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to three." However, at the commencement of the next game, the umpire would announce the score as 3-4 as player B would be serving.

The final point in any set would be suitably called "set point." To win the set, a player must win 6 games while maintaining a 2 games lead. Thus, it is common to see scores such as 6-x where x can be any number smaller or equal to 4. Should the set be tied at 5-all, then players must win 7 games while maintaining a 2 games lead (resulting in a score of 7-5). However, should the players to so evenly matched as to tie at 6-all, then the set would go into a seven point tie-breaker to determine the winner of that set. After the first point, each player alternatively serves two points until one player wins at least 7 points while maintaining a 2 point lead. The final score for that set would be displayed as 7-6 with the score of the tie-breaker displayed in brackets.

SETS into MATCH

The number of sets played in a match depends on the gender of the players as well as the tournament. For most competitions, all matches consist of three sets with the winner being the first to reach two sets. However, in Grand Slams, men have to play to five sets with the winner being the first to reach three sets. Should both players be tied in number of sets and the match goes into the final set, one of two situations would happen.

In most tournaments including the Grand Slams, the final set would have no seven point tie-breaker and the match is won by whoever reaches at least 6 games while maintaining a two games lead. However, if the players are tied at 6-all, then the match would continue until somebody finally breaks his opponent's serve and thus, hold a two games lead. In such a situation, sky is the limit for how high the score could go to. Players will literally be battling it out for the bitter end. It is possible to go up to as high as 21-19 as seen in the 2006 Australian Open semi-final.

Alternatively, in smaller competitions, due to time restrictions, the final set would forego games and resemble a seven point tie-breaker. Whoever wins the tie-breaker would win the final set and match. The score of the final set would be simplified to 7-6 despite the fact that the players never played to 6-all.

In conclusion, tennis is an enjoyable sport with a complicated scoring system. However, once you've understood the scoring system, the rest of the game is relatively simple to follow.

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