Boris Becker has withdrawn from next week's US Open after the death of his adviser and close friend Axel Meyer-Woelden. The 29-year-old Becker, a former world number one and winner of the 1990 US Open, had been expected to make his final appearance in a Grand Slam event at the Open, which starts next Monday. Meyer-Woelden, one of Germany's most influential sports managers, died of liver cancer on Monday in Munich. He was 56. Becker, who had close personal and business ties with MeyerWoelden, first cancelled his trip to Boston, where he was scheduled to play Brazilian Fernando Meligeni on Tuesday night at a US Open tune-up event.

Becker's withdrawal from the Open means that his emotional farewell to Wimbledon last July was probably his last appearance in a Grand Slam tournament.