Question

"Suppose that Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are playing a tennis match in which the first player to win three sets wins the match. Using D and F for the winning player of a set, in how many ways could this tennis match end

Answer 1

Answer: it could end in 20 different ways.

Explanation:

This match could be

3x0 D or F

3x1 D or F

3x2 D or F

For 3x0

We have 2 options: DDD or FFF

2.P₁ = 2.1 = 2

For 3x1

We have 6 options

DFDD FDFF

DDFD FFDF

FDDD DFFF

2.3.1 = 6

For 3x2

we have 12 options:

DFDFD FDFDF

DDFFD FFDDF

DFFDD FDDFF

FFDDD DDFFF

FDFDD DFDFF

FDDFD DFFDF

2.3.2 = 12

In total we could have 20 outcomes.