13^th August, 2000

I’m a big chance for Open

SUGGESTIONS I will definitely miss the US Open and the Olympic Games because of shoulder problems are inaccurate.

It is true that my right shoulder is tired, fatigued and run down, but I give myself a 90 per cent chance of being in decent condition by the US Open at the end of the month and I'll be in even better shape by the time the Olympics come around.

I had to pull out of Cincinnati because of the problem and come back to Bermuda to get treatment, but I've been over this ground before.

There's a bit of confusion about how best to treat the shoulder and I'd love to fly back to Melbourne to see my physio Lyn Watson, but it's not really practical right now. I'm having a local physio in Bermuda working on the shoulder and we're trying a whole range of things so that hopefully I can be right to play in Long Island the week leading into the US Open.

One of the more negative side effects is that my ranking is slipping because I can't defend the points from last year, when I got to the final of Cincinnati, which means I probably won't be seeded at the US Open.

All the players dread having to play a seed - or a dangerous floater for that matter - in the first couple of rounds at a Grand Slam.

If you're seeded, you're guaranteed of not bumping into another seeded player until at least the fourth round so you have time to get into form.

Andre Agassi's problems with his back have shown how fragile things can be at times. He's really struggled physically since the car accident after Wimbledon and he was in obvious pain in Cincinnati.

If everything goes to plan, I'm hopeful of being back in a week and "Rochey" (coach Tony Roche) is thinking about coming over to help me get ready for that tournament if I'm right to go.