Sampas's last victory was at the US Open

American Pete Sampras has pulled out of next week's Hamburg Masters prompting speculation that he will not play in the French Open.

The reigning US Open champion has already withdrawn from this week's Rome Masters and he could now miss the Grand Slam event at Roland Garros for the first time in 13 years.

The French Open, which starts on 26 May, is the only Grand Slam to have eluded Sampras. His best result there was the reaching the semifinal in 1996.

Sampras, 31, has not played on ATP tour since his triumph at the US Open last September, when he won a record 14th Grand Slam singles title.

Since then he has taken an extended break from the game, and became a father in November.

"He's still making up his mind on what he wants to do with his tennis, and the way these tournaments are set up he has to withdraw each time," an ATP spokesman said last week when Sampras withdrew from Italian Open.

The seven-time Wimbledon champion was granted a wild card for the London grass-court tournament in June at Queen's Club the traditional warm-up tournament for the All-England Championships.

Some observers believe Sampras will bid farewell to tennis at Wimbledon.