Roberto Bautista, who qualified for the second round of the Madrid Masters 1,000 as a knockout from the previous phase, does not understand that there are not more invitations for local players in the tournament, with the "very large amounts of money from sponsors and Spanish institutions" receiving.
"The truth is that I was hoping to have an invitation, but I have always been in a privileged position, listening to my teammates complain," said the man from Castellón.
"I understand that the tournament is owned by IMG and that it favors its clients, but I do not agree that it has huge amounts of money from sponsors and Spanish institutions and that this is of no use. That does not happen anywhere in the world, this only happens here," Bautista declared after beating the Colombian Diego Galán 7-6 (4), 4-6 and 6-1.
"It was a very tough match, I think I deserved to win in two sets but I finished the match with a high level," he said. Bautista was treated on the track for discomfort in his lower back. "It's grazing my nerve back there," he said. The anti-inflammatories, he added, were good for him to endure the three sets.
"At the moment I am competing at a good level, I am not setting a retirement date," said Bautista, 36 years old. "I am eager and physically strong, eager to play these games at the highest level."
Regarding Rafael Nadal's last participation in Madrid, he said that "hopefully he will be there for many more years, but time passes for everyone." "I hope I see him winning three or four games, I'm sure that if he wins them the film will change a lot. He needs to win those games to be more optimistic for the rest of the season," he said.
In the second round, Russian Karen Khachanov, sixteenth seed, awaits Bautista. The Spaniard was a semi-finalist in Madrid in 2014 and has not made it past the third round since then.
