Post by janie on Sept 12, 2012 19:08:03 GMT -5
September 12, 2012, 6:37 pm
ATP Adopts Rules Changes to Address Pace of Play
By BEN ROTHENBERG
September 12, 2012, 6:37 pm
The A.T.P. Board of Directors announced two rule changes Wednesday that would allow for the quickening of matches, a growing priority given the consistently increasing length of matches on the men’s tour.
The first change is a modification of the punishment for a time violation between points. As it stood previously, a server or returner who takes more than 25 seconds between points is given a warning for his first violation, then a point penalty for each subsequent violation. Under the new rule, a server taking too much time between points will be penalized with a fault (the loss of a first serve) instead of a point penalty after the one initial warning. Returners who take too much time will still be docked a full point.
Though not drastically different, the lightened punishment for tardy serving appears to be an incentive to make chair umpires less reluctant to enforce the existing time violation rules. Despite many players frequently going well over the allotted 25 seconds, warnings are rare, and subsequent point penalties for slow play are nearly non-existent. During the 2012 Australian Open men’s final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, two notoriously slow players, both men consistently took more than 30 and 35 seconds between points, even with the time limit at Grand Slams being set at 20 seconds.
When Djokovic was given a warning for slow play during the United States Open men’s final on Monday, he disputed it with the chair umpire, Jake Garner.
“We believe this modification will give officials a useful tool and allow for more consistent enforcement of the current time violation rule,†said Brad Drewett, the A.T.P. president, in a news release.
The second change, which is being implemented on a trial basis for the first three months of 2013 on the A.T.P. Challenger Tour, will experiment with the removal of the service let. Balls that clip the tape and land in will not result in the service being redone as it is now.
“Although this change will not materially reduce the length of a match, we believe it should have a positive impact on the flow of the match,†Drewett in his statement. “We’re certainly not ready yet to eliminate the service let, but believe a trial at the A.T.P. Challenger level will be a good way to test this initiative in a competitive environment and get feedback from players and the public before deciding if it could be adapted more broadly.â€
Though the involvement of the netcord may lead to more “lucky†points, the benefit should be evenly split between the server and returner. While some balls may hit the tape and fall just over out of the returner’s reach, others will bounce further and sit up slowly for the returner, allowing him to gain immediate control of the rally.
Service lets are not called in N.C.A.A. tennis as well as in World Team Tennis. In doubles events during World Team Tennis, a serve that hits the net and lands in may be returned by either player, not just the designated one standing back to return.
The two A.T.P. changes come in the wake of an increasing number of matches of record length being played in men’s tennis. The United States Open men’s final between Djokovic and Andy Murray lasted 4 hours 54 minutes, tying the record for the longest final in the tournament’s history. The 5-hour-53-minute Australian Open final between Djokovic and Nadal set the record as the longest Grand Slam final ever. Three of the 12 recorded matches that have lasted more than five and a half hours were played this year.
The newly inaugurated A.T.P. Competition Committee, a six-member advisory panel officially announced in August, recommended the changes to the Board of Directors. There are no current players on the committee, which is made up of past and current A.T.P. officials and tournament directors. Richard Krajicek, the 1996 Wimbledon men’s singles champion and current tournament director of the A.T.P. tournament in Rotterdam, is one of the members.
ATP Adopts Rules Changes to Address Pace of Play
By BEN ROTHENBERG
September 12, 2012, 6:37 pm
The A.T.P. Board of Directors announced two rule changes Wednesday that would allow for the quickening of matches, a growing priority given the consistently increasing length of matches on the men’s tour.
The first change is a modification of the punishment for a time violation between points. As it stood previously, a server or returner who takes more than 25 seconds between points is given a warning for his first violation, then a point penalty for each subsequent violation. Under the new rule, a server taking too much time between points will be penalized with a fault (the loss of a first serve) instead of a point penalty after the one initial warning. Returners who take too much time will still be docked a full point.
Though not drastically different, the lightened punishment for tardy serving appears to be an incentive to make chair umpires less reluctant to enforce the existing time violation rules. Despite many players frequently going well over the allotted 25 seconds, warnings are rare, and subsequent point penalties for slow play are nearly non-existent. During the 2012 Australian Open men’s final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, two notoriously slow players, both men consistently took more than 30 and 35 seconds between points, even with the time limit at Grand Slams being set at 20 seconds.
When Djokovic was given a warning for slow play during the United States Open men’s final on Monday, he disputed it with the chair umpire, Jake Garner.
“We believe this modification will give officials a useful tool and allow for more consistent enforcement of the current time violation rule,†said Brad Drewett, the A.T.P. president, in a news release.
The second change, which is being implemented on a trial basis for the first three months of 2013 on the A.T.P. Challenger Tour, will experiment with the removal of the service let. Balls that clip the tape and land in will not result in the service being redone as it is now.
“Although this change will not materially reduce the length of a match, we believe it should have a positive impact on the flow of the match,†Drewett in his statement. “We’re certainly not ready yet to eliminate the service let, but believe a trial at the A.T.P. Challenger level will be a good way to test this initiative in a competitive environment and get feedback from players and the public before deciding if it could be adapted more broadly.â€
Though the involvement of the netcord may lead to more “lucky†points, the benefit should be evenly split between the server and returner. While some balls may hit the tape and fall just over out of the returner’s reach, others will bounce further and sit up slowly for the returner, allowing him to gain immediate control of the rally.
Service lets are not called in N.C.A.A. tennis as well as in World Team Tennis. In doubles events during World Team Tennis, a serve that hits the net and lands in may be returned by either player, not just the designated one standing back to return.
The two A.T.P. changes come in the wake of an increasing number of matches of record length being played in men’s tennis. The United States Open men’s final between Djokovic and Andy Murray lasted 4 hours 54 minutes, tying the record for the longest final in the tournament’s history. The 5-hour-53-minute Australian Open final between Djokovic and Nadal set the record as the longest Grand Slam final ever. Three of the 12 recorded matches that have lasted more than five and a half hours were played this year.
The newly inaugurated A.T.P. Competition Committee, a six-member advisory panel officially announced in August, recommended the changes to the Board of Directors. There are no current players on the committee, which is made up of past and current A.T.P. officials and tournament directors. Richard Krajicek, the 1996 Wimbledon men’s singles champion and current tournament director of the A.T.P. tournament in Rotterdam, is one of the members.
