Short races let people catch up if you stumble.
This is the beauty of shorter races. Pressure, right out of the gate. Once SVB got out to a big lead against Dennis. Do you think he ever felt any pressure? Not likely.
Races to 15 are best, but as you mentioned, you can come out ahead in games over the course of a few short sets, yet come out loser overall. This is if you are playing a best of series.
The best solution would be to scratch the best of, and just pay by the set.