<p class="title">Wimbledon will introduce tie-breaks in the final set of all events for the first time next year, but only once the score in the deciding set reaches 12-12, the All England Lawn Tennis Club announced on Friday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"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 the club's chairman Philip Brook.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A tie-break is normally played to decide the set when the score reaches 6-6. However, until now the US Open has been the only Grand Slam that uses a tie-break in the fifth set.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In this year's Wimbledon men's final, South African Kevin Anderson lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets less than two days after beating John Isner 26-24 in the fifth set after more than six-and-a-half hours on court.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Djokovic's own five-set semifinal victory over Rafael Nadal also had to be played over two days due to the delay in a conclusion to the Anderson-Isner match.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"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," added Brook.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The AELTC said it had studied data from the past 20 years at Wimbledon, as well as consulting players and officials before reaching the decision.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Big-serving American Isner was also famously involved in the longest match in Wimbledon history when he beat France's Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the deciding set in 2010 after over 11 hours on court over three days.</p>
<p class="title">Wimbledon will introduce tie-breaks in the final set of all events for the first time next year, but only once the score in the deciding set reaches 12-12, the All England Lawn Tennis Club announced on Friday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"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 the club's chairman Philip Brook.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A tie-break is normally played to decide the set when the score reaches 6-6. However, until now the US Open has been the only Grand Slam that uses a tie-break in the fifth set.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In this year's Wimbledon men's final, South African Kevin Anderson lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets less than two days after beating John Isner 26-24 in the fifth set after more than six-and-a-half hours on court.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Djokovic's own five-set semifinal victory over Rafael Nadal also had to be played over two days due to the delay in a conclusion to the Anderson-Isner match.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"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," added Brook.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The AELTC said it had studied data from the past 20 years at Wimbledon, as well as consulting players and officials before reaching the decision.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Big-serving American Isner was also famously involved in the longest match in Wimbledon history when he beat France's Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the deciding set in 2010 after over 11 hours on court over three days.</p>