Toronto champion Shelton to start Cincy
World number seven Shelton arrived in the American Midwest on a private jet after winning his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto on Thursday night and will make his start after a first-round bye in the final major tune-up before the US Open begins on August 25.
The 47th-ranked Ugo Carabelli dominated 2014 US Open finalist Nishikori as the former top Asian in tennis succumbed to 42 unforced errors and lost serve five times.
The Japanese player was competing for the first time since retiring injured at Geneva in mid-May.
Ugo Carabelli has played his best on clay, reaching four semi-finals on the dirt this season.
As Cincinnati fifth seed and with confidence still strong, the 22-year-old Shelton could be a formidable contender for a pre-Open title double.
"I hope that this (Toronto) week kick starts me and gets me more consistent with the type of tennis that I want to play day-in and day-out," he said in Canada.
"It's certainly going to push me to work harder. I feel like I have a good grasp now on the things that really work for me against guys who are playing some of the best tennis in the world, and the things that I need to continue to work on."
Back-to-back events running 12 days each might be a fitness wild card as the bloated schedules of the ATP-WTA tournaments become commonplace.
Fellow top 10 players including Novak Djokovic -- who is skipping Cincinnati -- Alex de Minaur and world number one Jannik Sinner have all come out in favor of the old school one-week tournament format.
Borna Coric, who was ranked 152nd when he won the title in 2022, fell at the first hurdle, a 6-3, 7-5 victim of American qualifier Emilio Nava.
Coric has lost all six of his ATP-level matches in 2025, winning his last in December at the United Cup in Australia.
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