Shaky Nadal bows to Murray at Madrid Masters final

Rafael Nadal suffered another blow in his comeback efforts as the four-time champion lost to Andy Murray 6-3, 6-2 at the Madrid Masters final on Sunday.

Six days after breaking through for a career-first clay trophy, world

No. 3 Murray showed that his Munich success on Monday was no

fluke as he knocked out Nadal in 88 minutes.

"It was a very tough match for me," said Murray. "Beating Rafa on

clay is one of the toughest things in tennis."

Nadal was downcast but not overwhelmed by the result. "You are having

a great season," he told Murray. "You were better than me today."

"This was a very important week for me, a very positive week. I'm

looking to do better things in Paris."

Nadal had been hoping to kick-start a so-so season looking forward to

Rome next week and the French Open to follow in less than a

fortnight.

Instead, he drops to seventh in the rankings, putting him outside the

Top 5 for the first time in a decade when he stood seventh in May

2005 on his rise to the top.

The loss was only the 28th on clay for Nadal, who has won 333 on his

favourite surface; the defeat was one of his heaviest ever in a

three-set clay match with his total of just five winning games.

Nadal can claim only one minor clay title in Argentina last February

since winning a ninth Roland Garros last June. Since then, the

28-year-old has been dragged down by poor form and long-term injuries

plus an appendix operation last November.

Murray won his 10th Masters 1000 title and 33rd trophy overall

(33-18). Endi