Blake, Murray ousted in Barcelona
Well I guess there goes the potential Rafael Nadal/James Blake semifinal. The American fell to German Denis Gremelmayr 6-1, 6-4 in the second round at Barcelona. This makes it two straight clay-court losses in a row for Blake. The last match he played was a loss in the finals at Houston to Marcel Granollers of Spain. Gremelmayr will now face #15 Dmitry Tursunov in the third round.
This has got to be a tough loss for Blake. I am sure he is looking to try and get his body ready for the French Open, and a loss like this will definitely sting. He has never had great success at Roland Garros, with his best result coming in 2006 when he reached the third round.
Also falling was seventh-seeded Andy Murray. He lost to Mario Ancic 6-4, 6-4 and has now lost six of his last 12 matches. Ancic will next face #10 Nicolas Almagro, whom he is 1-0 against with that victory coming at Wimbledon in 2006.
On a bright note, three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal continued his pursuit for a fourth straight title with a 6-4, 6-2 trouncing of Potito Starce. He will face fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the third round. Nadal and Lopez have played three times previously, with Nadal holding a 2-1 edge. Of those three matches, two have been played on clay, and guess what, Nadal won both of those!
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