Rafael Nadal admitted his fitness level was well off the tour’s top players after falling on Thursday in straight sets to fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who described the exhibition match as “a little bit sad.” 

Nadal, 38, who announced last week he would retire from tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month, lost 3-6, 3-6 to Alcaraz, 21, in the semi-finals of the Six Kings Slam event in Saudi Arabia. Later, he described Alcaraz, winner of the French Open and Wimbledon this year, as an “animal” and acknowledged he was not competing at the highest level.