Tennis: Wilkinson eyes No 1 position

CHRIS WILKINSON, one of several British men who distinguished themselves at Wimbledon, kept the pressure on the British No 1, Jeremy Bates, when he reached the second round of the Bristol Challenger Trophy at Redland Green, Bristol, yesterday.

Wilkinson, who could move ahead of the 129th-ranked Bates in the world rankings if he does better than his rival this week, defeated Thomas Gollwitzer, of Germany, 6-2, 7-5 in 78 minutes.

However, the 23-year-old from Southampton, who advanced to the third round at Wimbledon, said the prospect of taking over at the top of the British rankings was not crucial.

'My real aim is get into the top 100 in the world rankings and that will probably make me No 1 and that would be great,' said Wilkinson who is ranked 131 at the moment.