By Ryan Ernst
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Nicola Kiefer, from Germany, takes on John Paul Fruttero, from the United States, on Saturday afternoon at the Western and Southern Financial Group Masters in Mason. (Leigh Patton photo) | ZOOM |

MASON - Saturday night, the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters offered tennis fans a living history lesson on both the local and worldwide fronts.

Between matches in the Seniors Championship - an event showcasing some of the sport's legends - at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, a presentation honoring Cincinnati's own legends took center stage.

The 2003 class of the Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Fame was enshrined after the night's first match. Barry MacKay, Nathaniel Emerson, Ruth Sanders Cordes, Kathy Graeter, Paul Flory, Alvin Bunis and Thomas Price were inducted.

Flory, the Western & Southern tournament chairman, got help all week from Bunis, who introduced the seniors. Bunis is considered the founder of all seniors competition. He said the sport of tennis, of which he was a world-class competitor, is tailor-made for seniors play.

"I think it's one of the few mainstream sports where you can see players play close enough to how they played at the height of their careers, so you appreciate it," he said. "To play tennis at this level as they get up in years is no easy feat. ... It's like seeing Pete Rose slide headfirst into third. He can't do that anymore."

The point was demonstrated throughout the night, as the Seniors Championship field showed flashes of past greatness. The competitors collectively own 31 Grand Slam titles, many coming with and against some of the game's greats.

Owen Davidson won the Grand Slam of mixed doubles, including French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles with Billie Jean King. Mark Woodforde teamed with Todd Woodbridge to form one of the most prolific doubles teams of all time, winning 11 Grand Slam titles. Hana Mandlikova owns four Grand Slam singles titles.

Mandlikova and Gene Mayer beat Kathy Rinaldi and Mansour Bahrami 8-6 in the seniors final. In the fifth-place seniors match, Woodforde and Ann Grossman beat Manuela Maleeva and Tom Gullikson 6-1. JoAnne Russell and Luke Jensen topped Brenda Schultz-McCarthy and Davidson 7-5 for third place.

Comeback trail

Earlier, in the opening qualifier round, Robert Kendrick, the only seeded American qualifier, ousted Switzerland's Ivo Heuberger 7-6, 6-4. It's Kendrick's first tournament since coming down with the E. coli virus at the French Open and suffering a broken thumb at Wimbledon.

"There's not too many Americans in the qualies, so it's kind of special to be playing in Cincinnati, in America. Hopefully I can get through (to the main draw)," he said. "I'm almost there healthwise. I felt good today."

No longer a top seed

Even with top-seeded Andre Agassi pulling out, tournament officials won't re-do the draw. There's no longer a No. 1 seed, but Felix Mantilla - the next-ranked player after the 16 seeds - becomes the No. 17 seed and shifts into Agassi's vacant spot, facing Thomas Enqvist in the first round.

Flavio Saretta was added to the field; he fills Mantilla's original spot and will face David Sanchez in the first round.