British duo rest in preparation for US Open

Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski are taking no chances with their fitness before next week's US Open, the first-round draw for which pitted them both against qualifiers yesterday. Rusedski, who won the RCA Championships in Indianapolis on Sunday, has withdrawn from the TD Waterhouse Cup in Long Island due to blisters on his feet and will rest before the start of the Open on Monday.

Henman is confident he will have recovered from the shoulder injury that forced him to withdraw from Indianapolis. "I had my first hit and I felt no pain at all," said Henman, who is the fifth seed at Flushing Meadows. "Obviously it was only a gentle hit but I'm confident that I can gradually build up the amount I play and be ready in time."

Pete Sampras remains optimistic of winning the U.S. Open despite suffering a 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 defeat against Paul-Henri Mathieu in the second round of the Hamlet Cup in Long Island on Tuesday.

"You have to remember who I am and where I'm playing next week," the 13-times grand slam winner said. "The US Open is where you shine, and that is where I hope to shine.

"I'm not the man to beat like I once was – Lleyton Hewitt has taken that role. But I'm still one of the favourites. The days of me dominating and being No 1 are probably over. My goal is to win another major and, hopefully, destiny will be on my side at the Open."

He has not reached the quarter-finals of any event since the final of the US men's claycourt championships in May and has not won a title since Wimbledon in 2000.

* Boris Becker and Michael Stich will play each other on Sunday in Berlin in a re-match of the 1991 Wimbledon final when Becker fell to his fellow German. All 7,000 tickets for Sunday's exhibition match have been sold.