Daniil Medvedev contradicts Elena Rybakina and others amid criticism of 2-week Madrid Open: "I don't think injuries will occur"

Daniil Medvedev has had his say on the Madrid Open and other ATP Masters 1000 tournaments transitioning to a two-week duration after Elena Rybakina expressed scheduling-related concerns for players.

The Russian was not at his best at La Caja Magica this fortnight, grinding through tough matches against Alexander Bublik, Sebastian Korda and Matteo Arnaldi to reach the quarterfinals. Midway through the first set of his last encounter with Jiri Lehecka, the third seed injured his right upper leg, which forced him to retire from the match after dropping the first set 4-6.

After the match, Daniil Medvedev spoke positively of the change in format in an interview with Ubitennis after his exit from the tournament on Thursday (May 2). The 28-year-old said he personally liked that players get rest days at two-week Masters-level events.

"Personally, I like this format. It's not really two weeks, it's one and a half. I like it for, let's call it personal reasons, I like it when there is a day off," Daniil Medvedev said. "If you want to do well on the tour, you have to play these tournaments and you have to choose well, because if you play the 2-week Masters, you can't add many more tournaments. So, personally, I like it, and I don't think injuries will occur with this format."

The World No. 4's comments, however, are in direct contravention to those of Elena Rybakina, who took umbrage at both the Madrid Open and the Italian Open being two weeks long in duration before her three-set semifinal loss to Aryna Sabalenka at the Caja Magica on Thursday.

"It may make sense for Indian Wells and Miami to have that duration, but to do it in these two events, shortly before Roland Garros..." Elena Rybakina said during her press conference before her last-four match in Madrid. "With the new rules there is no room to choose, we are forced to compete in too many tournaments."

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Caroline Garcia also has a different opinion from Daniil Medvedev on 2-week Madrid Open: "Everything goes very slowly... you're waiting all the time"

While Daniil Medvedev had no qualms with playing his matches days apart, former World No. 4 Caroline Garcia can't say the same. The Frenchwoman was admittedly not pleased with the Madrid Open organizers scheduling only her second-round match in its opening week, finding it hard to get into a good rhythm.

Garcia won her second-round clash with Wang Xinyu in straight sets, before falling to 12th-seeded Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 in her next match.

"In the week we've been here, we've only played two games. Everything goes very slowly," Caroline Garcia said (via Punto de Break). "You don't do much, you're waiting all the time... this format is a little frustrating. Maybe there are people who can identify with it, but I still haven't found anyone who does."

The Madrid Open has reached its final stages, with Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka contesting the women's singles final. The men's singles event will see Taylor Fritz take on Andrey Rublev while Felix Auger-Aliassime will be up against Jiri Lehecka.