2nd January, 2000

Shoulder dashes Open singles hopes

My shoulder continues to improve, but I have virtually ruled out playing singles at this month's Australian Open.

The Melbourne tournament organisers are holding a wildcard for me, but I can not see myself playing.

The bottom line is I will not play unless I feel I am 100 percent. I do not want to play if it means risking further damage to the shoulder.

At the moment nothing has changed with the shoulder and everything else is 100 percent. I am feeling fit and hitting my ground strokes really well, but I have only been able to serve a little bit.

I will go to Adelaide this week to train with all the boys and continue my build-up, but I will not be rushing back into it.

I have talked to Wayne Arthurs about playing doubles at next week's Adidas International in Sydney, but that will only happen if I'm 100 percent.

I would also love to be able to play doubles at the Australian Open.

I'm doing everything I can to get the shoulder right because it's not the type of injury you want to muck around with. The consequences of aggravating it are pretty severe.

If my shoulder continues to improve, I would love to go to Zurich for the first-round of the Davis Cup against Switzerland and spend the week practising with the boys.

IF you had to pick five players you thought would do well at the Australian Open in a fortnight, it would be hard to go past Aussies Lleyton Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis, and Americans Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Todd Martin.

Hewitt and Philippoussis pick themselves after their performances last season and they are on the cusp of something really good at Grand Slam level.

Sampras and Agassi won majors last year and have won in Australia before, so you know they can handle the conditions.

They are the players you always know are going to be around the place and they have proven themselves over the years.

One guy who could really come to the fore is Todd Martin. He has been in the Aussie Open final before and pushed Agassi over five sets in the US Open final last year.

At his best, he can beat anybody.

The men's circuit starts in Adelaide tomorrow at the AAPT Championships and the Aussie boys will be keen to get the title back from Thomas Enqvist.

Lleyton would obviously love to win in Adelaide again, as would Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge.

Recent history suggests winners in the first tournaments of a new season are generally in the running by the time the last week of the Australian Open rolls around.

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