Pete Sampras is a man on a mission as he spearheads the US Davis Cup campaign against Spain this weekend.

With 63 titles and more than 42 million dollars in prize money, the seven-time Wimbledon champion knew he had little to prove when he embarked on his 14th year on the professional tour in January.

But realising that he was no longer guaranteed a slot on finals day at the Grand Slams, Sampras reassessed his options at the end of 2001.

He decided to step back into the Davis Cup fold after turning his back on the US cause for two years and this weekend will lead the team in their quarterfinal tie at the Westside Tennis Club.

Rarely during his career has Sampras dedicated himself so wholeheartedly to the Davis Cup, especially in the early stages of the competition.

Early last year Sampras and

compatriot Andre Agassi completely ruled themselves out of Davis Cup duty in protest at the scheduled format of the Cup, which involves playing up to four rounds of the three-day competition in an already crammed calendar for top players.

But with no new addition to the Sampras trophy cabinet since Wimbledon 2000, the former world number one knows that his best chance of adding any new silverware to his vast collection lies in the team event.

US captain Patrick McEnroe has helped Sampras' cause on this occasion by choosing to play the tie on grass.

It is the surface on which the clay-court-specialist Spaniards -Alex Corretja, Tommy Robredo, Juan Balcells and Alberto Martin -are likely to make the least impact.

Sampras, who is hoping to record his 100th victory on grass, has won over nine times more matches at Wimbledon alone than the entire Spanish team have won between them on grass in their careers.

"The last few years it's been more difficult to get up for certain tournaments and Davis Cup means

something," Sampras, who led the US to their last Davis Cup title in 1995, said earlier this year.

"You dig deep. You're playing for your country."

Winning seven matches in a row to win a major is an uphill task for any 30-year-old, even for Sampras, who has captured 13 Grand Slam titles.

So entering an event where losing a match might not turn out to be so critical is a shrewd move by Sampras.

"I think Davis Cup is a good thing for me at this stage of my career," said Sampras, who has a 15-7 singles record in the Cup.

"I need to feel inspired out there because in the last couple of years there have been moments where, playing certain events, I felt I had a hard time getting going."

Sampras has been welcomed back into the US Davis Cup team -which also includes Andy Roddick, James Blake and Todd Martin -- and McEnroe has made sure that the stage is perfectly set for his principal player to weave his grass-court magic.