Paes faces Bulgarian in Wimbledon qualifier

Shailesh Soni

Indian tennis ace Leander Paes will face Ivaylo Traykov of Bulgaria in the first round of the singles qualifiers at the Wimbledon 2001 championships.

Paes is currently ranked 286 on the ATP rankings and 206 on the ATP Champions Race while Traykov, who is ranked 285 on the ATP rankings and 185 on the ATP Champions Race, will be playing at his first Wimbledon tournament.

Paes is placed in Section 2 of the qualifying draw and a victory in his opening match will pit him against 17th seed Ota Fukarek of the Czech Republic in the second round.

Paes, who will be playing his seventh Wimbledon championship, has never gone past the first round of the main draw. Last year he could not participate because of a wrist injury sustained during the French Open.

Paes last played a singles qualifer at Wimbledon in 1999 and lost to Andre Sa of Brazil in the first round.

Paes, with Bhupathi, had won the doubles, and with Lisa Raymond the mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon in 1999.

Meanwhile, Paes and Bhupathi moved to the second place on the ATP doubles race despite losing in the semi-finals at Queen's Club.

The duo now have 370 points and have earned $1,78,431 as prize-money this year. Bjorkman and Woodbridge lead the race with 614 points.