Andy Murray has been placed in Rafa Nadals half of the draw for the Madrid Open, with the Spaniard keen to continue his superb return to form. Defending champion Murray comes to Madrid of the back of a much improved showing in Monte Carlo where he reached the semi-final, only to run into a Nadal beginning to show signs that he is back to his very best. Sky Live: Madrid Masters How to follow the Madrid Masters on Sky Sports Murray beat Nadal to win in Madrid last year while Nadal saw off Murray in three sets on his way to the title in the principality before going on to win in Barcelona and a victory in Madrid this week would set him up perfectly for a run at the French Open later this month where he is aiming to win an unprecedented 10th title at Roland Garros. Murray and Nadal are joined by Roger Federer and world No 1 Novak Djokovic in an A-list cast in Madrid and after a couple of years on inconsistency it is the Spaniard who arrives as the form player. Rafa Nadal beat Andy Murray in Monte Carlo Ive been playing well for a while, Nadal said at a promotional event this week. But you need the results to come along with that.Murrays win in Madrid last year gave him his first ever Masters title on clay and the world No 2 practiced with Nadal at the Spaniards tennis academy in Manacor in the lead up to the tournament. Andy Murray claimed his first clay court Masters with vcitory in Madrid last year And Murray, whose season has been disjointed after some time off following the birth of his first child, is well aware of Nadals capabilities Every player goes through periods where they dont necessarily play as well as they have done previously, Murray said.Rafa is still one of the best players on the surface and he still works as hard as he can on and off the court. I am sure he has gone away and worked at things since last year, so its hard to say if hell ever be back up to where he was, I guess we will have to wait and see. Watch highlights as Andy Murray mastered Rafa Nadal in Madrid last year In terms of the defence of his title Murray admits last year he was in top condition before claiming a memorable success over the home favourite.My preparation last year was probably the best its ever been for the clay, said the the Scot.I prepared for the event more thoroughly than I had done in previous years. When you have done everything you can do to ensure that youre ready for the surface, it gives you confidence. Roger Federer has added the Madrid Open to his schedule Federer, a winner in Madrid in 2012, added Madrid to his schedule in the last week as he steps up prepertions for the French Open and he is in the same half of the draw as Murray and Nadal - if the draw pans out he could play the Spaniard in the quarter finals.The Swiss while play either Nicholas Mahut or Joao Sousa, Murray will face either Vasek Pospisil or a qualifier while Nadal faces either Viktor Troicki or Andrey Kuznetsov. Novak Djokovic will be keen to make amends for a shock defeat to Jiri Vesely in his last outing In the other half of the draw, Djokovic will be looking for a third Masters title of the year but after success in Indian Wells and Miami he faces a particularly tricky assignment with clay-court specialist Nicolas Almagro or talented teenager Borna Coric his second round opponent.Djokovics only Madrid title came in 2011 and he will be keen to make amends for a shock second round defeat to Jiri Vesely in Monte Carlo. Masters of their trade Nadal and Djokovic tied on total Masters crowns You can follow all the action on Sky Sports this week with the action getting underway at 11am on Sky Sports 3 on Monday.By purchasing a Sky Sports Day Pass for £6.99 or Sky Sports Week Pass for £10.99, you can enjoy access to all seven Sky Sports channels and watch on a TV with a NOW TV Box or on a range of devices. Also See: Sky Live: Madrid Masters Masters of their trade ATP schedule Tennis on Sky http://www.officialraidersgear.com/Raiders-Martavis-Bryant-Draft-Jersey/ . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. http://www.officialraidersgear.com/Raiders-Khalil-Mack-Draft-Jersey/ . Soukalova missed only one target and completed the 15-kilometre course in 40 minutes, 32.6 seconds for both victories in this seasons individual discipline. Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 34. http://www.officialraidersgear.com/Raiders-Doug-Martin-Draft-Jersey/ . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. http://www.officialraidersgear.com/Raiders-Fred-Biletnikoff-Draft-Jersey/ . Zvonareva, who won the tournament in 2009 and 10, couldnt handle her opponents big groundstrokes in only her third event back after 17 months out with a shoulder injury. Zvonareva made her comeback in January in Shenzhen and played in the Australian Open but lost her first matches at both tournaments. http://www.officialraidersgear.com/Raiders-David-Sharpe-Draft-Jersey/ . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. TUCSON, Ariz. -- Two games in and Arizona freshman Lauri Markkanen is already drawing high praise from his coach.Lauris one of the best players in college basketball, Sean Miller said. He is. Hes a monster.The 18-year-old 7-footer from Finland scored 26 points and the 10th-ranked Wildcats held off a furious second-half rally by Cal State Bakersfield for a 78-66 victory on Tuesday night.Jaylin Airington scored 31 for the Roadrunners (1-1) and led a 17-0 run that cut Arizonas lead to four with 9:04 to play. But Markkanen sank a 3-pointer, converted a three-point play and made a short jumper to lead the Wildcats out of trouble.Markkanen is accustomed to such moments.I am used to it, he said. Pretty much my whole life, in big moments, I have the ball in my hands.The already short-handed Wildcats (2-0) were without starting senior guard Kadeem Allen, who sprained a knee in Arizonas 65-63 victory over Michigan State last Friday in Honolulu.Rawle Alkins was 4 for 6 on 3-pointers and scored 15 for the Wildcats and Kobi Simmons added 13. Both also are freshmen.Dedrick Basile added 14 for BakersfieldHaving the opportunity to play a top 10 team is going to give us an opportunity to have some confidence coming out of this game, Roadrunners coach Rod Barnes said.Airington was 10 for 25 from the field, and Miller said its hard to get 25 shots in a college game. It wasnt enough.It was a good individual effort, Airington said, but I wanted to win more than anything.Arizona was up 44-26 at the half and was cruising along when a tip-in by yet another freshman, Keanu Pinder, gave the Wildcats a 53-32 lead with 14:45 to play. Arizona didnt score for the next 6:46.The McKale Center crowd fell into an uncomfortable silence when Damine Durhams basket cut the lead to 53-49 with 9:04 to play.A ruckus under the Arizona basket finally woke the Wildcats up.Chance Comanche went up for a layup and was hit hard by a pair of Bakersfield defenders. Some shoving occurreed with Comanche lying on the court and officials called time out to review the incident on video.ddddddddddddTaze Moore was called for a flagrant foul one and Comanche ended the long drought by making one of two free throws with 7:59 left. Arizona got the ball out of bounds on the play and Markkanen sank his only 3 of the night to boost the lead to 57-49.Playing small forward on Arizonas big front line, he drove hard down the lane, was fouled and converted a three-point play with 5:51 left and made a short jumper with 5:17 to go, giving the Wildcats a 64-54 lead and they held on from there.Lauris strong, Miller said. Hes not skinny, hes not thin. Hes 18 years old buy physically he can take a pounding and I think that really shows. He doesnt appear to be 7 foot because hes not a rail-thin 7-footer.His pull-ups that he made tonight, watching him go to the free throw line under pressure, hes a special, special player.Hes also a great team player and a good student.I dont think hes got a B at Arizona, Miller said. And practice-wise hes consumed with becoming a great player. Hes one of our teams hardest workers. ... Im so glad we have him.BIG PICTURECal State Bakersfield: The Roadrunners were not cowed by the atmosphere and look like WAC contenders.Arizona: After the opener against a big name school, the young Wildcats fell into a lull with a big lead. That might not have happened if Allen had been available.PLAYER SHORTAGEThe absence of Allen left Arizona with only seven scholarship players with a particular shortage at guard. It got even worse when Jackson-Cartwright got into foul trouble.UP NEXTCal State Bakersfield: returns home to face UC Santa Barbara Saturday night.Arizona: Plays the second of three straight home nonconference game against teams from lesser conferences, facing Sacred Heart on Friday night. Cheap Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys China Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Wholesale China NFL Gear Stitched Jerseys Discount Jerseys Cheap NFL T-shirts Cheap Jerseys 2019 Black China NFL Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2020 ' ' '