WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin, winners of the last two U.S. Opens, head the men's field for the season's final Grand Slam tournament. <br>
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Hewitt of Australia and Safin of Russia, both won their Open finals against Pete Sampras, who has not won a tournament since Wimbledon in 2000, when he captured his record 13th Grand Slam title. <br>
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Sampras, a four-time winner at the Open, is ranked No. 16, behind fellow Americans Andre Agassi (No. 6), who won the Open in 1994 and 1999, and Andy Roddick (No. 12). <br>
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The U.S. Open is Aug. 26-Sept. 8 at the National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. <br>
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The 21-year-old Hewitt who finished 2001 as the youngest player to earn the year-end No. 1 ranking, won his second career major title at Wimbledon. He also defeated Roddick in a memorable five-setter in the Open quarterfinals last year. <br>
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The Open field has 12 players who have won Grand Slam tournaments, including current French Open champion Albert Costa of Spain and current Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson of Sweden. <br>
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The rankings from the 52-week ATP Tour Entry System as of July 15 are used to determine entry for 104 players in the Open. Sixteen more players will gain entry through qualifying rounds Aug. 20-23, while the remaining eight spots are wild-card entries awarded by the United States Tennis Association. <br>
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The tournament draw is Aug. 21. The winner will earn a record $900,000.
