Sampras, who needed intensive treatment to a back injury during and after his three-set victory over Frenchman Jerome Golmard in the third-round of the $ 2.25 million event, said: ``We need to cut the number of tournaments and have a little bit more time off for the guys. Rafter pulling out of the championships in Hanover is not good for the game. He won the US Open and he was up for number one. Now he's physically and mentally done.''

Sampras, who plays Briton Greg Rusedski in the final tonight added: ``It never ends. You never feel like the season is over. A couple of weeks after Hanover Christmas comes around and you start making flight arrangements for Australia.''

``Most tennis players are done by the age of 29 or 30. If I want to play this game for a lot of years, I certainly need to have more ofa break.''Sampras, under serious threat from Marcelo Rios of Chile as he bids to become the first player in history to top the rankings for a sixth consecutive year, admitted: ``The problem is that guys like to play a lot of tennis. There's a lot of bread to be made out there.''

``I bitch and moan about the schedule all of the time and say there should be more of a break.''

Asked why top players didn't unite to try to solve the problem, Sampras shrugged: ``You can't get the top players together on anything. You can't get them in the same room - let alone agree on something.''