Injured Nadal felled by Ferrero in Rome

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(corrects number of games to 105 in second para))

By Paul Virgo

ROME, May 7 - Rafael Nadal's bid to win a fourth straight Rome Masters title stumbled at the first hurdle when the Spaniard lost 7-5 6-1 to compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero on Wednesday and then blamed a foot injury for his defeat.

It is only the second time in his last 105 games that world number two Nadal has lost on clay including his defeat by Roger Federer in the final of last year's Hamburg Masters.

The 21-year-old Nadal, who required treatment on his foot near the end of the match, also pointed to the exhausting demands of his packed tennis calendar for his poor form.

"I didn't feel good on court," he told a news conference. "I couldn't put my legs on the floor with power so every time I played short because I didn't have power in my legs."

Unseeded Ferrero, the 2001 champion, will meet Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round. He consistently put number two seed Nadal under pressure in the first set.

CRUCIAL BREAK

A venomous serve helped Nadal save a set point in the 10th game but Ferrero got his reward two games later, clinching the crucial break with a fine cross-court backhand.

Nadal had also been let down by some uncharacteristic unforced errors, with over-hit forehands costing him three set points in the ninth game of the first set.

Ferrero grew in confidence and took the second of two break points in the fourth game of the second set, after Nadal saved the first with a brave drop shot.

Nadal was far from his best and hit a net volley wide with the court begging at 4-1 down in the second set, although he did have treatment on his foot injury at the end of that game.

Ferrero broke again straight after the restart and then served out the match to record his second win over his compatriot in eight encounters and his first on clay.

Rome was Nadal's third event in three weeks after he won the Barcelona Open for the fourth consecutive time last weekend seven days after the same feat at the Monte Carlo Masters.

"The calendar is impossible," he said. "Last week in Barcelona I said it was going to be impossible for me to play well four weeks in a row," he said. "(Now) I'll try to have some rest at home and go to Hamburg with my best feelings."

The Hamburg Masters takes place next week.

(Editing by Ken Ferris)

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index

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