(Sports) News Analysis: How tennis' new Fast4 format fails to deliver a marketing ace

Tennis Australia's attempt to revolutionize the sport with its new, abbreviated Fast4 format unveiled on Australian free-to-air television on Monday night via a Roger Federer exhibition turned out to be not so much an ace as a rather lame double fault.

The game's governing body had a great opportunity to revamp the staid old sport and win over a new generation of supporters, in the same way that Twenty20 cricket has enlivened the traditional forms of the game, but instead it served up a lukewarm compromise. Rather than a tennis revolution, it created a storm in a teacup.

Yes, they have tinkered at the edges of the sport by shortening the match to four games per set, with no tie-breaks, no advantages once at deuce, no service lets and no breaks in play between games, but they've fallen well short of the total overhaul they could have made. The kind of bells-and-whistles, all-action spectacular that has helped make Twenty20s such a hit with younger cricket fans.

Monday night's inaugural Fast4 contest between 17-time Grand Slam champion Federer and Australian Lleyton Hewitt in Sydney felt contrived and devoid of atmosphere, despite the players' efforts to whip up some energy inside the Sydney Entertainment Center.

It was the first time tennis fans had seen the new concept, so allowances have to be made for that and the novelty of the format, as well as the fact Tennis Australia has said the driving force behind the changes is a need to speed up the game for time-poor, part-time players.

But, for all that, Federer's five-set victory was met with a sense of bewilderment and slightly empty feeling: where was the sizzle we'd been promised in all the promotional campaigns?

Whereas Twenty20 cricket introduced new rules in relation to both fielding restrictions and the laws of the game, enabling contests to be far more attacking with an increased number of runs, the creators of Fast4 have failed to think outside the tramlines in terms of how to attract new viewers.

From the outside, it appears there has been no concerted effort to apply new rules as a means of enticing more people to attend.

However, there are a number of ways in which tennis authorities can make the game more exciting and, ultimately, more appealing to the increased audiences they crave.

First and foremost, it needs to encourage positive stroke play with risk-and-reward rules, in a similar manner to T20 cricket.

A means of achieving this could include a change to the scoring system, rewarding players with additional points for winners, subsequently promoting attacking styles, rather than relying on unforced errors.

A change to court sizes, different varieties of balls used and a limit on shots-per-point are other suggestions as to how tennis could develop a new format.

As things stand, Fast4 fails to offer its audience an enhancement of the traditional game and, while crowds may have flocked to see Federer and Hewitt on Monday night, it will be interesting to see whether they do so again in the future.

The new format faces its next big test on Wednesday night when Rafael Nadal headlines a series of matches being played in Melbourne.

The current world No. 3 will face 17-year-old US Open junior champion Omar Jasika then 38-year-old Mark Philippoussis, who retired from the sport nine years ago, before taking on his compatriot (and genuine world-class opposition), world No. 33 Fernando Verdasco.

Then, we might get a clearer idea of the future of this new format. Will it endure as a legitimate alternative to the longer form of the game, or will it fizzle out and end up in the marketing department file marked: Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time? Endi