Bedene: Past Muller losses haunted me
ALJAZ Bedene admitted he allowed past defeats to Gilles Muller to affect him as his Wimbledon run ended in the third round.
The British number four had hoped to kick off a big day for the home nation by upsetting 16th seed Muller but was beaten 7-6 (7/4) 7-5 6-4.
Muller is one of the trickiest opponents on grass with his big lefty serve and touch at the net, and he ultimately proved just too strong for Bedene.
It was their second meeting on grass in a month, with Muller also winning a close match in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, and Bedene struggled to silence his inner doubts after missing the chance to go 3-0 up in the second set.
He said: “The first set was quite close. Even though I lost it, I still believed I could win.
“But after I broke him with a great lob, I had a few game points for 3-0, and lost it. It wasn’t easy to get back after that.
“I lost twice to Gilles before today. My mood changed. Although I was fighting, there was a bit of doubt in it, maybe it’s not the day today to win.
“But he’s a great grass-court player. It’s not easy to play against him. I didn’t find my style today. So I need to learn from that to get my style on the court against anyone.”
Muller and Bedene found themselves at adjoining tables at the Sticks’n’Sushi restaurant in Wimbledon Village on Thursday evening and there was very little to separate them again in the first two sets.
Bedene recovered from a break down in the opener and saved two set points to force a tie-break but Muller, who served a whole game of aces at 5-5, proved just the stronger.
Had Bedene held on to his break at the start of the second, things might have turned out differently, but he took a nasty tumble chasing down a drop shot and Muller broke back.
The condition of the courts has been a hot topic at the All England Club, with Kristina Mladenovic particularly critical of Court 18. Bedene had some problems with Court Two, saying: “Specifically on that game when I was serving to go 3-0 up, I think I fell twice.
“I started to feel my hip again, which is never good. It was a little bit slippery. I don’t know if was it because of the shoes. I guess it was slippery to everyone.”