Tennis: Chang says rivals will play: American believes Sampras and Courier will play in US Open

MICHAEL CHANG said yesterday that he did not expect either Pete Sampras or Jim Courier to miss the United States Open, which starts on 29 August at the Flushing Meadow, New York, despite reports that they might not play.

Sampras, who has already won the Australian and Wimbledon titles this year and is the defending champion, has not played since injuring a foot against the Netherlands in a Davis Cup quarter-final match four weeks ago while Courier has said that he is to quit the circuit.

'I really think under the circumstances Pete will play,' Chang said. 'Last year, at Wimbledon, Pete was considering pulling out with a shoulder injury and instead he played and won it.'

Courier has found it a struggle every time he has played this year. The former world No 1 is now 10th in the world and has not won a tournament this year.

His mounting frustration erupted on Tuesday when, after being beaten by Alex Corretja, of Spain, in the second round at Indianapolis, Courier announced he would stop playing for an indefinite period.

'Every player goes through ups and down and obviously he's frustrated,' Chang said. 'Jim might be feeling a bit different today'.