Sampras agrees to play Australian Open warm-up

Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras will begin his campaign for a third Australian Open by contesting the Kooyong Colonial Classic in Melbourne.

The former world number one confirmed his participation in the invitation-only event on Thursday, a week after his fellow American Andre Agassi announced he would also play.

"Pete's inclusion in the Colonial Classic, in my view, provides us with the best and most interesting field to date," tournament director Colin Stubs said in a statement.

The man who beat Sampras in this year's U.S. Open final, Russian Marat Safin, has also signed up to play the classic along with Olympic champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Wimbledon finalist Patrick Rafter, Swede Thomas Enqvist and Germany's Nicolas Kiefer.

There is only one place left in the eight-man field for the four-day tournament which runs from January 10 to 13 and Stubs said he was hoping to lure Spanish Davis Cup player Juan Carlos Ferrero to the fold.

The Australian Open, which Sampras won in 1994 and 1997, is scheduled for January 15-28.