Marathaon man Davydenko shown the door in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI, Aug 14 (Reuters) Nikolay Davydenko became the first major victim at the Cincinnati Masters tennis tournament when he tumbled out 6-4 2-6 6-2 to Juan Ignacio Chela in the first round today.

Shortly before rain interrupted play, Chela sent the Russian number five seed to a second consecutive first-round hardcourt defeat in the wake of a clay title won last month at Sopot, Poland.

Marathon man Davydenko has played in 24 of a possible 25 tournaments this season and has posted a 44-22 record.

Argentine Chela, who broke his opponent four times, advanced into a second-round contest against Vince Spadea of the U.S. or Italian Andreas Seppi, both qualifiers.

Marcos Baghdatis, a 2006 Australian Open finalist and the newest member of the world's top 10, knocked out 2002 Melbourne champion Thomas Johansson of Sweden 7-6 7-6.

''It's been an amazing year for me. The only thing is that I need to win a tournament,'' Cypriot Baghdatis told reporters.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are due to resume their rivalry as the leading seeds, with Federer defending the title after winning in Toronto at the weekend.

Reuters PDS VP0200