Bhupathi-Bopanna seeded 6th in French Open

Paris: India's Mahesh Bhupathi and his partner Rohan Bopanna have been seeded sixth in the men's doubles draw of the French Open while Leander Paes and his new partner Alexander Peya will start as the seventh seeds.

Bhupathi and Bopanna, looking to get into the top-10 of the doubles rankings before the June 11 cut-off date for the London Olympics, face the French pair of Marc Gicquel and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the first round at Roland Garros. Bopanna and Bhupati are 12th and 13th in the latest ATP rankings.

Seventh-ranked Paes pairs up with Austria's Peya in the absence of regular partner Radek Stepanek. They meet Italy's Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini in the opening round Wednesday.

Fifteenth seeds Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands play Argentina's Gisela Dulko and Paola Suarez in the women's doubles first round beginning Tuesday. The Indo-American duo won the Brussels Open Sunday.

Sania reached the final here in 2011 with Russia's Elena Vesnina. (IANS)