AP: ATP considers longer offseason

The head of the men's tour said Wednesday that he will make sure there is a decision in the next few months on proposals to increase the ATP offseason from its current five weeks to seven or eight by 2012.

"There's never unanimity in tennis, but I think there is consensus that we need to do something about it," ATP chief executive Adam Helfant said in an interview with The Associated Press at the U.S. Open, "and even though this is something that's been talked about for a long time, and we haven't made progress, there is a commitment to make progress on it by the end of the year."

He wants a "formal decision" no later than at the last board meeting of this year, at the Nov. 14-21 season-ending tournament in London. Next season begins the first week of January.

"I don't think it's a matter of opinion," Andy Roddick said last month. "When you ask someone, 'Is the schedule too long?' The schedule is too long. I mean, that's not really an opinion."