CNN
—
The Australian Open will add an additional day to its schedule subsequent yr in a bid to scale back strain on gamers and followers after a string of punishing matches lately that ended properly into the early hours of the morning.
The brand new 15-day schedule for January’s season-opening Grand Slam in Melbourne comes after rising calls to restrict ending occasions in a notoriously crowded schedule marked by a string of matches stretching late into the evening they usually take a grueling toll on gamers.
At this yr’s match, Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis completed a marathon battle at 4:05 a.m. in a second-round match that lasted practically six hours.
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1, stayed smoking not solely due to the size of the match but additionally as a result of he was denied the possibility to go to the toilet in the course of the competition.
The Australian Open has a demanding schedule within the early rounds of the match; 5 matches are commonly performed every day on the present courts: three throughout the day and two at evening.
“We’ve got listened to suggestions from gamers and followers and are excited to supply an answer to reduce late finishes whereas persevering with to supply a good and equitable schedule on stadium courts,” Australian Open match director Craig Tiley mentioned in an announcement. communicated
With the brand new modifications, the primary spherical of the match can be prolonged over three days, as a substitute of the earlier two, easing the strain on the busy early levels.
The brand new Australian Open dates for 2024 can be January 14-28 and the Sunday begin will improve the variety of periods throughout three stadiums from 47 to 52. However organizers haven’t talked about whether or not there can be a cut-off time for evening matches.
The battle between Murray and Kokkinakis was solely the second final closing within the historical past of the match.
In 2008, Lleyton Hewitt beat Marcos Baghdatis in 5 units at 4:33 a.m. after Roger Federer had taken 4 and a half hours to defeat Janko Tipsarevic earlier within the day.
These delays are a bonus for worldwide viewers in Europe and North America, who can benefit from the drama and stress of a five-set match of their daytime hours. However they’re much less enjoyable for the gamers and people watching within the stands.
The shortage of a time restrict in tennis implies that matches final so long as the gamers must win.
Three of the 4 Grand Slams, the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open, at the moment schedule evening periods, whereas Wimbledon ends the evening periods at 11 pm and unfinished matches resume the next day.
O Wimbledon curfewcarried out in 2009, it’s mentioned to be supposed to get spectators house safely from the venue, however the lower has typically left followers hanging off a cliff throughout essentially the most intense matches.
O longest skilled match it occurred at Wimbledon in 2010 when American participant John Isner lastly defeated French rival Nicolas Mahut after an epic 11-hour competitors performed over three days.
