Michael Chang received a wild card on Thursday to play in the US Open, allowing the youngest grand slam winner to bring down the curtain on his career in front of a home crowd.

The 31-year-old American's last appearance at Flushing Meadow is sure to be the emotional highlight of the season's final grand slam, which last year ended with Pete Sampras beating Andre Agassi in the final.

Chang shocked the tennis world in 1989 when he captured the French Open aged 17 years and three months.

Once ranked number two, Chang's ranking has slipped outside the top 100 and he has been reduced to playing challengers. In January he announced he would retire after the US Open, which starts on August 25.

Chang, famed for his never-say-die attitude, reached three other grand slam singles finals, including the US Open in 1996. He represented the United States at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

Other Americans to be awarded men's single wild cards include Brian Baker, Alex Bogomolov Jr, Amer Delic, Robert Kendrick, Alex Kim, Jeff Morrison and Robert Yim.

Although he has not officially announced his retirement, Sampras has not returned to competitive tennis since his stunning win over Agassi, his 14th grand slam title.

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