An easy winner (6-1, 6-0) over the young American Darwin Blanch (16 years old/ATP 1028) for his debut in Madrid, Rafael Nadal will not have learned anything new about his current potential: “Darwin missed a lot of shots. He made my life easy. This match does not change anything in my view of Roland-Garros. I will not make a decision regarding Paris here in Madrid. I will decide after playing in Rome.”
For the Spaniard, the objective is to become competitive again and not get injured again before Roland-Garros. His second round, Saturday, against Alex de Minaur, who beat him in Barcelona (7-5, 6-1), will be an interesting test.
”At the moment, winning or losing is not the most important thing. One or two more victories will not change anything in my career. I’m not here in Madrid with the ambition of winning the title. Saturday will be an opportunity to understand where I am. In Barcelona, against Alex, I played well for a set. I would be surprised if I beat him on Saturday. I didn’t play much for two years. I need time to adapt and see if I improve”
Roland-Garros will not give Rafael Nadal any gifts.
