An ATP player is of the viewpoint that best-of-five tennis at Grand Slams should remain after watching Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open.
There have been conversations about the sustainability of the longer format at the majors and the physical toll it takes on the players.
There was an example of this at the Australian Open, when Jack Draper came through three gruelling five-set matches against Mariano Navone, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Aleksandar Vukic.
But Draper managed just two sets against Carlos Alcaraz before retiring due to injury. Despite the physical toll on their bodies, Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is an advocate for best-of-five set tennis.
ATP player uses Jannik Sinner as an example for supporting best-of-five set tennis
The likes of Nick Kyrgios have called for fewer best-of-five matches at Grand Slams and suggested having best-of-three sets matches in the earlier rounds.
But Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is against the idea, and used Jannik Sinner’s Australian Open title defence as an example, as he struggled with cramp in the earlier rounds before winning the tournament.
“I think it’s a good idea to play every match best of five,” the 25-year-old said at the ongoing Delray Beach Open.
“At the end of the day, it’s a lot of mental and physical [challenge] and you have to perform every day to see what level you are.
“At the end all the best players can play five sets until the end of the tournament and they are still fresh. You can see Sinner, he was tired and cramping in the second week, but at the end he performed and won it.”
What are Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Jannik Sinner’s best-of-five set records?
Perhaps another reason why Davidovich Fokina is an advocate for best-of-five tennis is because of his impressive record in those matches.
He has played 16 matches in his career that have gone the distance, and the Spaniard has won nine of those contests.
Two of those wins came at January’s Australian Open. He came from two sets down to beat Felix Auger Aliassime and Jakub Menšík, before losing to Tommy Paul in round four.
Sinner on the other hand, has played 15 five-set matches in his career, and has won six and lost nine, giving him a win percentage of 40%.
The Italian’s last five-set match came at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, where Daniil Medvedev won 6-7(7) 6-4 7-6(4) 2-6 6-3.
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