"In Barcelona, my real feeling is I played a terrible match; I was honest with myself" - When Rafael Nadal opened up on his 'low level' in shock loss

Rafael Nadal once made an honest admission about his subpar performance in his shock loss to Fabio Fognini at the 2015 Barcelona Open.

In a departure from his typical dominance, 'The King of Clay' Nadal had an uncharacteristically challenging claycourt season in 2015. He suffered an unexpected defeat to Fognini in the semifinals of the Rio Open before clinching his 46th clay title at the Argentina Open.

However, disappointment followed, as the Spaniard was knocked out of the Monte-Carlo Masters after a straight-set loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. He surprisingly failed to triumph at the Barcelona Open as well, with Fabio Fognini recording a shock 6-4, 7-6(6) upset over the second seed.

Rafael Nadal candidly dissected his loss to the Italian in his post-match interview, admitting that he played poorly and that his missed chances in the match were a "disaster."

"I played poorly, I didn't play like I should have. I didn't play aggressively. I missed more shots that I normally do. I didn't manage to keep the advantage I had. Having three breaks in the second set and end up at 5-5 is a disaster," he said.

Despite the setback, the Spaniard made a run to the final of the Madrid Open soon after, beating Tomas Berdych 7-6 (3), 6-1 in the semifinals. Ahead of the title clash, Nadal was asked about his 'devastated' demeanor after his Barcelona Open exit.

However, Nadal maintained that he was simply been honest about his feelings. He reaffirmed that he had played a "terrible" match, admitting that his performance was far below his usual level.

"When I was in the press conference of Barcelona I have been honest. I am honest today about what's are my feeling, no?" he said in his post-match press conference.

"In Barcelona my real feeling and the real thing is I played a terrible match; I lost second set having three times break for me, so I played at very low level. That's what happened there. I said that in the press conference. I was not too hard with myself. I was honest with myself," he added.

The Spaniard said that he would be honest with himself about his performance against Berdych as well, emphasizing that he played at a very high level in the Madrid Open semifinal clash.

"At the same, today I'm honest with myself and today I'm playing again at a very good level. I did yesterday; today I played at a very, very high level," he said.

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Rafael Nadal lost to Andy Murray in Madrid Open 2015 final

Andy Murray defeated the Spaniard in the 2015 Madrid Open final

After beating Tomas Berdych, Rafael Nadal locked horns with Andy Murray in the 2015 Madrid Open final. Murray stunned the Spaniard in the blockbuster clash, claiming a dominant 6-3, 6-2 victory to clinch his maiden title at the Masters 1000 event.

With the defeat, the Spaniard dropped out of the top-five in the ATP rankings for the first time since 2005. His struggles continued, as he suffered a shock straight sets loss to Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open.

Five-time defending champion Nadal's hunt for a 10th French Open title also ended in disappointment, with Novak Djokovic claiming a commanding 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 win over him in the quarterfinals.