However, he began his clay-court season positively with a 7-5 6-2 win over the Spanish qualifier.
The land combines limestone, clay-limestone, slate and, further west from Mr. Gauby's estate, decomposed granite.
WSJ: Will Lyons on Wine: The Wild Beauty of France's Roussillon and Its Wines
The French are brought up on clay - the surface that is used at Roland Garros.
And besides, the biggest challenge at Madrid isn't the clay -- it's the altitude.
Their catfish are raised in clay-based ponds filled with purified water pumped from underground wells.
And so the biggest question of this clay-court season might be, how much stress is too much?
The former world number one is playing his first clay-court tournament of the season following a hip injury.
China clay - also known as kaolin - is used in the manufacture of sanitary ware, paper and paints.
I'm sorry I couldn't defend my title but Rafa's had an incredible clay-court season, he was just supreme today.
The first, dubbed "Whitewater Lake", is the one that appears to be clay-bearing.
The clay-court tournament, to be held from April 30 to May 6, was founded by Djokovic's family in 2009.
Ivanovic has not been past the fourth round of the clay-court event since winning the title four years ago.
The Scot will be back in action on 14 April for his first clay-court appearance of the season in Valencia.
Sharapova will play either second-seeded Li Na or qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands for the title in the indoor clay-court tournament Sunday.
With the Wimbledon grass not as greased-lightning as it used to be, clay-court specialists are tending to perform better here.
The Spaniard is aiming for his third consecutive clay-court title this year and record 18th ATP Masters success of his career.
Nicknamed the Mosquito, Juan Carlos Ferrero is a clay-court master who has firmly established himself at the top of the game.
Ferreira was beaten 7-6 6-2 by Argentine clay-court specialist Franco Squillari in his first-round match, which was held over from Tuesday.
Adam earned a free trip to France, courtesy of the watchmaker, by winning a national clay-court tournament last month in Delray Beach.
Errani, also 25, had never advanced past the second round at the French Open before this year, despite a strong clay-court background.
While the Argentine clay-court expert, ranked 59 in the world, was predictably aggressive from the baseline, Murray could not get going on serve.
The Barcelona Open presents another opportunity for Nadal, and his fellow clay-court specialists, to tune-up for the French Open which begins on May 26.
Elsewhere former women's world number one Ana Ivanovic lost to 21-year-old German wild-card Mona Barthel in the first round of Stuttgart's clay-court WTA tournament.
Georgians traditionally serve wine in bowls made of clay -- much like the buried, clay kvevri urns in which Georgian wine is traditionally made.
The clay-court specialist has never progressed beyond the fourth round and has only played at the All England Club twice in the previous six years.
Murray opens his clay-court campaign against Feliciano Lopez in Monte Carlo.
After a decent clay-court season, she lost 6-3, 6-2 in the first round to former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who ended a five-match losing streak.
As superb as Nadal has been since returning from a seven-month injury layoff, his clay-court season hasn't been perfect and his knee remains a question mark.
As the European clay-court season kicks into gear with tournaments in Madrid and Rome, tennis fans will catch a glimpse of some surprisingly confident contenders: Americans.
Murray, who has never won a clay-court title despite training on the surface as a young teen in Spain, reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros last year.
应用推荐