Feeling blue: Rafael Nadal plays a shot from Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco in their third-round match at the Madrid Open on Thursday. Verdasco won 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. APMADRID — Rafael Nadal lost to Spanish countryman Fernando Verdasco for the first time in the Madrid Open on Thursday, then threatened not to return if the new blue clay-court wasn't discarded.Nadal blew a 5-2 lead in the third set in losing 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, his first defeat to Verdasco in 14 matches.The third-round loss was Nadal's earliest exit in a clay-court tournament since he fell to Olivier Mutis in the second round in Palermo, Italy, in 2004.Defending champion Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, meanwhile, eased into the quarterfinals with straight-set wins.Nadal blamed his first loss on clay in almost a year on the blue clay, which players have said was slippery, and sent an ultimatum to organizers, threatening to strike the tournament from his calendar if the traditional red surface was not restored."Being able to move is very important for me and if I can't move well, I can't hit the ball well either," said Nadal, the second seed and two-time Madrid champion. "If things don't change, this will be one less tournament on the calendar for me."This surface destabilizes the game. It is a completely different game and I don't want to take risks."Verdasco, who became only the seventh player to beat Nadal on clay in eight years, burst into tears on the court in front of his hometown fans upon sealing the upset with a forehand winner."After losing so many times against honestly the best player on clay ever, to beat him on clay is the maximum," said an emotional Verdasco. "I don't have words. I am happy for the win, although it is difficult to hold myself together now. I need to calm down, rest and get ready for the next match."Verdasco will play Tomas Berdych next after the Czech beat Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-1.Djokovic defeated Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, while Federer dispensed with Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-2.Djokovic let slip five set points before finally taking the first set in the tiebreaker and then broke his Swiss challenger twice to decide the match in 1 hour and 45 minutes.The world's top-ranked player will next play either fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic or Gilles Simon of France.The third-seeded Federer hit 10 aces and didn't concede a break against Gasquet en route to improving his record this season to 24 wins and three loses.The 16-time Grand Slam champion will face David Ferrer in the quarterfinals.The fifth-seeded Ferrer saved three match points before smacking an unreachable shot into the corner to seal his hard-fought 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (10-8) victory over fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Nadal loses to Verdasco, rips surface in Madrid
Feeling blue: Rafael Nadal plays a shot from Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco in their third-round match at the Madrid Open on Thursday. Verdasco won 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. APMADRID — Rafael Nadal lost to Spanish countryman Fernando Verdasco for the first time in the Madrid Open on Thursday, then threatened not to return if the new blue clay-court wasn't discarded.Nadal blew a 5-2 lead in the third set in losing 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, his first defeat to Verdasco in 14 matches.The third-round loss was Nadal's earliest exit in a clay-court tournament since he fell to Olivier Mutis in the second round in Palermo, Italy, in 2004.Defending champion Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, meanwhile, eased into the quarterfinals with straight-set wins.Nadal blamed his first loss on clay in almost a year on the blue clay, which players have said was slippery, and sent an ultimatum to organizers, threatening to strike the tournament from his calendar if the traditional red surface was not restored."Being able to move is very important for me and if I can't move well, I can't hit the ball well either," said Nadal, the second seed and two-time Madrid champion. "If things don't change, this will be one less tournament on the calendar for me."This surface destabilizes the game. It is a completely different game and I don't want to take risks."Verdasco, who became only the seventh player to beat Nadal on clay in eight years, burst into tears on the court in front of his hometown fans upon sealing the upset with a forehand winner."After losing so many times against honestly the best player on clay ever, to beat him on clay is the maximum," said an emotional Verdasco. "I don't have words. I am happy for the win, although it is difficult to hold myself together now. I need to calm down, rest and get ready for the next match."Verdasco will play Tomas Berdych next after the Czech beat Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-1.Djokovic defeated Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, while Federer dispensed with Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-2.Djokovic let slip five set points before finally taking the first set in the tiebreaker and then broke his Swiss challenger twice to decide the match in 1 hour and 45 minutes.The world's top-ranked player will next play either fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic or Gilles Simon of France.The third-seeded Federer hit 10 aces and didn't concede a break against Gasquet en route to improving his record this season to 24 wins and three loses.The 16-time Grand Slam champion will face David Ferrer in the quarterfinals.The fifth-seeded Ferrer saved three match points before smacking an unreachable shot into the corner to seal his hard-fought 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (10-8) victory over fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.
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