ARRIVEDECI ROMA: NADAL OUT

Rafael Nadal lost for only the second time in his last 105 matches on clay, falling to Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-1 Wednesday in the second round of the Rome Masters.

Nadal, who won the past three French Open titles, was bothered by a blister on his right foot and called for the trainer late in the second set.

The blister began bothering Nadal on Sunday, when he won the Barcelona Open.

"Today when I woke up, I said it was impossible to play," Nadal said. "I spoke to the doctor today and yesterday, and they put special protection on it and cream, but it was still tough."

Nadal's last loss on clay came against No. 1 Roger Federer in the Hamburg Masters in May 2007. Before that, Nadal had won a record 81 consecutive matches on the slow, red surface, a streak that began in April 2005.

The second-ranked Nadal had never lost at the Foro Italico, winning the Rome tournament each of the previous three years. The 23rd-ranked Ferrero took the Rome title 2001, two years before he was the French Open champion.

Coming off an appearance in the Barcelona Open final, fifth-seeded David Ferrer lost to Radek Stepanek 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Spanish clay-court specialist Nicolas Almagro upset seventh-seeded David Nalbandian 6-4, 7-5. Igor Andreev knocked off No. 13 Juan Monaco 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, and Stanislas Wawrinka ousted No. 14 Andy Murray 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko beat Croatian wild card Mario Ancic 6-2, 6-2; No. 8 James Blake held off Andreas Seppi of Italy 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1; and No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez -- last year's runner-up -- defeated Russian qualifier Evgeny Korolev 6-3, 6-2.