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ROME (AP) -Rafael Nadal's preparations for a run at a fourth straight French Open title were thrown into disarray Wednesday.
The second-ranked Spaniard lost on clay for only the second time in 105 matches, falling to countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-1 in the second round of the Rome Masters.
Moreover, Nadal has a large blister on the bottom of his right foot - and only four days to recover for next week's Hamburg Masters.
"Two Masters Series without playing best conditions on clay is going to kill me," Nadal said. "The calendar is impossible. Last week when everyone was asking me how I feel about the calendar I said it was going to be impossible for me to play three weeks in a row. Finally they see now."
Nadal called for a trainer late in the second set to treat the blister, which began bothering him Sunday when he won the Barcelona Open. The week before, Nadal won the Monte Carlo Masters.
"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."
Ferrero said he, too, was not fully fit.
"I pulled out of Barcelona last week with a groin problem and I felt it again yesterday against Nicolas Kiefer," Ferrero said. "Today they put a bandage and I could move well."
Nadal's last loss on clay came against top-ranked 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.
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.
The Rome Masters is an important clay-court warm-up tournament for Roland Garros, which begins May 25 with Nadal the three-time defending champion.
"I don't think it's going to change a lot. It's one week that he lost, and he will try again to play his level in Hamburg," Ferrero said. "He has a lot of time to prepare for Roland Garros."
Nadal has tried talking to ATP president Etienne de Villiers about the crowded schedule, to no avail.
