Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
New Australian Open chief Andrew Abdo says best-of-five men’s tennis is here to stay at Melbourne Park and he won’t make any drastic changes in his first tournament at the helm.
Next year’s tournament, the first since former boss Craig Tiley departed for the US Open, was officially launched at Rod Laver Arena on Thursday morning.
Last month, Abdo received backlash when, speaking at the SportNXT conference, he raised the possibility of making men play best-of-three sets earlier in the tournament, then best-of-five later.
Asked about that experience, ex-NRL CEO Abdo laughed and said: “Let me just say, I am a massive fan of the best of five – and it’s here to stay.
“I mean, honestly, one of my favourite days in sport ever: I was fortunate enough to experience the two men’s semi-finals last year, and those were two epic best-of-five set matches that I will never forget for the rest of my life.
“So the grand slams are unique, the Australian Open is unique and slugging it out in a best-of-five, that’s pretty unique, especially as well. I’m a big fan of it.”
Asked for his thoughts on playing deuce/advantage, Abdo said: “I didn’t mention it last time, certainly not going to mention it now.
“I mean, any change that is made to a sport will be well thought through and considered.”
Abdo pointed to a new Grand Slam Players’ Council as an opportunity to talk through potential changes.
Abdo made a faux pas on stage when he accidentally called world No.1 and two-time Melbourne Park champion Jannik Sinner “Jacob Sinner”.
He later said the Open hierarchy were in talks with the world No.1, whose season finished prematurely through injury, around arriving early for next year’s tournament.
Sinner, rival Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka are locked in for the “1 Point Slam” exhibition event during qualifying week.
The 49-year-old had no plans to introduce any drastic “fresh ideas” just yet and said he would learn from those around him.
“It’s a bit too early to say I’ve got the answers to everything,” Abdo said.
“… I think what I’m going to bring is a different perspective.”
Australia has four men in the top 100, led by world No.9 Alex de Minaur, and five women, led by world No.37 Talia Gibson.
But since Ash Barty’s retirement, the host nation has struggled for genuine slam contenders.
“Obviously, if you look at it per capita in terms of how many players we have in the top 100, we’re going OK,” Abdo said.
“But we want to do more and what you’ll hear from me, what you’ll get from me, what you’ll get from everyone in Tennis Australia is the relentless pursuit for doing better.
“And so we want grand slam winners. We want players in the top 10, men and women. We don’t just want players in the top 100.”
Abdo wants more investment in pathways and grassroots to give players based in Australia more competition, while also supporting those who develop overseas.
“Australia structurally is a long way away from the rest of the world,” he said.
“We have to be innovative around how we nurture, produce, encourage, and ultimately create and enable talent to happen, and for stars to shine on what is a really competitive and global stage
“… There’s no silver bullet, but there are definitely things that we can improve and increase the amount of investment into it as well.”
