Almagro ousted at Cincy Masters

Mason, OH – Nicolas Almagro was a first-round upset victim Monday at the $3 million Western & Southern Open.

Rising Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov sent the 13th-seeded Spaniard packing in 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 fashion on the hardcourts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

Another upset came when 34-year-old Czech veteran Radek Stepanek doused 14th- seeded Italian Fabio Fognini, 6-2, 6-4. Fognini is a two-time ATP titlist this season.

Meanwhile, German Philipp Kohlschreiber took care of on-the-mend American Mardy Fish, 7-5, 6-2. Fish, who recently returned to the tour after battling injuries and a heart condition, is a two-time Cincy Masters runner-up (2003, 2010). Kohlschreiber will meet reigning champion Roger Federer in the round of 32.

Oft-injured American Brian Baker, a wild card playing his first tennis since the Australian Open in January, returned a winner by tackling Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin, 7-5, 6-3, while former top-10 Serb Janko Tipsarevic came back to bounce American Sam Querrey, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4.

Also on Day 1, Jeremy Chardy beat qualifier fellow Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-3, Spaniard Marcel Granollers overcame Czech Lukas Rosol 5-7, 6-4, 6-0, Russian qualifier Dmitry Tursunov overcame Slovak Martin Klizan, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, and Argentine Juan Monaco whipped Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-2. Monaco is rewarded with a second-round match against world No. 1 superstar Novak Djokovic.

Last year, Federer defeated the four-time runner-up Djokovic in the finale to become the first player in the Open Era to win five Cincinnati titles. The only other multiple Cincinnati titlist in this year's field is two-time winner Andy Murray.

The 2013 Cincinnati champ will collect $583,800.

This is the last Masters 1000 event before the U.S. Open, which will commence August 26 in New York.