World No.71 Aljaz Bedene found an unlikely source of inspiration to get him through his first round match at Wimbledon on Monday.
The Slovenian player battled his way past British No.3 Cameron Norrie 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 6-4. Firing 17 aces and producing 44 winners to only 21 unforced errors. Rewarding the 28-year-old only his fourth main draw win at the All England Club in his entire career and his first in a grand slam this season.
“To be fair, it didn’t start well.” Said Bedene. “Conditions were a little bit tricky. Trickier than previous days. It was windy. Sun was terrible from the side (of the court), and I didn’t feel comfortable at all, really.
“I wasn’t hitting the ball well. But I did fight, so that’s important.”
During the tense encounter Bedene almost lost his temper over a series of controversial calls made by the lines judges. Playing on Court 14, there is no hawk-eye system in place to address any doubts raised by the players. Bedene said afterwards that he was able to keep control of his emotions thanks to English football captain Harry Kane. Saying that he has been impressed and inspired by Kane’s conduct during the World Cup.
“When [Kane] gets bad calls he’s still focused. He’s the type of player who just sticks to what he knows best. He doesn’t go against the referees. He accepts the mistakes.” Bedene said during his press conference.
“Against Tunisia he was pulled down and he stayed calm. I would freak out, because it was an important moment. I kept calm, which was good, although it wasn’t easy, because most of the things went against me.”
Bedene has said that he will be wearing Kane’s England shirt during his training session on Tuesday. England will play Colombia later today for a place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. When pressed further about why he is such a big supporter of Kane, Bedene has tipped him to reach the pinnacle of football.
“He’s just so skilled, strong. I think he’s going to be one of the best soon.” He said.
Bedene will play either Pablo Carreno Busta or Radu Albot in the second round at Wimbledon.
