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The decision to extend the 2024 Australian Open to a 15-day event in order to avoid late-night finishes, sparked a discussion among tennis fans.
The first Grand Slam of the season, which traditionally commenced on a Monday in January and lasted for 14 days, is making a change due to the increasing duration of matches. The decision comes after this year's edition of the event witnessed a five-hour and 45-minute long thriller between Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis, which concluded at 4:05 am.
Australian Open director Craig Tiley announced the extension of the Major to 15 days, commencing on Sunday instead of Monday. He stated that the decision, made in response to feedback from players and fans, was aimed at reducing late finishes.
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"We've listened to feedback from the players and fans and are excited to deliver a solution to minimize late finishes while continuing to provide a fair and equitable schedule on the stadium courts," he said in a statement. (via Eurosport).
Tiley mentioned that the first-round matches would be played out over three days instead of two, in order to improve scheduling for both fans and players.
"The additional day will achieve this, benefiting scheduling for fans and players alike. The first round will now be played over three days instead of two, also giving fans an extra day of unbelievable tennis, entertainment, food and family fun," he added.
The night sessions will still feature two matches, but the revised schedule will limit the Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena day sessions to two matches rather than three, with the aim of minimizing the potential overlap between both sessions.
The Australian Open now joins the French Open as the only Grand Slams that span 15 days. The Wimbledon Championships and US Open are both 14-day events.
A fan questioned how a Sunday start would help reduce late finishes, pointing out that spreading the first-round matches over three days did not impact the timing of the matches in subsequent rounds.
"LOL. Exactly what does Sunday start have to do with late finishes (the article claims thats the reason)??? 1R being played over three days does not reduce the chances of matches to finish in the morning in 2R/3R etc. Or even in 1R itself, if we are being honest," a fan posted.
With the number of sessions increasing from 47 to 52, another fan claimed that the decision was merely a cash grab.
"Another way to screw more money out of the fans," the fan commented.
Here are a few more fan reactions:
Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka will aim to defend their titles at Australian Open 2024
Novak Djokovic won his record-extending 10th Australian Open title in January. The Serb defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6(4), 7-6(5) in the final to claim his 22nd Grand Slam title, equaling Rafael Nadal.
On the women's side, Aryna Sabalenka secured a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Elena Rybakina in the final to clinch her maiden Major title. The Belarusian dropped just one set en route to the title, to Rybakina in the title clash.
While Djokovic will aim to win his record-extending 25th Grand Slam title at next year's edition of the event, Sabalenka will be on the hunt for her second Major title. The 2024 Australian Open will be held from January 14-28.
