Agassi Exits But ATP Cincinnati Boasts 9 of Top 10

Federer is joined among the Top 8 seeds by Nadal, Lleyton Hewitt, Marat Safin making his return from knee surgery, Andy Roddick, another Russian in the hot-handed Nikolay Davydenko, Agassi, and Argentina's Gaston Gaudio.

Among the bottom eight seeds are French Open finalists Guillermo Coria and Mariano Puerta, Argentine countryman David Nalbandian, the struggling Tim Henman, and French teen hope Richard Gasquet.

While the Grand Slam events boast the biggest draws and garner the worldwide headlines, the ATP Masters Series tournaments are clearly the more difficult conquests, with only one day of rest for players during the week and finals-quality matches from the get-go.

Players can relax during the slams with a day of rest between matches and a liberal quantity of players ranked No. 60-100 scattered about the draw, neither of which apply during the demanding Masters Series stops.

In the top quarter of the draw at Cincy, Federer will have some testers against some of the hotter players on tour this summer, with wildcard James Blake in his opener, then probably Nicolas Kiefer in the second round and then the No. 14 seed Ivan Ljubicic.

Also in the quarter are (9) Coria opening against Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, and (8) Gaston Gaudio against the hardcourt-proficient Tommy Robredo.

Marat Safin, whose mental state will be on display in his opener against a seasoned qualifier, heads the second quarter of the draw along with fellow former No. 1 Carlos Moya, who was scheduled to face Andre Agassi in the first round before the Las Vegas star's withdrawal.

Other opening-round match-ups of note in the second quarter are American Taylor "Acci-" Dent vs. Brit-Scot wildcard Andy Murray in a competition to see who can stay uninjured or not fatigue in a match; (13) Thomas Johansson vs. Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty; and (10) Mariano Puerta vs. hot-handed U.S. wildcard Robby Ginepri.

Hewitt heads the third quarter of the draw, opening against Russian Igor Andreev, with a grin-inducing match with Greg Rusedski looming in the second round.

A plethora of Euro-heavy opening-round matches make the third quarter a toss-up, including (6) Davydenko vs. Sebastien Grosjean, former No. 2 Tommy Haas vs. MS-Canada semifinalist Paul-Henri Mathieu, (11) Nalbandian vs. Andrei Pavel, and (16) Gasquet vs. Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez.

Nadal and Roddick headline the bottom quarter, with each facing their own unique challenges.

Nadal, coming off a physically-draining run at the Masters Series-Canada, faces the crushing game of hardcourt specialist Tomas Berdych in the first round. Roddick faces the pesky Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer in his opener, then possibly former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, then Tim Henman.

Last year Agassi's triumphant run as the No. 11 seed including wins over the former No. 1 Moya in the quarterfinals, defending champ and No. 2-ranked Roddick in the semis, and former No. 1 Hewitt in the three-set final.

Scheduled for Monday in Cincy are Massu vs. (12) Henman, (5) Roddick vs. Melzer, (9) Coria vs. Srichaphan, (1) Federer vs. (WC) Blake, (16) Gasquet vs. F.Lopez, Volandri vs. O.Rochus, (15) Stepanek vs. (WC) Monfils, (Q) Koubek vs. Ferrero, Gonzalez vs. (Q) Djokovic, Pavel vs. (11) Nalbandian, Kiefer vs. (Q) N.Lapentti, Santoro vs. (14) Ljubicic, Youzhny vs. Saulnier, Novak vs. Beck, Ancic vs. Mello, A.Martin vs. Chela, and (Q) Horna vs. C.Rochus.