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

Nadal won his first Grand Slam in 2005; he won his 22nd in 2022, 17 years later. The player he vanquished for that final major title, Casper Ruud, had grown up idolising Nadal. He was barely at primary school when the Spaniard won his first French Open title 17 years before they met.