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Final set marathons at the Australian Open are a thing of the past after the grand slam abandoned advantage sets for next month's tournament.
Instead, the Australian Open will introduce so-called 'super tie-breakers' - decided by the first player to 10 points - when the score reaches 6-6 in the deciding set of men's and women's singles matches.
In a match that lasted 4 hours 44 minutes, Francesca Schiavone beats Svetlana Kuznetsova 16-14 in a three-hour long third set during the Australian Open in 2011.Credit:Joe Armao
The move means the four grand slams will operate with four different scoring systems to decide matches that go deep into the final set.
Only two months ago, Wimbledon introduced a final-set tie-breaker but, crucially, it will only be used when the score reaches 12-12.