BY MICHAEL PERRY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON -- All the preliminaries are over.
The Seniors Championship? The qualifying tournament? Done. Now it's time for the main event: The main draw for the 1998 Great American Insurance ATP Championship begins today.
Let's get ready to . . . well, you know how it goes.
Just about all the big names are here.
Marcelo Rios is No. 1 in the world as of today. Pete Sampras is the top seed and defending champion. Two-time champ Andre Agassi is one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour. Patrick Rafter is coming off a victory Sunday in the final of the du Maurier Open in Toronto. Here's a look at some of today's top matchups:
Tommy Haas vs. Jim Courier (about 3 p.m., Center Court): The always popular Courier, ranked No. 71, has a tough first-round draw in No. 41 Haas, a young German star.
Vince Spadea vs. Justin Gimelstob (about 1 p.m., Court 3): Two of America's top young guns go at it.
Alex Corretja vs. Alex O'Brien (about 1 p.m., Center Court): At No. 10, Corretja is the highest-ranked player competing in singles today. O'Brien, from the United States, is No. 143 and got a wild card into the draw.
Todd Martin vs. Fabrice Santoro (7 p.m., Center Court): No. 30 vs. No. 29. Should be a good one.
Petr Korda-Marcelo Rios vs. David Adams-Fernon Wibier (about 9 p.m., Center Court): Rios and Korda, No. 3 before today's new ranking, team up for the first time.
Also in action today, one of the youngest U.S. standouts, Jan-Michael Gambill, who plays at about 1 p.m. against qualifier Olivier Delaitre on the Grandstand Court.
Agassi will play Tuesday against Nicolas Kiefer; Sampras probably won't go until Wednesday.
