Bedene unnerved by past defeats against Muller

Aljaz Bedene admitted he allowed past defeats by Gilles Muller to affect him as his Wimbledon run ended in the third round.

The British No 4 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.

Hesaid:“afteribrokehim 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.”

In another setback for home spectators, Jamie Murray and Brazilian Bruno Soares lost to Australia’s Sam Groth and Swede Robert Lindstedt 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the doubles.