MASON — There will be a marquee matchup right out of the gate at the Tennis Masters Series Cincinnati. Gustavo Kuerten, the No.1 seed, faces 18-year-old American Andy Roddick in the first round at the ATP Tennis Center. Roddick rallied to upset Kuerten 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2 Thursday in Montreal.

        “He's a better player by far,” Roddick said afterward. “I was just fortunate today.”

        Days and times of matches have not been determined.

MAIN DRAW

Check the bracket

IF YOU GO

• Seniors Championship: 7 p.m. today. Tickets $8 $12.   • Qualifier: 10 a.m. sessions today and Sunday. Adult tickets $10, kids 14 and under admitted free.   • Main draw: Tennis Masters Series Cincinnati tournament begins play Monday. Ticket prices range from $18 to $40, depending on the session (tickets remain for all sessions). Call (513) 651-0303 or (513) 562-4949 for info or tickets.

        That's only part of a tough quarter of the draw, which was announced Friday. That part of the bracket includes Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Pete Sampras, who is seeded ninth — his lowest in Cincinnati's ATP Tour stop since he was 10th in 1990.

        Sampras, a three-time winner here, faces Nicolas Lapentti in the first round.

        Also noteworthy:

        • Defending champion Thomas Enqvist could have a rematch with Tim Henman, whom he beat in last year's final here, in the Round of 16. The highest seed in their portion of the bracket is No.3 Marat Safin, who retired during a match in Montreal last week with a knee injury.

        • No.4 Juan Carlos Ferrero, a 21-year-old Spaniard who won the Tennis Masters Series event in Rome and was runner-up in Hamburg, has the best draw among the top four seeds. The other seeds in his quarter of the bracket: Carlos Moya (13), Thomas Johansson (12) and Lleyton Hewitt (5). Hewitt faces Magnus Norman, a former No.1 in the ATP Champions Race in 2000, in the first round.

        Ferrero made his debut in Cincinnati last year and was bounced in the first round by Arnaud Clement, who advanced to the semifinals.

        • The bottom quarter of the bracket features No.2 seed Andre Agassi and No.4 Patrick Rafter, who could meet in the quarterfinals.

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