Wimbledon to introduce final-set tiebreaks

Those six-hour Wimbledon marathons will be a thing of the past beginning next year as the All-England Lawn Tennis Club introduces a final-set tiebreak. The organization announced Friday that once the final set reaches 12-12, the match will be ended with a tiebreaker. A semifinal match this year between Kevin Anderson and John Isner lasted six and a half hours. Anderson won 26-24 in the final set. Both called for a move to a final-set tiebreak afterward. Isner was also involved in a 2010 match against Nicholas Mahut that spanned three days and more than 11 hours on court. Isner won that one 70-68 in the final set. "Our view was that the time had come to introduce a tie-break method for matches that had not reached their natural conclusion at a reasonable point during the deciding set," said chairman Philip Brook in a statement. "While we know the instances of matches extending deep into the final set are rare, we feel that a tie-break at 12-12 strikes an equitable balance between allowing players ample opportunity to complete the match to advantage, while also providing certainty that the match will reach a conclusion in an acceptable timeframe." The U.S. Open is the only Grand Slam event that currently uses a final-set tiebreak in singles play. The Australian Open and French Open have instituted it, but only for doubles. Wimbledon's new rules will go into effect for all matches. --Field Level Media