Nadal Loses To Ferrero in Rome

3-time French Open champion and one of the greatest clay court players of all time Rafael Nadal had a rare loss on clay to 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5 6-1 at the ATP Masters Tournament in Rome. World #2 Nadal has lost only twice in 105 matches on clay (his previous loss in clay before today was to World #1 Roger Federer at the 2007 Hamburg ATP Masters final). The 2008 Hamburg ATP Masters tournament starts on Monday and the 2008 French open starts on Sunday May 25th. Craig Hickman's blog has pictures of Nadal's blistered feet which could have contributed to his loss; however Ferrero was also playing hurt--last week he withdrew from the Barcelona Open (that Nadal won for the 4th consecutive year) with a groin injury.