PERTH, Australia (AFP) – World number four Alexander Zverev has hit out at the decision to use tie-breaks in the final sets of the Australian Open, claiming players were not consulted and it deprived the tournament of ‘‘something special’’.
Organizers have decided to follow Wimbledon in abandoning advantage final sets at the opening Grand Slam of the season in Melbourne next month.
In matches that reach 6-6 in the final set, the winner will now be the first to reach 10 points.
But young German star Zverev, seen as the future of tennis and who had a breakthrough 2018, said he wasn’t a fan.
‘‘We weren’t (consulted) at all. I don’t think any players were (asked), to be honest,’’ he said in comments in The Australian newspaper Thursday as he prepares for the Hopman Cup in Perth, where he is partnering Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber.
‘‘I don’t like the change too much because I think it has something special when you go 12-10 in the fifth set, or something like that.
