{"id":3746,"date":"2013-05-16T14:25:01","date_gmt":"2013-05-16T14:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigeria-news\/rome-masters-murray-injured-nadal-wins\/"},"modified":"2013-05-16T14:25:01","modified_gmt":"2013-05-16T14:25:01","slug":"rome-masters-murray-injured-nadal-wins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/rome-masters-murray-injured-nadal-wins\/","title":{"rendered":"Rome Masters: Murray Injured, Nadal Wins"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Back pain forced Andy Murray to retire midway through his second-round match at the Italian Open yesterday. He may have to sit out the French Open, too.<\/p>\n

Rafael Nadal began his bid for a seventh Rome title by cruising past local hope Fognini of Italy 6-1, 6-3 in just 61 minutes, and two-time defending champion Maria Sharapova eased past Spanish qualifier Garbine Muguruza 6-2, 6-2.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, rising Polish player Jerzy Janowicz upset eighth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 7-6 (5) then celebrated by ripping his shirt apart, showing off his muscular physique.<\/p>\n

Murray, who was celebrating his 26th birthday, walked off the court after winning the second set against Spanish opponent Marcel Granollers.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2019I have an issue with my lower back, it\u2019s been an issue for a while,\u2019\u2019 Murray said.<\/p>\n

Murray took a long injury break early in the second set, getting his left thigh and lower back massaged.<\/p>\n

Granollers won the first set 6-3 and Murray won the second 7-6 (5).<\/p>\n

This tournament is a key clay-court warm-up for Roland Garros, the year\u2019s second Grand Slam, which starts on May 26.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2019I would be very surprised if I was playing in Paris,\u2019\u2019 Murray said. \u2018\u2019I need to make a plan as to what I do. I\u2019ll chat with the guys tonight and make a plan for the next few days then make a decision on Paris after the next five days.<\/p>\n

Murray called for the trainer while trailing 2-1 in the second set. He then lost the next two games to trail 4-1 before battling back to force a tiebreaker.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2019I want to make sure it goes away,\u2019\u2019 Murray added. \u2018\u2019It\u2019s been a problem since the end of 2011 but it got bad during last year\u2019s clay season.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Nadal will next face Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis, who reached the semifinals in 2010.<\/p>\n

Gulbis routed Viktor Troicki of Serbia 6-1, 6-1. Early in the second set during an argument over a line call with the chair umpire, Troicki dragged a cameraman out onto the court to shoot the ball mark.<\/p>\n

Sharapova now meets 16th-seeded Sloane Stephens of the United States, who rallied past Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.<\/p>\n

Stephens reached the Australian Open semifinals in January with a win over Serena Williams.<\/p>\n

<\/img> <\/img> <\/img> <\/img> <\/div>\n

——————————————————————————————————————————————-
Posted in Nigeria News. <\/a>A DisNaija.Com<\/a> network.<\/p>\n

Source: PM News<\/p>\n

DisNaija.Com<\/b> publishes regular posts on Nigeria News,<\/a> Nigerian Newspapers,<\/a> Online Nigeria Gist.<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow us on Twitter<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Nigeria News<\/a>
\n
\nFollow @Dis_Naija<\/a>
\n