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Bedene & Muller cross paths again in Wimbledon third round

Jake Davies
Tennis

 

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By Jake Davies

  • Aljaz Bedene vs Gilles Muller [16]
LONDON, UK – Aljaz Bedene kicks off a great day with four British players in action, as he takes on Gilles Muller for a spot in the Wimbledon fourth round.

 

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Aljaz Bedene vs Gilles Muller [16] H2H: Muller leads 2-0

Four British players are into the third round of Wimbledon for the first time in 20 years and one of those players exceeding his own expectations this week is Aljaz Bedene, who has had quite the adventure thus far.

In the first round Ivo Karlovic took Bedene to the limit, where they battled until 8-6 in the deciding set, where just one break settled the match. That was the first surprising step in the right direction for Bedene, who does usually play his better tennis away from the grass courts, but has had ideal preparation on the grass this time around. He then dispatched of Damir Dzumhur in four sets in the second round and now will face the in-form, serve and volleyer Gilles Muller for a place in the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.

They played each other in the quarter-finals of s-Hertogenbosch a few weeks ago, where Muller went on to win the match in three sets, but looking back on that result and that performance, there are plenty of reasons why Bedene will feel more confident about playing Muller once more.

Muller has the pressure. He is expected to accomplish greater things on this surface. He is playing at a career-high and has just won a title in s-Hertogenbosch, while Bedene really has nothing to lose against the higher-ranked Muller and can go into this third round match swinging away freely.

It is a lot harder for serve and volleyers to maintain that game plan throughout the course of a match and the whole of a tournament, but Muller is one of the rare examples of players that can execute that game plan to perfection at times.

I think Muller will progress to his first Wimbledon fourth round, but it will be thoroughly interesting to see if Bedene keeps the match as close and competitive as the quarter-final in Netherlands.

Prediction: Muller in four sets

 

Who is Bedene playing? Gilles Muller (LUX) [16]
Head to Head? Muller leads 2-0
What time is Bedene playing & where? No. 2 Court, 11:30am BST
Where/How to watch Bedene’s match? BBC & Eurosport | Tennis on UK TV