By Dustin Dow and Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Tuesday's play

MASON - Xavier Malisse didn't chase down many balls or even put much effort into his first set Tuesday against Lleyton Hewitt at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters.

Hewitt took the set 6-3 and looked to be on his way to an easy first-round win.

"I couldn't move my feet," Malisse said. "I noticed I couldn't move too much."

But something changed inside the Belgian in the second set once he broke Hewitt's serve. Malisse's energy level rose while Hewitt's fell, and Malisse, 22, went on to beat the former No. 1 player and Wimbledon champ 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

"Breaking someone and holding your own serve gets you motivated to get back into the match," Malisse said.

Malisse may have had a good reason to be discouraged at first. His draw against Hewitt, No. 6 in the world, marked the third straight time Malisse had to open a tournament against a top-10 player. He lost to Sebastien Grosjean in Los Angeles and Andy Roddick in Canada.

"You can't play every week first round against top-10 guys," Malisse said. "You just got to hope for some more luck in the draws next week.

"You know, the good thing about it is, if you beat a seed, then the draw kind of opens a little bit. Although, in this tournament, every round is pretty tough, I would say."

UPSETS APLENTY: Aside from Malisse's upset, 28th-ranked Feliciano Lopez pulled one of the day's biggest surprises when he defeated No. 10 Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-6 (5).

TOURNEY SPLITS FINE: The tournament will receive half of the $60,000 Andre Agassi was fined for his late withdrawal. The other half goes to the ATP's player benevolence fund, which assists former players who fall on hard times.

Agassi's fine was $60,000 because it was the third event from which he has withdrawn this year, following Monte Carlo and Hamburg.

GOOD COMPANY: When Kim Clijsters became No. 1 in the WTA rankings Monday, it matched the achievement her boyfriend, Hewitt, previously had achieved.

Must be something to this No. 1 attraction. Agassi and Steffi Graf are married, and both have hit No. 1. And in the 1970s, Jimmy Connors once dated Chris Evert, and they also each held the top ranking.

BLAKE DRAWS TWO CROWDS: The James Blake-Todd Martin doubles pairing has become a huge crowd favorite. The popular Americans were the surprise doubles champions here last year, and Tuesday fans so filled Court 4 for their match that many couldn't enter. Several fans went to the top row of the stadium court and turned around to watch from above.

Blake and Martin beat Tommy Robredo and Rainer Schuettler 6-3, 6-4. Blake then went downtown and threw out the first pitch before the Reds-Diamondbacks game at Great American Ball Park.

MUSTER RETURN: Former No. 1 Thomas Muster is considering a return to the Tour. His last tour match was May 24, 1999. Muster won 44 ATP events, 11th on the career list.