Shelton Backs Djokovic's Format, Clijsters Pushes Back
The American backed sets played to four games, the Belgian with four Grand Slam titles says marathon matches are tennis at its best, and Fonseca explained the joke about Novak's age.
Montreal, the press room, and the highest ranked player left in the Masters draw gets a question that has nothing to do with his next opponent. Ben Shelton arrived in Canada as the fifth seed, and after a wave of upsets he is the last Top 10 player standing in the field and the top favorite to defend his title. Instead of his next match, he was asked about a proposal that came out of Belgrade.
Djokovic’s proposal to shorten matches got both support and rejection within two days, plus a joke its author had to walk back.
“I like the idea. What’s interesting is that it’s Djokovic making this proposal, a guy who’s always been in the best shape on tour, who could go five or six hours on the court.”
That’s what Shelton told reporters, and it sums up what makes the whole story odd. Shortening matches is being pushed by a man who never had a problem with how long they lasted.
What exactly is Djokovic proposing?
The model is simple. A set would be played to four games instead of six, and at 40:40 there would be no advantage, the next point would decide the game outright. Matches would still go to best of three sets, with the math working out so few would run past two hours. We covered the proposal itself when Novak first raised it, and the reactions only started once players were asked about it at press conferences.
Shelton added something everyone in the locker room already knows, that change doesn’t come easily to a sport that has guarded its rituals for decades.
“Tennis is a traditional sport, tournaments like to preserve their traditions, but I’d enjoy playing in a format like this.”
Clijsters: the marathon is the best part of the job
On the other side of the net stood Kim Clijsters. The Belgian, a former world number one and winner of four Grand Slam singles titles, turned the idea down flat. She said four and five hour matches were the best part of tennis for her, the reason the sport gets remembered at all.
Clijsters also admitted something players usually leave unsaid: behind the push for shorter matches stand television networks and investors, because a two hour product is easier to sell than one that could end at any time. Her conclusion was that she understands the reasoning, but as a player she stayed a traditionalist.
Fonseca: I was joking, Novak is getting older
A third reaction came from Joao Fonseca. The Brazilian first joked that the proposal exists because Djokovic is getting older, the line traveled further than he meant it to, and he had to clarify it the very next day.
“I was joking. We know Novak is getting older, but if I were in his position, I’d probably do the same thing. I think he was joking too.”
Fonseca then added what is actually the core of his position. The four game format suits him, because it’s the format he was successful in at the Next Gen Finals.
Why the split runs along generations, but not the way it looks
Here the story gets more interesting than the poll itself. Both players who backed the shorter format point to the same tournament. The Next Gen Finals has been played under that exact model, sets to four games, no advantage, for years already, and it’s the only event where Shelton and Fonseca have played a full tournament under the new rules. They aren’t defending an idea, they’re defending an experience they already have.
Clijsters is defending a different experience, a career in which the biggest matches lasted exactly as long as they needed to. Her generation measured value by endurance, not by the length of a TV slot.
Which is what makes it fitting that Djokovic, a man whose career was built on five hour finals, now finds himself on the side asking for shorter matches. He’s the only person in this debate who has lived both models firsthand, one on the court, the other in his head.
What’s next
The argument, as usual, moves back to the court. Fonseca beat Casper Ruud in Montreal and reached the round of 16, where Shelton is waiting for him. The two men who backed the proposal now play each other, in the very format both of them called outdated.
My read is that the ATP won’t touch this anytime soon, but the split in the answers is telling. Players who grew up on shorter sets don’t see a problem, players who built careers on marathons defend what they survived. Djokovic’s proposal isn’t on any official agenda for now, but in two days it got three different generations to say publicly what they think. The next time it comes up, it will be after Shelton and Fonseca have played each other.
