Rafael Nadal issues ‘dangerous lines’ warning as he also makes confession about his next match
Rafael Nadal’s clay-court comeback went according to plan at the Barcelona Open, but the former world No 1 has warned he will remain “realistic” as he also admitted he “doesn’t know” if he will be ready for his next match.
Playing in his first match on clay in over year, Nadal made a winning return at the ATP 500 event as he defeated Fabio Cobilli 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 25 minutes.
The time spent on court was valuable for someone who hasn’t played a competitive match since January this year while his last match on clay was 681 days ago at Roland Garros in 2022.
But the hustle and bustle of top-level tennis means there is now time for rest as the 12-time Barcelona champion will be back in action on Wednesday as he takes on Alex de Minaur in the second round.
Although emotions are running high and everyone expects him to perform well again, Nadal will take a cautious approach as he insists he will not cross “dangerous lines”.
“For me, just to have played, everything else is secondary. Until the week is over, whatever it is, the important thing is that nothing happens, to be honest,” the tennis great said.
“Maybe it’s not the week to squeeze everything my heart tells me. We are going to do things in the most logical way possible. The fact that the match went like this is positive because it allows me to play again tomorrow.
“I don’t know how my body can respond to these kinds of demands but we have to be realistic. I have played very little this year and a half, and I will try not to cross dangerous lines.
“There is an important change to how I was a week ago, now I see myself competing and I can continue playing. In sport things change very quickly, but in my head, within what has been my history on clay I always have the small dream of aspiring too much but the reality today is different.
“The realistic thing is that I have won a match, tomorrow I will play against a top level player and I don’t know if I’m ready.”
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De Minaur had a bye into the second round as he is seeded fourth for the event. The Australian has had some decent results already this year as he reached the quarter-final of the Monte Carlo Masters last week while he won the Mexican Open in early March.
Nadal admitted he doesn’t know if he will be “able to keep up with him”.
“I don’t know what to expect. It’s a time when it’s difficult to think about things in a very specific way,” the Spaniard said.
“It’s like a jungle at the moment, you never know what you’re going to find in the middle of it, meaning my body. It’s going to be a rhythm that I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep up with him, but I’ll try.”
