The DANISA Denmark Open 2020 is one of the few major events that Carolina Marin has not won yet, but the Spaniard is trying not to think too far ahead.

Having passed her first round test over Natalia Perminova with a measure of ease, Marin said she was just happy to be back at an event after seven months. Adding to the glow was her excitement at the response her documentary on Amazon Prime has been receiving.

“I feel really really happy, because I saw all the comments on social media. It’s amazing, unbelievable for me, that everyone liked it and enjoyed it and know about me a bit more, as a badminton player but also off the court. The one thing I like is that many people are learning about me and taking those lessons to use in their life,” the three-time world champion said.

Marin said she wasn’t yet in her best condition, but acknowledged she had a good shot at a title she had never won.

“I feel happy with the win. I didn’t feel like I gave my best on court. I didn’t feel in good shape today. But I have some training tomorrow and I will prepare for Thursday.

“It can be a good opportunity to win this of course, but my goal is to enjoy the event, to be back on court again, and just do what I do in practice in Spain and to see how it’s going against the top players. I feel happy to be back, finally. We only have one tournament (SaarLorLux Open) for the rest of the year.

“I just started to play badminton in June because the coronavirus situation in Spain was really bad. It’s still bad in Madrid. I also had a difficult personal situation. I just tried to enjoy the game, tried to keep my focus just to be here, but of course, personally I’m not in my best form.”

Given the COVID-19 protocols in place, Marin said it all felt very different from a regular tournament, but was appreciative of the challenges involved in ensuring a safe event for everyone, and hailed the efforts of the organisers and BWF.

“It’s really different because we only can say hi to the other players. This is a high-level tournament and not all the top players are here. It’s not a normal tournament for us but the most important thing for us is our health and we have to try to enjoy being back on court, getting the competition feeling because we miss it, and to give our best in every game.”