"Alexander Zverev could have won the US Open if it was best-of-three, you have my case as well at Roland Garros" - Stefanos Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitsipas reckons the landscape of Grand Slam winners would be very different if tournaments employed a best-of-three format instead of the best-of-five that fans have come to know and love.

Speaking at his press conference ahead of his opener at the Miami Masters, the World No. 5 noted how both he and Alexander Zverev would be Grand Slam champions in this hypothetical scenario.

For the record, Zverev won the first two sets against Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open final, but the Austrian clawed his way back into the contest in the next three to win his maiden Slam. Tsitsipas, on the other hand, took the first two sets against Novak Djokovic at the 2021 French Open, but ended up losing the next three to hand the Serb his 19th Major title.

"Alexander Zverev, who reached the final at the 2020 US Open, he could have won the US Open if it was best-of-three. You have my case as well at Roland Garros [last year]. You have many other cases," Tsitsipas said.

I'm pretty sure you can find a lot of cases where the loser of a Grand Slam final won the first two sets and still somehow found themselves losing in the end. The winners of Grand Slams would be very different if the format was best-of-three in men," he added.

At the same time, the Greek revealed that he was a fan of the current format. The former World No. 3 opined that the best-of-five format requires a completely "different" mental state from players, and allows for those with more experience and perseverance to mount fightbacks.

The 23-year-old remarked that the "traditional" format was also a better viewing experience for the fans. Interestingly, the World No. 5 was in favor of the format being extended to women's tennis as well.

"[Best-of-five] is a different psychology. I'm sure it allows the greater players, the ones that have more experience when it comes to winning Grand Slam titles, to fight back. It gives them more chances to get back into the match. I like it anyways," Stefanos Tsitsipas said.

"I think it gets very physical. It makes for a great show as well. It would be the traditional thing. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Maybe women can also play best-of-five [in Grand Slams], I guess," he added.

"I have no opinion on that" Stefanos Tsitsipas on fifth-set tie-breaks in Grand Slams

Stefanos Tsitsipas was fairly neutral about all four Grand Slams adopting the new tiebreaker rule

During the press conference, Stefanos Tsitsipas also gave his two cents on all four Grand Slams adopting a uniform rule for tie-breaks in the deciding set. The rule change was announced a few days ago. Matches will hereafter be decided with a 10-point tiebreak after reaching 6-6 in the fifth set.

The Greek refused to pick a side and chose to sit on the fence in this particular debate. Tsitsipas admitted that he used to like watching matches that went on forever as a child. But now that he has first-hand experience with such matches, the former World No. 3 asserted that it can be quite exhausting for players.

"The tiebreaker thing also, I have no opinion on that. As a child, I liked watching these crazy best-of-five matches that went all the way to 18-16. It's just fun to watch and see who is going to break first," Stefanos Tsitsipas said. "On the other hand, you can't allow players to play until 6:00 in the morning with that format because it happens sometimes. It can get quite exhausting."

Stefanos Tsitsipas begins his Miami campaign against either Daniel Altmaier or qualifier J.J. Wolf. Seeded third in the tournament as a result of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal both missing out, the Greek received a bye in the first round.