Paris: Battling to be in the top 10 before the June 11 cut-off mark for the London Olympics, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna were drawn against the French team of Marc Gicquel and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in their men's doubles opening round of the French Open.
Bopanna and Bhupathi, ranked 12th and 13th respectively, need to be in top 10 to make a direct entry into the men's doubles event of the London Olympics.
A top-10 player has the liberty to choose his partner, irrespective of his ranking, for the competition, although the final decision is taken by the national association.
Meanwhile, Leander Paes, who is ranked seven, will play at the clay court Grand Slam with Austrian player Alexander Peya. They have been seeded seventh and will open their campaign against the Italian combination of Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini.
Paes' regular partner for the season Radek Stepanek is skipping the second major tournament of the calender due to some prior commitments.
Meanwhile, in the women's double draw, Sania Mirza and her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands, the winners of the Brussels Open last week, have been seeded 15th. They will open their campaign against the Argentine pair of Gisela Dulko and Paola Suarez.
Sania, world number 10 in doubles, was a runner-up here last season with Russian partner Elena Vesnina.
Comments
0 comment