Two players from the men’s competition spoke to the media on Monday in the Caja Mágica’s press conference room to talk about their expectations for this year’s Mutua Madrid Open.

The first to appear before the press was Kei Nishikori, who hopes “to do well” as “I always play well at this tournament”.

For the Japanese player, the Mutua Madrid Open is not just any tournament: “I love this tournament. The city is beautiful too, I love Spain, I always love to come here”. A finalist in 2014, Nishikori will be starting his clay-court campaign in Madrid.

For his part, Milos Raonic is hoping to repeat his results from previous years, having reached the quarters twice. The Canadian, who recently reached the final in Istanbul, is “feeling confident” that he can do it.

A large part of that belief comes from “being physically fit” and also from two facets of the Mutua Madrid Open that suit him, “the altitude and the humidity if the roof is closed”. For Raonic, this year “there are no clear favourites, it is a very open tournament and it will be very tough”.