updated 2:06 p.m. ET Nov. 28, 2005

LONDON - Instant replay probably will be used at next year’s U.S. Open to resolve disputed line calls.

Tournament committee member Jim Courier put the chances of the Open using the technology at “90 percent,” and said implementation of the replay is overdue in the sport.

“I think that’s what we need to do to catch tennis up to the rest of the world of sport,” he said Monday. “This is a step in the right direction.”

Courier, a four-time Grand Slam champion, will be one of the first players to have access this week to “Hawk-Eye” technology during the Champions Tour’s season-ending event at Royal Albert Hall.

Hawk-Eye uses cameras to track a tennis ball’s trajectory to help check disputed line calls. It’s been used in television broadcasts but not as an officiating aid.

“I’m a big proponent of Hawk-Eye,” Courier said. “I think it’s a wonderful addition, not only for the players, but more importantly for the fans.”

The Hopman Cup next month in Perth, Australia, will become the first elite event to use Hawk-Eye. Courier joined the U.S. Open committee last year and is pushing for Hawk-Eye to be used by umpires at the final Grand Slam of the year.

The International Tennis Federation approved the latest version of Hawk-Eye after testing this month. The ATP and WTA tours are looking into which tournaments might use electronic line-calling and the specifics of what the rules will be.

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Courier, who retired from tournament tennis at 29 in 2000, doesn’t expect all players to like Hawk-Eye.

“Roger (Federer) has said unequivocally that he doesn’t want Hawk-Eye, he doesn’t want to change anything, but if you’re playing as well as he is, you don’t want to change your socks, your underwear, your girlfriend, your agent, anything,” Courier said.

Among those joining Courier in the tournament here will be Sergi Bruguera, Pat Cash, Henri Leconte, Cedric Pioline and Mats Wilander. John McEnroe is in doubt with severe stomach flu, while Goran Ivanisevic withdrew to join Croatia’s squad in the Davis Cup final against Slovakia.

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