Daniil Medvedev doesn’t agree with the criticism of the new two-week format introduced in Madrid and Rome as the 2021 US Open champion thinks it is actually a great thing that can only minimize injuries and help top players perform better on the biggest stage.
Starting this year, both clay Masters and WTA 1000 tournaments – Madrid and Rome – are taking place over two weeks.
But in Madrid, a couple of big names questioned the newly-introduced format and the logic and sense behind it. Most notably, 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina said the game is going in “the opposite direction” with these changes and that these things are not benefiting players at all. Also, Rybakina name-dropped Ashleigh Barty and appeared to warn the WTA that more cases of top stars retiring early could follow in the future if some things keep happening.
Caroline Garcia, the 2022 WTA Finals champion, also criticized the two-week format, saying that “everything goes slowly” and that she has yet to find someone who thinks this is a good idea.
But ATP former world No. 1 Medvedev – who retired injured in his Madrid quarterfinal match – is all in for the two-week format and thinks it can only decrease the risk of players getting injured since they have a day off and overall more time to…
