← The best-of-three explorer · All stories
Stories
Long-form reads on how a single rule change — best-of-five to best-of-three — would rewrite the men's game, player by player.
Themes
Winners that never were →Zero to hero: players who'd own a major under best-of-three but actually won none.Titles that would vanish →The flip side: real champions whose title wouldn't survive best-of-three.
Players
Novak Djokovic →The format's loudest advocate — and its single biggest loserAndy Murray →A first Wimbledon that arrives three years lateRoger Federer →The straight-sets artist who barely notices the changeRafael Nadal →The grinder who survives more often than you'd thinkCarlos Alcaraz →The young king with the most fragile crownJannik Sinner →The metronome who mostly wins in straight sets — and steals two moreDaniil Medvedev →The biggest winner at the top of the gameStan Wawrinka →The purest five-set warrior — for better and worseAlexander Zverev →From nearly-man to three-time major champion