MONACO - Six-time defending champion Rafael Nadal beat Andy Murray 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in a thrilling match to reach the Monte Carlo Masters final on Saturday. Indianapolis Colts Joseph Addai Jersey . The top-ranked Spaniard was made to work for nearly three hours by Murray for his 36th straight win at the clay-court tournament, dropping a set at the tournament for the first time since the 2009 final against Novak Djokovic. "It is a fantastic victory for me against a very difficult opponent," Nadal said. "(To) start the clay court season being in the final is very good for me." He will play David Ferrer, who is looking for his third title this year, in an all-Spanish final. Nadal thinks he will have to improve on his performance against Murray. "I think I played too short for a lot of moments," Nadal said. "I think I had few more mistakes than usual." Ferrer is unbeaten on clay so far this season, winning a title at Acapulco, Mexico, and he also beat Nadal in the Australian Open quarter-finals. Nadal leads 11-4 overall but has lost once to Ferrer on clay, although that was in 2004. "He had a fantastic start to the season. He hasnt lose yet on clay this year," Nadal said. "Hes very dangerous, its going to be a very difficult match." Nadal was full of praise for Murray, tipping him to keep improving on clay in the leadup to the French Open, where Murray has never been past the quarter-finals. "He has unbelievable potential. Hes very good on all the surfaces," Nadal said. "Theres no reason why he cannot play very well on clay because his serve is good, his movements are very good, and his shots are with topspin." Murray, who is 4-10 against Nadal, thinks he has some way to go before he can beat Nadal on his favourite surface. "I want to try to play better than that," Murray said. "Ill need to, if I want to beat him, because hes going to improve the next few weeks, for sure, the more he plays on clay." The third-seeded Murray took a medical timeout at 3-0 down in the third set and had his right elbow massaged. The start of the match was delayed for 30 minutes while Murray had a cortisone injection into his elbow and wondered whether he would play. "I had a cortisone injection, local anesthetic in my elbow before the match," Murray said. "I was really like uptight about it. Id never had one before, didnt know what the feeling was going to be like. The doctor said that would probably be what would be suggested even if I didnt play the match, that they would suggest a cortisone injection, like an anti-inflammatory." He said hell have an exam on Sunday, but believed it shouldnt keep him off the tour. Nadal looked to be coasting to another straight-sets win at 4-1 up but Murray rallied superbly, edging the five-time French Open champion 9-7 in winners in the first set, and 13-3 in a second set of outstanding quality. "Hes the best player in the world and theres a reason for that," Murray said. "Its good to be close, but I think I could have done better." Nadal lost his serve six times in the match, and particularly struggled when Murray stepped inside to hit angled winners. "I was being patient. I was playing a ball with good height," Murray said. "When he left it a bit short, I was sort of stepping in." With his surge, however, the pain came back at 2-0 down in the third. He argued unsuccessfully with the umpire for a medical timeout, and by the time the trainer could see him, he was down 3-0. Earlier, fourth-seeded Ferrer beat seventh-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-3, 6-2 to reach his second Masters final, having lost his first in Rome to Nadal last year. "Im full of confidence. I feel good physically, and also with my tennis," Ferrer said. "I hope Ill keep going." Lance Moore Jersey . Williams received 66-of-158 votes cast by editors at U.S. newspapers that are members of the AP. No other candidate got more than 18 votes in the tally, which was announced Tuesday. Clearly, Williams most infamous on-court episode -- a tirade directed at a line judge after a foot-fault call near the end of her U. Green Bay Packers Ray Nitschke Jersey . "Its a little frigid," NHL Facilities Operations Manager Dan Craig said via telephone Monday afternoon. "Being the good Canadian that I am, maybe Ive just been away too long." While the provinces of western Canada have seen more than their fair share of cold days, Mondays chill hardly was something to brush off, as temperatures dipped down to minus-11 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-23. Super Bowl Robert Mathis Jersey . Jamal Robertson gained 140 yards on 18 carries and scored the lone touchdown for the Lions (4-8), who won for the third time in four games. They also snapped an eight-game skid to the Stampeders. Henry Burris completed 11-of-26 passes for 136 yards, but was picked off twice for Calgary (9-3), which lost its second in a row. Donald Brown Authentic Jersey . More than 8,500 fans of motorcycles from all over China gathered in the county, south of Lushan Mountain, one of Chinas tourist destinations, to attend a two-day festival that includes stunts shows and races. Authentic Chicago Blackhawks Jersey . Survivors weep at a memorial service at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, as Australia holds a national day of mourning for victims of the countrys worst wildfire disaster. [Agencies] Related readings: Australia holds day of mourning for fire victims Australia wildfire death toll reaches 200 Australias child survivors struggle to cope Call for calm as Australia wildfire arson case in court Joined by Britains Princess Anne, Rudd led a national day of mourning in leading a memorial ceremony at Rod Laver Arena to honour those killed in the February 7 disaster in rural Victoria state.BARCELONA, Spain -- Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored on his debut Monday as Barcelona began its Spanish league title defence with a 3-0 victory over Sporting Gijon. The Sweden striker dived low in the 82nd minute to head in Daniel Alves deflected cross to round out the scoring. Earlier, Bojan Krkic and Seydou Keita had also scored from headers at the Camp Nou, where the Catalan club opened its season without star forward Lionel Messi who had travelled to Argentina to prepare for Saturdays crucial World Cup qualifier against Brazil. Keyta flicked on a corner toward the far post in the 17th minute and Krkic headed home to open the scoring. The Mali midfielder then met Alves swinging cross in the 42nd to beat Juan Pablo with another powerful header. "Every rival is important, so it was important to win today," Alves said. But Barcelona also learned that it will be without Krkic for two to three weeks with a leg injury that forced the teenage striker off in the 80th minute. New signing Dmytro Chygrynskiy watched on from the stands after the Catalan club completed the Ukraine defenders 25-milliion euro (C$39 million) transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk earlier on Monday. Authentic Eli Manning Jersey. Maxwell also made his debut alongside former Inter Milan teammate Ibrahimovic, but was replaced by Eric Abidal in the 57th minute with a leg injury. Barcelona paid 66 million euros (C$103.5 million) and sent leading striker Samuel Etoo to Inter Milan in order to bring Ibrahimovic to the Camp Nou, and it was certainly a relief to the crowd, the Sweden striker and his teammates when he opened his account. "He just arrived, he needed to find his rhythm, know his teammates," Alves said. "But we always knew the goals would come because of his quality." World-record signing Cristiano Ronaldo was also on target with a penalty as Real Madrid began its season with a 3-2 victory over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday. In the rest of the weekends opening round of games, it was: Valencia 2, Sevilla 0; Racing Santander 1, Getafe 4; Malaga 3, Atletico Madrid 0; Athletic Bilbao 1, Espanyol 0; Mallorca 2, Xerez 0; Osasuna 1, Villarreal 1; Almeria 0, Valladolid 0; and Zaragoza 1, Tenerife 0
