MONACO - Six-time defending champion Rafael Nadal beat Andy Murray 6-4,
2-6, 6-1 in a thrilling match to reach the Monte Carlo Masters final on
Saturday. Indianapolis Colts Joseph Addai Jersey . The top-ranked
Spaniard was made to work for nearly three hours by Murray for his 36th
straight win at the clay-court tournament, dropping a set at the
tournament for the first time since the 2009 final against Novak
Djokovic. "It is a fantastic victory for me against a very
difficult opponent," Nadal said. "(To) start the clay
court season being in the final is very good for me." He will
play David Ferrer, who is looking for his third title this year, in an
all-Spanish final. Nadal thinks he will have to improve on his
performance against Murray. "I think I played too short for a
lot of moments," Nadal said. "I think I had few more
mistakes than usual." Ferrer is unbeaten on clay so far this
season, winning a title at Acapulco, Mexico, and he also beat Nadal in
the Australian Open quarter-finals. Nadal leads 11-4 overall but has
lost once to Ferrer on clay, although that was in 2004. "He
had a fantastic start to the season. He hasnt lose yet on clay this
year," Nadal said. "Hes very dangerous, its going to
be a very difficult match." Nadal was full of praise for
Murray, tipping him to keep improving on clay in the leadup to the
French Open, where Murray has never been past the quarter-finals.
"He has unbelievable potential. Hes very good on all the
surfaces," Nadal said. "Theres no reason why he
cannot play very well on clay because his serve is good, his movements
are very good, and his shots are with topspin." Murray, who is
4-10 against Nadal, thinks he has some way to go before he can beat
Nadal on his favourite surface. "I want to try to play better
than that," Murray said. "Ill need to, if I want to
beat him, because hes going to improve the next few weeks, for sure,
the more he plays on clay." The third-seeded Murray took a
medical timeout at 3-0 down in the third set and had his right elbow
massaged. The start of the match was delayed for 30 minutes while Murray
had a cortisone injection into his elbow and wondered whether he would
play. "I had a cortisone injection, local anesthetic in my
elbow before the match," Murray said. "I was really
like uptight about it. Id never had one before, didnt know what the
feeling was going to be like. The doctor said that would probably be
what would be suggested even if I didnt play the match, that they would
suggest a cortisone injection, like an anti-inflammatory." He
said hell have an exam on Sunday, but believed it shouldnt keep him
off the tour. Nadal looked to be coasting to another straight-sets win
at 4-1 up but Murray rallied superbly, edging the five-time French Open
champion 9-7 in winners in the first set, and 13-3 in a second set of
outstanding quality. "Hes the best player in the world and
theres a reason for that," Murray said. "Its good to
be close, but I think I could have done better." Nadal lost his
serve six times in the match, and particularly struggled when Murray
stepped inside to hit angled winners. "I was being patient. I
was playing a ball with good height," Murray said.
"When he left it a bit short, I was sort of stepping
in." With his surge, however, the pain came back at 2-0 down in
the third. He argued unsuccessfully with the umpire for a medical
timeout, and by the time the trainer could see him, he was down 3-0.
Earlier, fourth-seeded Ferrer beat seventh-seeded Jurgen Melzer of
Austria 6-3, 6-2 to reach his second Masters final, having lost his
first in Rome to Nadal last year. "Im full of confidence. I
feel good physically, and also with my tennis," Ferrer said.
"I hope Ill keep going." Lance
Moore Jersey . Williams received 66-of-158 votes cast by editors at
U.S. newspapers that are members of the AP. No other candidate got more
than 18 votes in the tally, which was announced Tuesday. Clearly,
Williams most infamous on-court episode -- a tirade directed at a line
judge after a foot-fault call near the end of her U. Green Bay Packers
Ray Nitschke Jersey . "Its a little frigid," NHL
Facilities Operations Manager Dan Craig said via telephone Monday
afternoon. "Being the good Canadian that I am, maybe Ive just
been away too long." While the provinces of western Canada
have seen more than their fair share of cold days, Mondays chill hardly
was something to brush off, as temperatures dipped down to minus-11
degrees Fahrenheit (minus-23. Super Bowl Robert Mathis Jersey . Jamal
Robertson gained 140 yards on 18 carries and scored the lone touchdown
for the Lions (4-8), who won for the third time in four games.
They also snapped an eight-game skid to the Stampeders. Henry Burris
completed 11-of-26 passes for 136 yards, but was picked off twice for
Calgary (9-3), which lost its second in a row. Donald Brown Authentic
Jersey . More than 8,500 fans of motorcycles from all over China
gathered in the county, south of Lushan Mountain, one of Chinas tourist
destinations, to attend a two-day festival that includes stunts shows
and races. Authentic Chicago Blackhawks Jersey . Survivors
weep at a memorial service at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, as
Australia holds a national day of mourning for victims of the countrys
worst wildfire disaster. [Agencies] Related
readings: Australia holds day of mourning for fire victims
Australia wildfire death toll reaches 200 Australias
child survivors struggle to cope Call for calm as Australia
wildfire arson case in court Joined by Britains Princess
Anne, Rudd led a national day of mourning in leading a memorial
ceremony at Rod Laver Arena to honour those killed in the February 7
disaster in rural Victoria state.BARCELONA, Spain -- Zlatan Ibrahimovic
scored on his debut Monday as Barcelona began its Spanish league title
defence with a 3-0 victory over Sporting Gijon. The Sweden striker
dived low in the 82nd minute to head in Daniel Alves deflected cross to
round out the scoring. Earlier, Bojan Krkic and Seydou Keita had also
scored from headers at the Camp Nou, where the Catalan club opened its
season without star forward Lionel Messi who had travelled to Argentina
to prepare for Saturdays crucial World Cup qualifier against Brazil.
Keyta flicked on a corner toward the far post in the 17th minute and
Krkic headed home to open the scoring. The Mali midfielder then met
Alves swinging cross in the 42nd to beat Juan Pablo with another
powerful header. "Every rival is important, so it was important
to win today," Alves said. But Barcelona also learned that it
will be without Krkic for two to three weeks with a leg injury that
forced the teenage striker off in the 80th minute. New signing Dmytro
Chygrynskiy watched on from the stands after the Catalan club completed
the Ukraine defenders 25-milliion euro (C$39 million) transfer from
Shakhtar Donetsk earlier on Monday. Authentic Eli Manning Jersey.
Maxwell also made his debut alongside former Inter Milan teammate
Ibrahimovic, but was replaced by Eric Abidal in the 57th minute with a
leg injury. Barcelona paid 66 million euros (C$103.5 million) and sent
leading striker Samuel Etoo to Inter Milan in order to bring
Ibrahimovic to the Camp Nou, and it was certainly a relief to the
crowd, the Sweden striker and his teammates when he opened his account.
"He just arrived, he needed to find his rhythm, know his
teammates," Alves said. "But we always knew the goals
would come because of his quality." World-record signing
Cristiano Ronaldo was also on target with a penalty as Real Madrid
began its season with a 3-2 victory over Deportivo La Coruna on
Saturday. In the rest of the weekends opening round of games, it was:
Valencia 2, Sevilla 0; Racing Santander 1, Getafe 4; Malaga 3, Atletico
Madrid 0; Athletic Bilbao 1, Espanyol 0; Mallorca 2, Xerez 0; Osasuna
1, Villarreal 1; Almeria 0, Valladolid 0; and Zaragoza 1, Tenerife 0
