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 08 September 2008 06:03 BST

Nadal suffers rare defeat on clay

Wednesday, 07 May 2008 20:31
Nadal had won the Rome tournament for the last three years
Rafael Nadal has suffered only his second defeat in 105 matches on clay, losing 7-5 6-1 to Juan Carlos Ferrero at the Rome Masters.

The world number two was hampered by a foot injury throughout the match and his movement was severely restricted.

Ferrero took full advantage of Nadal's injury, manipulating the court expertly to force the 21-year-old to cover as much ground as possible.

The match had gone with serve until it reached 4-4 in the first set. At that point Nadal came under pressure for the first time and had to work hard to save break points.

Although he was able to hold serve it was at this point that he first called for the trainer to assess his injury.

Ferrero then won the next three games in a row to claim the first set and the former French Open champion then took full control of the match at the start of the second set.

Nadal was struggling to generate much power with his serve and Ferrero broke him twice to take a 4-1 lead in the second set.

The young Spaniard then called for the trainer for a second time but there was not much that could be done other than to temporarily cover the wound on his foot.

Ferrero duly completed his victory by claiming the next two games. It is the first time Nadal has been defeated at the Rome Masters in four years.

After the match Nadal said: "I congratulate Juan Carlos, but for sure that was not my best tennis."End of story


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