However, on the eve of what has become his time of the year, the clay court season, which starts with the defence of his Monte Carlo Masters Series title tomorrow, Nadal was happy to talk about a young pretender who really is a member of the next generation, a fellow Spaniard who might one day pose an even greater threat to his hegemony on the brick dust than Roger Federer.

Boluda is largely unknown to anyone outside junior tennis but his progress hasn't gone unnoticed by Nadal. "I've seen his results and they're very impressive," said Nadal. "He's won Tarbes twice, no? So, for sure, he's very good."

The Les Petits As championships in Tarbes, France is Europe's answer to the Orange Bowl in Florida and is now seen by many youth coaches - including Judy Murray, the mother of the British No 1 - as a more revealing guide to tomorrow's champions, a sort of unofficial world championship. Boluda won the under-14 title there last year as an under age player and has just successfully defended that title, the first boy to ever do so.

Boluda, who has never lost against one of his peers in competition, will now only be playing against older opponents and in fact in his last event, a Spanish national tournament, he eventually lost to a 30-year-old.

But his coach, Mariano Martinez, and the people behind him have no intention of rushing him prematurely on to the Tour in the way that the promising young American Donald Young has been.

"It's going to be very important the next two or three years," Nadal said. "But he has a big chance to be a very, very good player because when you are young and the best in the world it's easier afterwards. I was one of the best but when I was 14 I don't have any control.

"When I saw him he had total control of the ball. He can do everything - maybe he's better than me. When I was 14 I can improve a lot of things, but I think he can also improve a lot of things, except [for him] it's just [a matter of] perfecting things."

In terms of playing style Boluda is more like Federer than Nadal with a similarly withering forehand, but in personality he is every bit as quiet and unassuming as Nadal was when he burst on to the scene as a 16-year-old physical phenomenon exactly this time four years ago in Monte Carlo.

Like Nadal there is a little bit of the macho in him, because according to his father Vicente he occasionally makes the mistake of trying to beat older opponents at their own game - he is constantly testing himself.

Modest to a fault, Boluda spoke well of Britain's best 14-year-old Jack Carpenter (whom he had thrashed 6-2, 6-2), so it wasn't really necessary for Nadal to tell this author to advise him to keep practising with "good humble", a delightful use of English which says much about Nadal.

Like Nadal, Boluda has strong family roots and is no more likely to leave Alicante than Nadal is to leave the small village of Manacor in Majorca, either to improve his game or lifestyle. Where Nadal has had the companionship of his uncle and coach Miguel Nadal, Boluda has had a family friend Sergio Troncoso, who has been his constant traveling companion and confidante since he was 10.

There is something about the culture of Mediterranean Spain that is conducive to producing quality tennis players and it's not wholly explained by the weather nor, according to Troncoso, by the facilities which often leave something to be desired. So much for £40 million training centres. Nadal, Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Tommy Robredo, David Ferrer, Nicolas Almagro - they are all products of the Costas. Troncoso puts its down to the Spanish desire to succeed against adversity - "tenis es un deporte de sufrimiento".

Not that the Boluda family - Vicente is a pharmacist - has had to do too much suffering since major brands such as Nike and Prince gave the boy the kind of backing all parents dream about.

Nadal warned that the most difficult years lie ahead when Boluda tries to negotiate the tricky step up to the senior ranks, although judging by last week's evidence he's half way there already.