Aljaž Bedene

Aljaž Bedene
Country (sports)  Great Britain (2015–)
 Slovenia (2008–15)
Residence Welwyn Garden City, UK
Born (1989-07-18) 18 July 1989
Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned pro 2008
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach(es) Igor Rorič
Dirk Hordorff
Claudio Pistolesi
James Davidson (2014-2016)
Leon Smith (2016)
Prize money $1,633,238
Official website aljazbedene.si/en/
Singles
Career record 51–69
Career titles 0
11 Challenger, 5 Futures
Highest ranking No. 45 (16 November 2015)
Current ranking No. 101 (7 November 2016)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 1R (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
French Open 3R (2016)
Wimbledon 2R (2015)
US Open 2R (2015)
Doubles
Career record 13–27
Career titles 0
1 Challenger, 2 Futures
Highest ranking No. 127 (7 October 2013)
Current ranking No. 254 (24 October 2016)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 1R (2016)
French Open 2R (2013)
Wimbledon 1R (2013, 2015)
US Open 1R (2015)
Team competitions
Davis Cup 2–1 (singles)
Last updated on: 26 October 2016.

Aljaž Bedene (born 18 July 1989) is a British tennis player who represented Slovenia until 2015. He is the current British No 4.[1]

He has won five Futures and nine Challenger singles titles. In doubles he has won one Challenger title and two Futures titles. His highest ranking is No. 45 in singles (achieved on 16 November 2015), and No. 127 in doubles (achieved on 7 October 2015).

He represented Slovenia when he turned pro in 2008. On 31 March 2015, Bedene was granted UK citizenship and now represents Great Britain,[2] but the International Tennis Federation has rejected his application to represent Great Britain in the Davis Cup as he had previously played three dead rubbers for Slovenia.[3][4] Bedene is considering whether to take further steps.[5]

Early and personal life

Bedene's father, Branko, is a dental industry worker and his mother is Darlen. Their house in Ljubljana overlooks hills, vineyards and forests of the Lower Carniola area. Alijaz and his younger twin brother, Andraz used to compete for Slovenia’s top tennis honours, virtually from the days they first picked up plastic rackets in the family living room and used Branko’s briefcase as a net. The two top seeds would meet regularly in competition finals. Their father struggled to tell them apart to such an extent he called them both Andraljaz. His nickname is Ali or Benke, and he speaks English, Slovenian and Croatian. Andraz Bedene is a former ATP tour player.[6]

Then in 2008, Aljaz made the decision to pursue his tennis career in England because he felt it was stagnating under the artificial limitations he encountered in Slovenia. He ended a seven-year wait to become a British citizen on March 31, 2015, and immediately became British no. 2 behind Andy Murray.

Aljaz has lived in Welwyn Garden City since 2008 with his girlfriend, pop star Kimalie, formerly part of the Slovenian group “Foxy Teens”. The pair have become protégés of Hertfordshire tennis captain Jeff Wayne, the composer of “War of the Worlds”. Bedene is based at the Global Tennis Connections Academy in Gosling.[7] [8]

Instead of tennis, Bedene could have been a ski-jumper, and was jumping off the 60m run within weeks of taking up the sport. [9] Bedene supports Chelsea F.C.,[10] Real Madrid C.F. and basketball team Union Olimpija.[11]

Career

2011

Not counting the Davis Cup competition, he competed in his first ever ATP tournament at Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria. He reached the second round where he lost in three sets against Tommy Haas.

2012

Bedene made his first ever ATP quarterfinal appearance at the Erste Bank Open. In the quarterfinal he played against No. 2 seed Janko Tipsarević and lost after retiring in the second set.[12]

2013

Bedene made his first ever ATP semifinal appearance at the Aircel Chennai Open defeating the No. 6 seed Robin Haase in the 2R and the No. 4 seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the QF. In the semifinal he lost against No. 2 seed Janko Tipsarević despite winning the first set.[13]

At the Australian Open he played in his first Grand Slam tournament. He won the first set, but eventually lost in four against Benjamin Becker in the 1st round.

At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells he played in the main draw of the ATP Masters 1000 series for the first time in his career. He lost in the 1st round against Fabio Fognini.

At the Miami Masters he reached the 2nd round of the Masters 1000 series for the first time in his career. He lost in three close sets against Andreas Seppi.

At the French Open he played his second Grand Slam tournament. He lost in the 1st round to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, only winning 7 games. In Men's Doubles partnering Grega Žemlja they lost against Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi/Jean-Julien Rojer in the 2nd round.At Wimbledon he played his third Grand Slam tournament. Partnering Grega Žemlja in doubles they lost in four sets against Sanchai Ratiwatana/Sonchat Ratiwatana in the 1st round. This was the first Slovene Men's Doubles performance in Wimbledon.At the US Open he played in his fourth Grand Slam tournament. He lost in four sets in the 1st round against Dmitry Tursunov.

In November, Bedene who is based at the Global Tennis Connections Academy in Gosling, surprised everyone, not least his opponents, by helping his adopted team, Hertfordshire, win the County Cup.[7]

2014

Bedene made the quarterfinals of the 2014 Aircel Chennai Open, where he was defeated by Stanislas Wawrinka, winning only three games in the match.

At the Australian Open, he lost in the 1st round against lucky loser Stephane Robert in straight sets. He defeated Robert at the Royal Guard Open, but lost to Fabio Fognini in 2nd round.

Following a 1st round loss in the Copa Claro, he had to play qualification in the Rio Open. He defeated José Pereira and Diego Schwartzman, setting up a rematch against Fabio Fognini. He lost in three sets, but after a very big fight. After a very fast loss at the Brasil Open, he made his first appearance at a 3rd round in a Masters 1000 tournament at the Sony Open Tennis, where he defeated Wayne Odesnik, Tobias Kamke, Jimmy Wang and Vasek Pospisil, but lost to Benjamin Becker. He played in three tournaments on the ATP Challenger Tour. He lost in the 1st round at St. Brieuc and Vercelli. He made a semifinal appearance at Mersin.

On 9 May, it was announced that Bedene had applied for a British passport,[7] with legal support from the Lawn Tennis Association.[11]

At Wimbledon, he lost in the 1st round as lucky loser to Kevin Anderson in straight sets. At the final grand slam of the year, the US Open, he failed to get past qualification, losing in Q3 against Peter Gojowczyk in three sets.

2015

Starting the year in 2015 Aircel Chennai Open, after passing over the qualifying round, Bedene reached the semifinals by defeating Lukáš Lacko, second seed Feliciano López and fifth seed Guillermo García López. In the semifinal, he stormed past the third seed and his good friend Roberto Bautista Agut in three sets. With this impressive win, he made his first ATP final, but lost to Stan Wawrinka in straight sets.

At the Australian Open, Bedene faced world no. 1 Novak Djokovic in the first round, but lost in straight sets.

On 26 March, Bedene, the world no 83, was granted UK citizenship and immediately became British No 2 behind Andy Murray. Bedene said he planned to appeal against a new rule which prevents players from ever representing more than one country in Davis Cup. Bedene played three dead rubbers for Slovenia in Davis Cup action in 2010, 2011 and 2012.[2]

Bedene claimed his first title as a British citizen after overcoming Pablo Andujar, to clinch the Liverpool Hope University International Tennis Tournament on 21 June.[14][15] This was an exhibition tournament with a round robin format.

At the French Open, he lost in the opening round to Dominic Thiem in four sets.[16]

On 30 May, the International Tennis Federation announced that Bedene would not be allowed to represent Great Britain in the Davis Cup, in response to the Lawn Tennis Association who had appealed against a rule brought in on January 1, forbidding players from representing two nations in the competition. Bedene's case had been based on his passport application being submitted before the new regulation was implemented.[17]

On 22 June, Bedene secured a first-round win at the Aegon Open in Nottingham, to record his first victory in an ATP tour match as a British player, eventually losing in the second round.[18]

At Wimbledon, Bedene won his first-round match against former World No. 8 Radek Štěpánek in five sets. This was Bedene's first win at Wimbledon, as well as his first win in a grand slam main draw. In the second round, he lost in four sets against Viktor Troicki, despite breaking the Serbian twice in the first set and winning the second.[19]

At the German Open, Bedene defeated Daniel Gimeno-Traver and third seed Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the quarter finals, where he lost to eighth seeded Fabio Fognini. Bedene's next tournament was the Winston-Salem Open, where he defeated Italian qualifier Marco Cecchinato in straight sets to book a meeting with Gilles Simon.[20] Bedene beat Simon in 3 sets, all of which went to a tiebreak. Bedene later described the match as his "best win".[21] However, he lost his next match 3-6, 0-6, to Pierre-Hugues Herbert

The next Grand Slam for Bedene was the US Open. In the first round, his opponent Ernests Gulbis retired after Bedene had won the first two sets, allowing Bedene to reach the second round of the Grand Slam for the first time in his career.[22] In the second round, Bedene won the first set against American Donald Young, before eventually losing the match in four sets.[23]

On 17 November, Bedene and the LTA flew to Prague to appeal for the right of Bedene to play Davis Cup for Great Britain. However, the LTA did not submit a 70-page summary of its support for the player until just before the meeting. The ITF said the hearing of the appeal would be adjourned until the next board meeting on 20-21 March, 2016, so they could consider the document.[24][25][26][27]

2016

The ITF who were meeting in Moldova on 20 March, considered Bedene's appeal to represent Great Britain in Davis Cup. Simultaneously, Bedene was defending his Challenger title in Irving, Texas,[28] but he got up at 5am to argue his case via Skype, with LTA lawyer Stephen Farrow representing him in person in Chisinau. Later that day, Bedene went on to lose the final.[29] However the ITF decided that Bedene was not eligible to represent Great Britain in Davis Cup or the Olympics. Bedene decided to consider seeking a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.[30]

Bedene suffered stress and body pain due to his failed Davis Cup bid, and he only won six of his subsequent 17 matches. In March, he split from his coach James Davidson, but Davis Cup captain, Leon Smith, supervised him at the French Open. [31]

On 27 May, at the French Open, Bedene progressed to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, beating Pablo Carreño Busta in 5 sets, 7-6, 6-3, 4-6, 5-7, 6-2.

Career finals

Singles: 1 (0–1)

Legend
Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (0–1)
Titles by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 11 January 2015 Chennai Open, Chennai, India Hard Switzerland Stan Wawrinka 3–6, 4–6

Challenger and Futures finals

Singles finals: 22 (16–6)

Legend (Singles)
Challengers (11–2)
Futures (5–4)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 7 June 2009 Maribor, Slovenia Clay Slovenia Marko Tkalec 7–5, 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 2. 19 July 2009 Telfs, Austria Clay Austria Johannes Ager 3–6, 6–7(2–7)
Winner 3. 16 August 2009 Piešťany, Slovakia Clay Czech Republic Martin Fafl 6–0, 2–0, ret.
Winner 4. 23 August 2009 Sankt Pölten, Austria Clay France Benoît Paire 6–4, 6–0
Winner 5. 6 September 2009 Wels, Austria Clay Austria Nicolas Reissig 6–1, 6–2
Winner 6. 18 October 2009 Dubrovnik, Croatia Clay Hungary Attila Balázs 6–2, 7–6(13–11)
Winner 7. 15 November 2009 Antalya, Turkey Clay Bosnia and Herzegovina Aldin Šetkić 6–2, 6–1
Runner-up 8. 9 May 2010 Doboj, Bosnia Clay Czech Republic Michal Schmid 7–5, 2–6, 6–7(4–7)
Winner 9. 4 April 2011 Barletta, Italy Clay Italy Filippo Volandri 7–5, 6–3
Runner-up 10. 16 October 2011 Solin, Croatia Clay Netherlands Nick Van Der Meer 6–3, 4–6, 2–6
Winner 11. 4 March 2012 Casablanca, Morocco Clay France Nicolas Devilder 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–4)
Winner 12. 8 April 2012 Barletta, Italy Clay Italy Potito Starace 6–2, 6–0
Winner 13. 16 June 2012 Košice, Slovakia Clay Germany Simon Greul 7–6(7–3), 6–2
Runner-up 14. 22 July 2012 Anning, China Clay Slovenia Grega Žemlja 6–1, 5–7, 3–6
Winner 15. 29 July 2012 Wuhan, China Hard France Josselin Ouanna 6–3, 4–6, 6–3
Winner 16. 12 May 2013 Rome, Italy Clay Italy Filippo Volandri 6–4, 6–2
Winner 17. 15 September 2013 Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina Clay Argentina Diego Schwartzman 6–3, 6–4
Winner 18. 6 July 2014 Todi, Italy Clay Hungary Márton Fucsovics 2-6, 7-6(7-4), 6-4
Winner 19. 22 March 2015 Irving, USA Hard United States Tim Smyczek 7–6(7–3), 3–6, 6–3
Winner 20. 10 May 2015 Rome, Italy Clay Czech Republic Adam Pavlásek 7–5, 6–2
Winner 21. 12 July 2015 Todi, Italy Clay Argentina Nicolas Kicker 7–6(7–3), 6–4
Runner-up 6. 20 March 2016 Irving, USA Hard Spain Marcel Granollers 1–6, 1–6

Doubles finals: 4 (3–1)

Legend (Singles)
Challengers (2)
Futures (2)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. 01-19-2009 Austria F1 Carpet (i) Slovakia Andrej Martin Austria Gerald Melzer
Austria Nicolas Reissig		 6–3, 6–2
Winner 2. 08-17-2009 Austria F7 Clay Slovenia Andraž Bedene Austria Pascal Brunner
Austria Michael Linzer		 6–4, 6–3
Winner 3. 09-18-2011 Ljubljana Clay Slovenia Grega Žemlja Spain Roberto Bautista Agut
Spain Iván Navarro		 6–3, 6–7(10–12), [12–10]
Runner-up 4. 07-06-2013 Portorož Hard Slovenia Blaž Rola Croatia Marin Draganja
Croatia Mate Pavić		 3–6, 6–1, [5–10]

Davis Cup

Singles performances (2–1)

Edition Round Date Against Surface Opponent Win/Lose Result
2010 Europe/Africa Zone Group II 1R 03-07-2010 Norway Norway Hard (I) Norway Stian Boretti Win 6–3, 6–2
2011 Europe/Africa Zone Group I 2R 07-10-2011 Italy Italy Clay Italy Fabio Fognini Lose 2–6, 2–2, ret.
2012 Europe/Africa Zone Group I 1R 02-12-2012 Denmark Denmark Hard (I) Denmark Thomas Kromann Win 6–3, 3–6, 6–4

Singles performance timeline

Tournament2010201120122013201420152016Career W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A A Q2 1R 1R 1R 1R 0–4
French Open A A Q2 1R A 1R 3R 2–3
Wimbledon Q2 A Q1 1R 1R 2R 1R 1–4
US Open A A Q2 1R Q3 2R 1R 1–3
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–4 0–2 2–4 2–4 4–14
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters A A A 1R A Q1 1R 0–2
Miami Masters A A A 2R 3R Q1 2R 4–3
Monte-Carlo Masters A A A A A A 2R 1–1
Madrid Masters A A A A A A A 0–0
Rome Masters A A A A A A 1R 0–1
Canada Masters A A A A A A A 0–0
Cincinnati Masters A A A Q1 A A A 0–0
Shanghai Masters A A A A A A 0–0
Paris Masters A A A A A 2R 1–1
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 2–4 6–8
Statistics
Titles–Finals 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–1
Overall Win–Loss 1–0 1–2 4–4 11–18 5–9 17–17 10–14 49–65
Win % 100% 33% 50% 38% 36% 50% 42% 43%
Year End Ranking 540 165 98 87 145 45 N/A

Head-to-head statistics

Against top-10 players

Bedene's win–loss record against players who have been ranked World No. 10 or higher:

OpponentHighest rankingMatchesWonLostWin %Last match
Germany Tommy Haas 2 1 0 1 0% Lost (6–4, 4–6, 4–6) at 2011 Vienna 1R
Argentina David Nalbandian 3 2 1 1 50% Won (4–6, 6–0, 6–4) at 2013 Acapulco 1R
Russia Nikolay Davydenko 3 1 1 0 100% Won (3–6, 6–4, 6–3) at 2013 Düsseldorf 1R
Switzerland Stanislas Wawrinka 3 3 1 2 33% Lost (3–6, 4–6) at 2015 Chennai F
France Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 5 1 0 1 0% Lost (2–6, 2–6, 3–6) at 2013 French Open 1R
Spain Tommy Robredo 5 1 0 1 0% Lost (1–6, 4–6) at 2013 Umag QF
Serbia Janko Tipsarević 8 2 0 2 0% Lost (6–4, 2–6, 2–6) at 2013 Chennai SF
Total –– 11 3 8 26%
* Statistics correct as of ...

Full list

Bedene's career win–loss record in singles matches on ATP World Tour and Davis Cup Main Draw:

* ATP statistics doesn't include Walkovers (w/o), Qualifying matches, or matches at a Challenger or Futures event, Hopman Cup, or any other fraction of the exhibition event.

19–27

From 7 March 2010 to 12 March 2016

ATP Tour career earnings

YearEarningsMoney list rank
2008 $501 2083
2009 $15,064 520
2010 $9,197 649
2011 $47,033 309
2012 $127,516 185
2013 $321,409 -
2014 $179,860 -
Career* $700,580 N/A
*As of 31–12–2014

References

  1. ↑ "Singles rankings – Great Britain". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Aljaz Bedene: GB to have second top-100 player in men's rankings". BBC Sport. 26 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Aljaz Bedene's Great Britain Davis Cup switch blocked by ITF". BBC Sport Tennis. 30 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans strengthen Davis Cup claims". BT Sport. 15 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Aljaz Bedene: Great Britain's number two fails in Davis Cup appeal". BBC Sport. 23 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "Andraz Bedene". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 "Aljaz Bedene to switch his allegiance to Great Britain". BBC Sport. 9 May 2014.
  8. ↑ "Players". Gosling Tennis Academy. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: British No 2 Aljaz Bedene is out to prove his credentials at Wimbledon". Express. 23 June 2015.
  10. ↑ "Australian Open 2015: Aljaz Bedene, the 'Plastic Brit' who has sights set on Novak Djokovic". Independent. 18 January 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Aljaz Bedene: GB to have second top-100 player in men's rankings". BBC Sport. 26 March 2014.
  12. ↑ "Bedene Makes First ATP Tour Quarter-final in Vienna". globaltennisconnections. 19 October 2012.
  13. ↑ "Janko Tipsarevic into Chennai final". ESPN. 6 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "Aljaz Bedene crowned 2015 Liverpool International Tennis Tournament champion to seal first win as a British citizen". Mail Online. 22 June 2015.
  15. ↑ "2015 Tournament". Liverpool Hope University. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  16. ↑ "French Open 2015: Britain's Aljaz Bedene spirited in defeat". The Guardian. 25 May 2015.
  17. ↑ "Great Britain suffer Davis Cup blow after Aljaz Bedene switch blocked by ITF". Mail Online. 30 May 2015.
  18. ↑ "James Ward and Aljaz Bedene suffer defeats in final Wimbledon warm-up in Nottingham". Mail Online. 23 June 2015.
  19. ↑ "Wimbledon 2015: Aljaz Bedene and James Ward make it a British quartet". The Guardian. 30 June 2015.
  20. ↑ "Aljaz Bedene beats Marco Cecchinato at Winston-Salem". BBC News. 25 August 2015.
  21. ↑ "Aljaz Bedene shocks Gilles Simon in Winston-Salem Open". BBC News. 26 August 2015.
  22. ↑ "US Open: Jo Konta and Aljaz Bedene into second round". BBC Sport. 1 September 2015.
  23. ↑ "Aljaz Bedene's US Open comes to an end as Brit is beaten by Donald Young in four sets". Daily Mail. 4 September 2015.
  24. ↑ "A Davis Cup call for Aljaz Bedene feels like the right move at the wrong time for Great Britain ahead of Belgium final". Mail Online. 15 November 2015.
  25. ↑ "British No2 Aljaz Bedene made to wait over Davis Cup appeal". Guardian. 17 November 2015.
  26. ↑ "Aljaz Bedene ruled out of Davis Cup final after appeal hearing adjourned". Guardian. 17 November 2015.
  27. ↑ "Aljaz Bedene ineligible for Davis Cup final team as decision delayed". BBC Sport. 17 November 2015.
  28. ↑ "Aljaz Bedene to put 'strong' case to play for Great Britain". BBC Sport. 19 March 2016.
  29. ↑ "Irving Challenger". ATP World Tour. 20 March 2016.
  30. ↑ "Aljaz Bedene loses latest appeal to play in Davis Cup for Great Britain". ESPN. 23 March 2016.
  31. ↑ "Aljaz Bedene left in physical pain by battle to play for Great Britain". Guardian. 22 May 2016.

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