Ferrero capitalises as Nadal burns out in rare clay defeat

*TENNIS

For the last month Rafael Nadal has been telling anyone who cares to listen that the European clay-court schedule is too demanding. Yesterday the world No2 provided compelling evidence for his argument when he was beaten 7-5, 6-1 by his fellow Spaniard, Juan Carlos Ferrero, in the second round of the Rome Masters.

Nadal began the current season in his usual style, winning the titles in both Monte Carlo and Barcelona for the fourth year in succession, but his attempt to win a fourth crown here ended with an uncharacteristically ragged display. Struggling with a blister on his right foot, the French Open champion suffered only his second defeat on clay in 105 matches. His previous defeat was against Roger Federer in Hamburg 12 months ago. Ferrero now meets Andy Murray's conqueror, Stanislas Wawrinka.

It was a good day all round for Federer, who did not even set foot on court. David Ferrer was the only other seed left in the world No 1's quarter of the draw, but his defeat by Radek Stepanek looks to have left the Swiss with a comfortable passage to the last four.

Ferrer, beaten 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, has had an even more punishing schedule than Nadal in recent times. The world No5 was playing on clay for the fourth week in succession. His last two tournaments both ended in defeat to Nadal.

Federer may well be heading for a second successive Masters Series semi-final against Novak Djokovic, who retired early in the second set when they met in Monte Carlo nine days ago. The world No3 was suffering from tonsillitis then and was grateful for a first- round bye here. He has only just finished a course of antibiotics, but looked in good shape during a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Belgium's Steve Darcis.

"At the start I was a bit worried whether I would be ready physically, but I felt good," Djokovic said afterwards. "It's always good to have a straight-sets win in your first match. The first matches in any tournament are usually the trickiest, because you're meeting someone who has already played one match before you."

Both Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko complained that the courts were too slippery. "I talked to the umpire a couple of times about it," Djokovic said. "He said there wasn't much he could do at that moment. I just said that as a courtesy to the players - and for their own good - I thought it was important to pay attention to the courts between matches, even though there is no time.

"The most important people here are the players. You don't want to see them falling over or playing badly. The fans come to see good tennis and good tennis comes with a good court. The condition of the court is not good enough."

Davydenko, who dropped only four games in beating Mario Ancic, said: "Running is tough because it's very slippery. I asked for the court to be watered after the first set, but they wouldn't do it."

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