Federer Opens 2010 Clay Court Season With Loss

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World #1 and 2010 Australian Open champion Roger Federer lost his first clay court singles match of the year 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 to Ernests Gulbis of Latvia at the Rome Masters series tournament. Gulbis, 21, won his first ATP Tour title in Delray Beach, Florida earlier this year and is known for his big-serving, hard-hitting style. It took him 7 match points to earn his first win over the 16-time Grand Slam champion and current World #1. Interestingly, Federer won a clay court doubles match with countryman Yves Allegro on Monday.

World #2 Novak Djokovic cruised to the 3rd round, while World #3 and defending champion Rafael Nadal will open his title defense on Wednesday. World #4 Andy Murray stopped his tour match losing streak at three in a row by winning his first clay match of the year