Pistol Pete guns for hat-trick

Nicknamed Pistol Pete, the top-seeded Sampras, a dominant figure in the sport this year, is gunning for his 11th Grand Slam title, which would place him just one behind the record of 12 held by Australian Roy Emerson. He opens against a qualifier.

The American is also aiming to win three Grand Slams in a calendar year for the first time, having already won the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten is the only other player apart from Sampras to have won a Grand Slam this year, scoring a memorable triumph in the French Open.

Sampras is seeded to meet fellow American Michael Chang in the final, but Chang has a less — than — impressive record in recent major tournaments.Croatian Goran Ivanisevic, who could meet Sampras in the semis, is likely to prove a bigger stumbling block if he advances that far, but the big-serving Croatian’s temperament can be suspect on the big stage and he has never won a Grand Slam singles title.

Two unseeded Americans, Andre Agassi and Jim Courier, loom as dangerous floaters in the draw. Both are former World No 1s and Agassi won the title as recently as 1994.

The moody Agassi, coming back into form after a dismal start to the year, will play compatriot Steve Campbell in his opener and could meet No 3 seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia in a third-round match-up of mouth-watering potential.

Agassi has missed the opening three Slams of the year, while Courier, an equally unpredictable character, has seen his world ranking slip to 26 but remains capable of beating anyone ranked in the top 10.

Britain’s hopes of success have been boosted by recent triumphs by Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski, while Australia has hopes of its rising stars Mark Philippoussis and Pat Rafter.

Canadian-born Rusedski faces American David Wheaton in the opening round, while Henman has a potentially disastrous first round meeting with fifth-seeded Thomas Muster of Austria.

Swiss teen prodigy Martina Hingis is a warm favourite for the women’s singles title having won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year. She also reached the French Open final, where she lost to talented Croatian Iva Majoli, and last year’s US Open winner Steffi Graf is out injured.

Hingis’ rivals will include second seed Monica Seles, Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic, Majoli and the infuriatingly-inconsistent French player Mary Pierce.

MAYOR MIFFED: The first day of the US Open will also be marked by the dedication of a new Centre Court complex, built at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. There appears to be bad blood, though at City Hall, with New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani reportedly refusing to attend the ceremonies.

The Mayor, no fan of what he may feel is an elitist game, is reportedly angry about a clause inserted in the contract between the American Tennis Federation and the city which requires New York to pay a penalty for any airplanes from nearby Laguardia airport which may accidentally fly over the tennis grounds during the tennis fortnight.

The previous Mayor, Davind Dinkins was a keen tennis fan who never missed a chance to attend the Open for days on end. The current contract was negotiated during his administration.