Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

The days of classic fifth sets in the Davis Cup, like those featuring Britain’s James Ward and John Isner along with Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer and Brazil’s Joao Souza, with both matches extending to 15-13 in this year’s World Group first round, are numbered.

Instead, a deciding tiebreak in the fifth set, similar to that employed at the US Open, will come into force from the start of the 2016 competition.

The new ruling was passed at the International Tennis Federation’s annual general meeting in Santiago, Chile and is intended to be more conducive to leading players in a clearly thought out move to entice them to be more amenable to playing all ties.

Television, and the screening of ties, is another matter taken into account. Several networks around the world have had their schedules compromised by marathon matches overrunning.

The match between Mayer and Souza was the longest Davis Cup singles match on record – lasting six hours and 42 minutes, and the tie subsequently had to be extended into a fourth day.

This year’s final between Belgium and Great Britain in Ghent will be the last tie not to feature a fifth set tiebreak.

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.