Before meeting De Minaur, Nadal doesn't boast: "I'd be surprised if I won on Saturday".

A resounding 6-1, 6-0 winner over Darwin Blanch in the first round, Rafael Nadal prefers to keep his head down. When asked about this first match, he preferred to put things into perspective, insisting above all on his pleasure at playing in Madrid: "I played against an opponent with a lot of potential, who has a great future ahead of him, but who made a lot of mistakes, and it only lasted an hour. I'll decide after Rome whether I'm going to Paris or not. We're still in Madrid for two days. It's almost like a gift. I'm happy to have the opportunity to be back on the court. It means a lot to me to be here." (comments relayed by L'Equipe).

After a very quiet first round, he faces a much bigger challenge this Saturday. Starting at 4pm, Rafa returns to the Court Manolo Santana to face his Barcelona tormentor Alex De Minaur. The Australian, world number 11, is treading water this year. Author of the best season of his career, he is anything but soft. Indeed, De Minaur seems to have the nerves to withstand the constant pressure of an inevitably hostile public.

Asked about his reunion, the man with 14 French Open titles was pessimistic: "I'd be surprised if I won on Saturday. For me, it's a chance to test myself. In Barcelona (defeat 7-5, 6-1), I was only competitive for one set. Alex is a tough player, who tries to make you play one more shot every time. [... I have good days and bad days. I'm going to play to enjoy myself. (comments relayed by L'Equipe).

The king of clay also had the opportunity to talk about his state of form. He was quite satisfied, explaining that he had learned from his missed return in January: "Three weeks ago, I didn't know if I was going to be able to play an official match. And today, I'm playing for the second week in a row. [...] I'd have liked what's happened to me over the last few weeks to have happened in Australia, Doha or Indian Wells. I have to try and make sure that what happened in Brisbane doesn't happen again. In Australia, I forced it and what happened happened, and that was a mistake. I had prepared myself to the maximum and I felt more prepared than I did today." (comments relayed by L'Equipe).