Match tiebreaks, shortened fifth sets, the new Davis Cup in just one week: Tennis is increasingly the way to shorten the games and competitions. And quite inconsistent, especially with the majors. In Melbourne there is now a match-tiebreak (up to 10) at 6: 6 in the fifth set, in Paris, the fifth set is still played out, in Wimbledon you play at 12:12 a normal tiebreak, in New York as usual at 6: 6th And at the NextGen Finals, the set is tested to four games.

The impression conveyed: tennis takes too long. This affects both the professional and the club level, where the match tiebreak has replaced the third set.

"Soon only as long as a TV series"

Gilles Simon is not a friend of this development. The 34-year-old is away from the pro tour also in the French Bundesliga on the road, he plays there for FC Paris. "We're changing because it's become fashionable," Simon said on the sidelines of a game against the French Eurosport side . And Simon seems convinced that the shortening of tennis will continue. "Soon we'll probably be asked to play only 40 minutes as long as a TV series lasts, on the grounds that young people will not sit in front of the TV three hours more."

Simon also wants to have identified the reason for the shortening. "Either you give in to the mood of the spectator - or you educate him - we have decided to give in to his mood, so everything has become a circus, on all levels."

A high on the boredom

Rémi Bourrières, the author of the article, points to another interesting point: the alleged boredom at the beginning of normal sentences. Why not just start games at 4: 4, if only then it would be exciting? Because the beginning of a sentence is an integral part of a match. Two opponents warming up, so to speak, before the intense end. Like two boxers in the first rounds. Or a cyclist in the valley, before the climb. Or in life: "Would festivals be so nice if the rest of our days were not characterized by a certain monotony?" Asks Bourrières.

Boredom is bad, so the motto of the society meanwhile. It is often the most creative in moments of boredom. Even in tennis, the possible boredom at the beginning of a sentence is not bad, the viewer will notice in these moments, namely, things that escaped him, if it would be critical again. It was dangerous to always give in to the consumer, just look for the show. Because the true enthusiast will always stay anyway.

The problem, according to Simon: There is no one who looks confidently into the future of tennis. Nobody noticed that it was all about changing everything. "Tennis is a sport that should be proud of its long tradition, but instead you want to make it a marketing product."

The entire article is here - reading tip!