunning photography in tennishead magazine
- Canât visit the tournaments you love? Check out our guide on how to watch tennis on TV
- Donât miss a thing with our Live Scores service
- Follow tennishead on social media at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube
- EXCLUSIVE 5% DISCOUNT for all tennishead readers on tennis rackets, balls, clothing, shoes & accessories with All Things Tennis, our dedicated tennis gear partner