LONDON — Davis Cup organizers are considering whether to introduce a fifth-set tiebreaker. The International Tennis Federation says the rule change is being discussed by the Davis Cup committee. No timeline was given for when a decision would be reached.
Leonardo Mayer of Argentina and Joao Souza of Brazil were involved in the longest Davis Cup singles match ever this month. The match lasted 6 hours, 42 minutes, forcing the best-of-five series to be extended to a fourth day. The fifth set alone lasted 2 hours, 30 minutes before Mayer clinched a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 5-7, 5-7, 15-13 victory. The match broke the previous Davis Cup high of 6 hours, 22 minutes between Mats Wilander and John McEnroe.
Two years ago, Tomas Berdych and Luka Rosol defeated Stansials Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli in more than seven hours to record the longest doubles match on record, with the contest coming in a first-round tie.
Both Ricci Bitti and vice president Juan Margets were quoted by Argentine media confirming that they support the move, which will be voted on by the federations at the ITF's general meeting.
The Davis Cup has had tiebreakers in all sets except for the fifth since 1989.