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Nadal is unsatisfied, but wins at Masters

By Wire services
Published April 19, 2006

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MONTE CARLO, Monaco - Rafael Nadal won't give up his Monte Carlo Masters title without a fight.

The Spaniard, 19, beat Arnaud Clement 6-4, 6-4 Tuesday in the first round, but said he wasn't aggressive enough.

"The worst thing is to play too defensively," Nadal said. "I need to play with more intensity and be aggressive. If I do that, I'm going to do well because my touch is good."

The second-ranked Nadal, the only player to have beaten top-ranked Roger Federer this year after winning at Dubai, is seeking his second title and 14th overall.

Nadal will play No. 154 Jean-Rene Lisnard, who defeated Andrew Murray 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5.

Former champion Guillermo Coria beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-1. Coria, the 2004 champion and runnerup last year, will face Paul-Henri Mathieu, who beat two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin 6-0, 7-5.

Fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko lost to big-serving Robin Soderling 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, and 1998 champion Carlos Moya lost to Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Ivan Ljubicic, seeded fourth, beat Igor Andreev 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, and will play Florent Serra, who defeated Paradorn Srichaphan 6-1, 7-5.

Nadal won his 37th straight match on clay, and first of the year.

"This is my first match (on clay) for a long time, so it is important to begin with a victory" he said. "But I didn't play very well - I was a little nervous."

By this time last year, Nadal had won two of his 11 titles in 2005. He didn't defend either in South America because a left ankle injury delayed the start to his season. Nadal is 12-3 this year, and avenged a loss to Clement in February.

Next up is wild-card Lisnard, who earned his first win on the main ATP tour by beating Murray in a 3-hour thriller.

AUTOS: Graves resigns

Andy Graves, the first employee hired by car owner Chip Ganassi when he started his NASCAR operation, resigned as team manager as part of a shakeup within the three-car operation.

The move comes one day after Jeff Vandermoss was replaced as crew chief on rookie David Stremme's struggling team.

SOCCER; Iran president elicits stir

The Simon Wiesenthal Center has urged Germany to declare Iran's president "persona non grata" if he decides to attend this year's World Cup.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has drawn international outrage for labeling the Nazi Holocaust a myth and calling for Israel's destruction.

EMIRATES TO SPONSOR: Emirates Airline has agreed to pay $195-million for an eight-year deal to become FIFA's sixth and final major sponsor.

SPECTOR HURT: Defender Jonathan Spector dislocated a shoulder playing for Charlton, a blow to his chances of making the U.S. World Cup roster.

REFEREES: Salaries for World Cup referees were raised to $40,000 - twice as much as in 2002 in Japan and South Korea.

ET CETERA

SAILING: Lone U.S. entry Pirates of the Caribbean finished third in the fifth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, with a time of 15 days, 19 hours, 12 minutes and 48 seconds.

[Last modified April 19, 2006, 01:59:13]

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