The Australian Open has spent recent years embracing change, and its crowds have continued to rise year after year.

One of the clearest examples came in Melbourne this season with the introduction of the One Point Slam, a one-point contest that matched professional players with amateurs and became one of the tournament’s most discussed features. The event also welcomed Roger Federer back to the venue for the first time since retirement and staged a number of exhibition matches. Even so, further alterations could still be on the horizon for 2027.

New Tennis Australia chief executive Andrew Abdo, who has replaced Craig Tiley, has floated the possibility of significant changes to the scoring structure at the Melbourne event.

“Maybe in the future, Slams at the different rounds, or at different lengths of duration, maybe we’re not playing best-of-five all the way through, maybe the point scoring system changes,” said Abdo.

That suggestion has already drawn criticism from fans on social media, many of whom remain strongly attached to the sport’s traditions.

The debate is not new. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal both defended best-of-five-set matches at the majors, with Nadal saying in 2020: “I mean, winning Grand Slam, playing best-of-three demand to the player something else, no? Stronger mentally, stronger physically, be solid for such a long time and for such a long two weeks. So I really believe that’s the right thing to do.”

Federer was equally firm. “It won’t happen, the best of three stuff,” said the Swiss icon. “The tradition of tennis is having best-of-five at the majors and that will remain. Those who want best-of-three don’t really have the best interests of tennis at heart.”

There has also been support for change from other leading players. Novak Djokovic said in 2020: “I am more of a proponent of best-of-three sets everywhere. You asked me why. I just feel that we have enough tournaments, enough matches during the year.

“We have the longest season of all sports, any sport in the world. Tennis has the longest season from January 1 to end of November. Literally every single week you have tournament somewhere.”

If such a shift does arrive in 2027, Djokovic could be one of the main beneficiaries. He has already been pushed through several five-set Grand Slam matches this year, including against Joao Fonseca and Felix Auger-Aliassime, and those contests have left the 24-time Grand Slam champion heavily drained.

Alexander Zverev’s 2026 US Open has already become a test of stamina as much as skill, with the world No. 2 again dragged into a long night at Flushing Meadows. His second-round match against Quentin Halys finished at 02:15 on Friday morning in New York after four hours and 33 minutes, extending an opening stretch that has already swallowed more than nine hours on court.

The top seed had begun the tournament with an even longer battle, spending four hours and 53 minutes to defeat Lorenzo Sonego in five sets in the first round on Tuesday. Two matches in, Zverev has now completed two five-setters and logged nine hours and 26 minutes of match time, a figure that places him in a unique spot in Grand Slam history. He has become the first top seed in the Open Era to play two five-setters in the opening two rounds of a Grand Slam.

Zverev’s win over Halys came by 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, but the German was frank about how he saw his level. “The performance was quite s***, to be honest, but I won, and that’s the most important thing,” the top seed said. “I’ve been here for another four and a half hours, 02:15am again, but that is what I go to the gym for, that’s what I go to the track for, that’s what I train for, to be able to come out on top in these difficult moments.

“You know, when you’re not playing your best, when you’re not hitting winners left and right, just getting through these kind of matches.

“To be honest, I hope at some point I will start to play better, but for now I am happy to be in the third round.”

The draw now looks more manageable. Zverev will next meet 25th seed Alejandro Tabilo, while 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti has already fallen to wildcard Dane Sweeny in the second round. With no other top-20 player standing in his way until at least the last eight, the path has opened further after early exits for third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, sixth seed Alex de Minaur and 12th seed Rafael Jodar.

If Zverev continues, he is projected to face 14th-seeded Learner Tien or 17th seed Jakub Mensik in the quarter-final, then possibly fifth seed Flavio Cobolli or ninth seed Taylor Fritz in the semi-final. The bottom half of the draw still includes second seed Carlos Alcaraz, seventh seed Daniil Medvedev, eighth seed Ben Shelton and 11th seed Frances Tiafoe.

Alexander Zverev has pushed back against being described as the main title favourite for the US Open, even as the draw opens up around him and Carlos Alcaraz prepares to return after a long spell away.

The German arrives in New York with a very different standing from a year ago. Since then, he has captured his first Grand Slam crown at the French Open and reached his maiden Wimbledon final in July. Those results have naturally sharpened the focus on his prospects at Flushing Meadows, especially after world No 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew because of lingering knee problems following his Wimbledon triumph.

Alcaraz, now ranked behind Zverev, has also been absent for four months because of a wrist injury, but the Spaniard is set to rejoin the tour in New York. Zverev, however, is not reading too much into the circumstances surrounding his rivals. He also admitted his own build-up has not been ideal, after losing early at both the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open.

Even so, his US Open record remains strong. He has reached at least the quarter-finals in four of his last five appearances, and he made the final in 2020 before losing a five-set classic to Dominic Thiem after leading by two sets and a break.

“I still feel that I should have won in 2020; that hasn’t changed. Overall, of course, there is a certain level of satisfaction from finally winning a Grand Slam,” he analysed during his pre-tournament press conference.

“I think I’ve said it a million times. But you also realise something: once you win one, you want to win more. You want to keep moving forward, and you want to play your best tennis every time you step onto a court.

“I feel that I did that after Roland Garros, and then I didn’t do it in the last two tournaments.

“But I definitely feel that my game is coming back, and it’s been improving with every training session. I hope to show my best tennis here again.”

Zverev also rejected the idea that he should be treated as the clear favourite, saying the decisive name is the one left standing near the end of the event.

“I think being a seed is nice and shows that you have been playing well, but I think the most important thing is whose name appears at the end of the draw and who is still here in two weeks,” he added.

“I believe that’s the main objective for everyone in the draw. I feel like I’m just one of the 128 favourite players in the draw, nothing more.”

Asked about Alcaraz’s wrist issue, Zverev said the injuries are not comparable and suggested the Spaniard could need only a match or two to settle before becoming dangerous again.

“I know what you mean, but it’s very different because I think it’s a different injury,” Zverev stated.

“The wrist is never easy, that’s for sure.

“I know this because my brother also had a wrist injury, and it takes time to come back from something like that. I think mine was different because I tore seven ligaments and fractured two bones, so I had to undergo surgery.

“It took me a year to come back, so it was a bit different. I feel that he’s probably at the same physical level now, if not better, because surely over the last four or five months he has done a lot of physical work – something I couldn’t do because I couldn’t walk.

“I think he’ll be a bit rusty during the first or second match, but once he gets past that, I think he will be a title contender, for sure.”

Zverev begins his US Open campaign against Lorenzo Sonego.