Tie-breaks will be played at 12-12 in the final set at Wimbledon from next year, the All England Lawn Tennis Club has announced.

It comes after the final set of Kevin Anderson’s semi-final with John Isner this year lasted almost three hours.

Afterwards South African Anderson, who eventually won the set 26-24, called for a rethink of the format.

The AELTC said “the time had come” to introduce a tie-break method at “a reasonable point” in a deciding set.

The winner will be the first player or team to reach seven points with an advantage of two or more points.

This year’s match between Anderson, 32, and Isner, 33, was the second longest in Wimbledon history.

Isner was also involved in the longest match when the American beat France’s Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the final set of their first-round match in 2010.

“While we know the instances of matches extending deep into the final set are rare, we feel that a tie-break at 12-12 strikes an equitable balance between allowing players ample opportunity to complete the match to advantage, while also providing certainty that the match will reach a conclusion in an acceptable time frame,” said AELTC chairman Philip Brook.

The AELTC said the decision had been made after reviewing match data from the past 20 Championships and a consultation with players and officials.

It will apply to all Wimbledon events – qualifying, men’s, women’s, mixed and junior singles and doubles.

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