Stefanos Tsitsipas saw off Cameron Norrie 6-2, 7-6 but to say he wasn't happy and the latest to be so surrounding the increase in ATP 1000 weeks is an understatement as he took the two week double to task.
Tsitsipas who plays Alex de Minaur tomorrow in the Last 16 won in Monte-Carlo, reached the final in Barcelona and is likely set for another good run here. But he says that you have to be a superhero to be consistent in these tournaments.
The Greek has said that it is not only a physical issue of playing too much but also a mental side with an overall toll taken that contributes to injuries and a domino effect with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz for instance both out injured going into Roland Garros. They have both played constantly for the past few months like Tsitsipas.
Some did jibe that with Tsitsipas he is getting his excuses in early before defeat, but it is not only the Greek who is calling out this move with rumours of a Saudi Arabia Masters 1000 imminent and more moving to two weeks, it seems the scheduling hell won't end for a while yet.
“Well, it is the way it is now. It's a type of thing that hurt the sport a little bit, to have these type of things happen to the highest of the players," said Tsitsipas.
"Without them, the show is not kind of the same. You have obviously the guys behind them. These kind of tournaments deserve names like this to be playing, active, have the opportunity to play in front of these big stadiums and crowds. I've spoken about the fact that the schedule has a big toll on our bodies. It starts from the mental side, and it follows to the physical side. The extension of the days in the Masters 1000s I think plays a massive role and contributes a lot to the fact that these players are getting injured.
"It was perhaps already a lot the way it was before with the seven-day events. Adding more days to that, well, you got to be some type of superhero to be consistent back to back 10 days in each event getting to the very end of it. It's not a very easy thing to do. Some people need to try it first to get an understanding and how it is to pull that off. Then they should make decisions based on that.
"I really don't wish them that in the future. I think this is not going to be the first time we see these type of things. If these type of things continue with the same schedule not being adjusted or customized to the needs of the players, we might see more of these things occur in the future.”
