MONTE CARLO -- Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil lost his career debut at the Monte Carlo Masters on Monday, falling 6-2, 6-2 in the first round to experienced clay-court player Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain. Colorado Avalanche Store . The 29th-ranked Pospisil lacks clay-court experience and paid the price against his 45th-ranked opponent who grew up playing on the surface. "Theres a lot you can learn from every loss," said Pospisil. "This one was more about my lack of clay experience, I need to get used to the surface. Working on my movement will help a lot, its something I can improve." Eighth seed Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., had a bye in the first round and will face either Argentinas Federico Delbonis or Taiwans Lu Yen-Hsun in the second round on Wednesday. Pospisil was competing in only his seventh top-level match on clay and now stands 1-6 on the surface. His only victory came in a Davis Cup tie against Ecuador in 2011. Pospisil hasnt played much since the Australian Open due to a back injury. "Considering how little Ive played in general, this was not so bad," said Pospisil. "He played extremely well and didnt miss any balls. I played well on my forehand but obviously clay is not my natural surface. "There was really not much I could have done out there." Pospisil, who committed 18 unforced errors in the opening set, admitted he came to the court with low expectations. "I didnt have too many expectations, Ive been dealing with a couple of injuries and only played points on clay for the first time yesterday." The Canadian said that while he did not want to go into detail, his back felt fine during the match. Pospisil will move onto Bucharest and Munich over the next few weeks as the French Open buildup continues. Elsewhere, Fabio Fognini of Italy was two points away from defeat before rallying to beat Joao Sousa 5-7, 7-5, 6-4. Sousa led 5-2 and 30-0 on Fogninis serve, but the Portuguese player lost his composure and then started complaining to the chair umpire at the end of the second set and midway through the third. "Im not happy today. I was I think a bit lucky," Fognini said. "It was a really difficult match." The 10th-seeded Fognini, who lost to title-holder Novak Djokovic in last years semifinals, was the highest seeded player in action Monday in the clay-court tournament. Fognini failed to serve out the first set at 5-4 and then his game fell apart. "I was completely without energy, without power in my legs," he said. "I have no idea what happened." After Fognini had served out the second set, the crowd jeered Sousa -- who had received a warning during the first set. At 3-2 down in the third, Sousa continued to grumble, saying "its a joke, its a joke." Fognini will play Bautista Agut in the next round. Later in the day, 11th-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain beat Belgian qualifier David Goffin 6-4, 6-1. In other first-round matches, there were victories for Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, Czech players Radek Stepanek and Lukas Rosol; and Spaniards Albert Montanes, Albert Ramos and Pablo Andujar. Rosol beat Evgeny Donskoy 7-5, 6-1; Kohlschreiber won 6-3, 6-4 against Simone Bolelli; Stepanek thrashed Ivo Karlovic 6-1, 6-2; Ramos beat Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 7-5 and Andujar downed Edouard Roger-Vasselin 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5). On Tuesday, Djokovic plays Montanes in the second round. On Wednesday, eight-time champion Rafael Nadal of Spain faces Gilles Simon or Teymuraz Gabashvili, and fourth-seeded Roger Federer takes on Stepanek. Colorado Avalanche Gear . -- Challenged for the first time under Major League Baseballs expanded replay system, umpires got it right. Colorado Avalanche Shirts . Louis second-period goal increased the New York Rangers lead but Dustin Brown has countered for the Los Angeles Kings who now trail the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at Madison Square Garden. https://www.cheapavalanche.com/ . Pistorius denied the allegation that he said to the close friend of the girlfriend he killed: "How can you sleep at night?" The accusation by Kim Myers provided a bizarre twist during the trial of the world-famous double-amputee Olympian, who is facing 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder for shooting dead Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, at his home last year.KINGSTON, Ont. - Gabrielle Daleman captured her first Canadian womens figure skating title on Saturday and secured her spot on the world championship team. The 17-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., skated an almost flawless performance to win gold with 186.02 points and beat a field that was missing defending champion Kaetlyn Osmond. Daleman landed five triple jumps iin her skate to En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor, to finish ahead of Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont. Cheap Avalanche Jerseys. Chartrand scored 184.24 and then burst into tears of joy while speaking with reporters afterwards. Veronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., was third with 172.43. Osmond is taking this season off to recover from a broken fibula suffered last fall. ' ' '