Topic: 5th set tb or play it out?

[Tennis4you]

What would you rather see the slams do in the 5th set?  Play a tie-breaker or play it out and win by 2 games?

[tennisfan78]

I think definitely the winner should win by 2 games. I think one has to have some luck to win in tie break and when two guys play so hard to reach 5th set and tied 6 games all, the factor of luck should be eliminated.

[pawan89]

It seems pretty unanimous so far. Let me tell you something though, till now I have always thought it was madd odd to actually have like a 5th set score "9-7" or 11-9 but I guess I never thought about it. Now that I think about it, I really do thing it should be played out. A Tiebreak can be won by having some extra focus for a few short minutes. But after playing 5 sets i dont think it should come down to who can have an adrenaline rush for five minutes - it should be if you can mantain your level and beat him fair and square which is by breaking and holding. Can you hold your serve under pressure, are your strokes with you when you need them - thats what matters. not i stuck my racquet out randomly and it became a passing shot and now i am up a minibreak in the tiebreak and i can win.

[Victor]

I agree with all of you, a tiebreaker is to short for a 5set match.

[helen321]

oh! i voted for a tiebreaker, but i suppose i was thinnking from a spectator point of view. 5 sets is a loooong time to sit through the whole thing and when it gets to beyond 6 -6 in the fifth i am thinking 'will someone just hurry up and break serve'. Tie breaks are much more exciting, although i'll admit probably not really fair on the players!

[dmastous]

My vote was to play it out. But let me throw out the Mac diatribe everytime this situation comes into play at a GS. He makes some good points, but in the end I think he's all wet.
He says when you get that far into a match both players are not at their best. They are tired and usually the quality of tennis isn't very good. He says it's just not good tennis to watch. Two players tiredly dragging their carcasses all over the court making lots of mistakes. He feels a 5th set tiebreak would let these guys see a light at the end of the tunnel and let it all hang out for that last bit of real estate. For the viewer a 5th set tie break should give the best theater.
That's Mac's take.
My take is that I've seen both 5th sets played out and, at the US Open, 5th set tie breaks. I don't see the difference, and I don't see the huge drop off in quality. I think the best fit player should win that kind of match and that won't be told in a tiebreak.

[Murrayfan11]

oh! i voted for a tiebreaker, but i suppose i was thinnking from a spectator point of view. 5 sets is a loooong time to sit through the whole thing and when it gets to beyond 6 -6 in the fifth i am thinking 'will someone just hurry up and break serve'. Tie breaks are much more exciting, although i'll admit probably not really fair on the players!

I disagree, I found the longer option the least boring and most exciting.

[Bundey]

oh! i voted for a tiebreaker, but i suppose i was thinnking from a spectator point of view. 5 sets is a loooong time to sit through the whole thing and when it gets to beyond 6 -6 in the fifth i am thinking 'will someone just hurry up and break serve'. Tie breaks are much more exciting, although i'll admit probably not really fair on the players!

Well I don't really mind watching tennis all day, so that isn't a problem with me.  I pick the full 5th set because yes it may be less exciting, but it really shows who deserves to win the match.

[OSU Buckeye]

My vote was to play it out. But let me throw out the Mac diatribe everytime this situation comes into play at a GS. He makes some good points, but in the end I think he's all wet.
He says when you get that far into a match both players are not at their best. They are tired and usually the quality of tennis isn't very good. He says it's just not good tennis to watch. Two players tiredly dragging their carcasses all over the court making lots of mistakes. He feels a 5th set tiebreak would let these guys see a light at the end of the tunnel and let it all hang out for that last bit of real estate. For the viewer a 5th set tie break should give the best theater.
That's Mac's take.
My take is that I've seen both 5th sets played out and, at the US Open, 5th set tie breaks. I don't see the difference, and I don't see the huge drop off in quality. I think the best fit player should win that kind of match and that won't be told in a tiebreak.

True, but the drama that can come from a back and forth late 5th set struggle is pretty much unmatched!   I say play it out to win by 2 games!