Doubles legend disagrees with Novak Djokovic on ‘Best-of-3 or Best-of-5 sets’ at Grand Slam events

Doubles legend disagrees with Novak Djokovic on ‘Best-of-3 or Best-of-5 sets’ at Grand Slam events
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Todd Woodbridge.

After his opening match at the ATP Finals on Sunday, Novak Djokovic gave spark to what’s now turned into a very heated debate with existing and former players voicing their opinions about it.

The World No.1 was asked about potentially playing more best-of-five tennis throughout the year at the ATP Finals, and he responded by saying he was not in favor of the format altogether in the first place.

Following which, some players voiced their opinion stating whether they are for or against the making of Grand Slams a best of three events as suggested by Djokovic. Except for Daniil Medvedev, most competitors were in disagreement including World No. 2, Rafael Nadal who is now accompanied by one of the most successful doubles men’s tennis player, Todd Woodbridge.

Absolutely no way about it: Woodbridge

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Todd Woodbridge and Novak Djokovic

In a conversation with Wide World of Sports, the 22 time Grand Slam doubles champion was asked about the persistent debate to which he spoke against very assertively.

“Absolutely no way,” Woodbridge said.

“I would hate to see tennis go that way. The best part of tennis is the uniqueness of the major tournaments,” he added.

The Australian believes that it is the five setters which give the Grand Slams its elite place and brings out the best in players.

“To become a major champion you need varying qualities, you need the skills, you need to be tactically astute, and the physical ability. All of those abilities bring the champion to the fore,” he further said.

Switching the format to a best of three setter would make the Grand Slams a ‘groundhog day‘, Woodbridge explained further.

Disagreement aside, Woodbridge was also taken aback slightly by Djokovic’s suggestion as he believes that the Serb is the one who uses the best of five format better than anyone to his advantage.

“I’m a little surprised by Novak’s comments. He is one of those players that utilizes the best-of-five format as well as anyone.

“He has great fitness, he bounces back well from tough matches, and it’s allowed him to win matches he would perhaps not have won if they were shorter,” Woodbridge concluded.

Also Read: Watch: Best-of-3 or Best-of-5 sets? Djokovic and Nadal vehemently oppose each other when it comes to the structure of Grand Slam events