Andy Roddick responds to fan criticism of equal prize money for men and women in tennis

Former World No.1 Andy Roddick disagrees with the notion that the prize money for men and women should be different owing to the difference in the length of matches in both circuits.

The scoring system in tennis is as follows: first to four points with a difference of two wins a game; first to six games with a difference of two wins a set, and two or three sets win a match. At the Grand Slams, men need to win three sets (best of five) to win a match, while women need to win two (best of three). That means men's matches almost always tend to be longer than women's.

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A fan addressed Roddick and said that he isn't in favour of the equal distribution of prize money between men and women in the sport, citing the length of matches played by both.

"My pet peeve is why women only play best of 3 and men play best of 5. ... yet everyone makes same money!?!" the tweet read.

The 2003 US Open champion responded by taking the example of U2, an Irish rock band from Dublin. He said that the band is more valuable than everyone who serves as the opening act of their concerts despite playing for half the time.

"It’s about revenue. U2 can play half the time as the opening act and are more valuable," Roddick responded. "Whoever brings in the dollars."

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He then explained his analogy, saying that using length of matches as an argument against equal prize money distribution makes little sense.

"I’m saying length of the matches as an argument against equal prize money isn’t the best argument to be made," he added.