Wimbledon 2017: Heather Watson and Aljaz Bedene beaten in third round
| Wimbledon 2017 on the BBC |
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| Venue: All England Club Dates: 3-16 July Starts: 11:30 BST |
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Britain’s Wimbledon singles hopes were reduced to two players after Heather Watson and Aljaz Bedene both lost in the third round.
Watson, 25, went down 3-6 6-1 6-4 on Centre Court to Victoria Azarenka, the Belarusian making her Grand Slam return after giving birth in December.
Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller, the 16th seed, beat Bedene 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 6-4 on court two to reach the fourth round.
Andy Murray and Johanna Konta are also in action on Friday.
Four British players reached the third round of Wimbledon for the first time since 1997.
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In-form Muller too strong for Bedene
Bedene had high hopes of reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time, but Muller’s grass-court pedigree proved too much for the British number four.
Muller is enjoying the best season of his career at 34 years old and went into the match with a 10-1 record on grass, including a win over Bedene last month.
The pair shared breaks of serve before Muller edged the tie-break, and he recovered from 2-0 down to take the second after breaking with a forehand winner.
Muller grabbed the decisive break at 3-2 in the third and ended the match with 19 aces and 21 winners at the net.
He will face two-time champion Rafael Nadal or Karen Khachanov in the last 16 on Monday.