Daniil Medvedev has reached the Madrid Open round of 16 in remarkable fashion, having played just over one hour of tennis at the event.

Medvedev is the ninth seed at the 2025 Madrid Open, the latest ATP Masters 1000 event in the 2025 calendar.

And after being handed a bye in round one, the Russian reached the third round after his second round opponent Laslo Djere withdrew.

Medvedev then wasted no time in making the last 16 in Spain, having stormed past Juan Manuel Cerundolo to set up a tie with Brandon Nakashima.

The ATP number 10 defeated the Argentine 6-2, 6-2, taking just one hour and three minutes to achieve the win.

Photo by Alberto Gardin/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty ImagesPhoto by Alberto Gardin/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty ImagesDaniil Medvedev issues support for two-week ATP Masters 1000 tournaments

His remarkable progress was discussed after the victory, with Medvedev having been told by Ziggo Sport that the tournaments are getting “longer and longer, but especially if you have one walkover, it feels endless.”

The Russian replied: “Yeah, I mean, but I always said I’m okay with two weeks. I just think the calendar in general should be better, but not about the two-week Masters. I think they are fine.

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“But anyway, I was feeling good in practice, I came here early, so I actually had lots of time to practice and I was feeling better and better every day.

“Match and practice is a different story so I’m happy that I managed to implement exactly the game I was working on here in the match and looking forward to try to do the same.”

And when told he’s in the fourth round having played just one hour of tennis, he replied: “Yeah I mean it is what it is sometimes you know. Felix [Auger-Aliassime] last year had even a better draw.

“But I always say, you know, people sometimes call him lucky, but he beat Casper Ruud, one of the top three play court players to have this luck.

“So I think he deserved it. But I’m playing when I need to play and I won so I’m happy and I’m looking forward to my next match.”

Daniil Medvedev disagrees with Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas over Masters events

Medvedev’s support for the current ATP Masters 1000 scene certainly contradicts the view of a handful of his rivals.

Five of the nine Masters events were 12 days long until last year, when the ATP Tour decided to upgrade that number to seven.

READ MORE: Daniil Medvedev says what he thinks is ‘the toughest challenge’ in sporting history on the ATP Tour

Canada and Cincinnati have joined the list from 2025, with Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Rome and Shanghai all also two-week events.

Paris and Monte Carlo remain anomalies, with Carlos Alcaraz having given his take on the tournaments earlier this month after reaching the Barcelona Open quarter-finals.

“The one-week ones are better,” he said. “Some will think that in two weeks there are days of rest, but that is not the case.

Photo by Eric Renom/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesPhoto by Eric Renom/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

“You train, you have to mentally prepare for the game, prepare for it… you’re not resting, really. It’s two full weeks. That’s why I prefer the one-week Masters 1000. For me, it’s better for tennis.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas meanwhile took to social media last November to share his frustration, writing on X: “The two-week Masters 1000s have turned into a drag. The quality has definitely dropped.

“Players aren’t getting the recovery or training time they need, with constant matches and no space for the intense work off the court.

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“It’s ironic that the ATP Tour committed to this format without knowing if it could actually improve the schedule, but the quality likewise. Paris got it right, done in a week. Exciting and easy to follow. Just how it’s supposed to be.

“If the goal was to ease the calendar, extending every 1000 to two weeks is a backwards move. Sometimes, it feels like they’re fixing what wasn’t broken.”