Andy Murray beats Aljaz Bedene to set up another Battle of Britain

Kyle Edmund next up for Scot

Andy Murray on his way to victory over Aljaz Bedene at Queen's on Thursday (Getty)

Typical. You wait 10 years for a fellow British player to come along and then two arrive together. After beating Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-4 here in the second round of the Aegon Championships, Andy Murray will take on another Briton on Friday when he faces Kyle Edmund. It will be the first tour-level quarter-final between two British men since Tim Henman beat Greg Rusedski in Adelaide 14 years ago.

While Murray was made to work for his victory over Bedene, Edmund, 21, was handed a free passage to the quarter-finals when his second-round opponent, Paul-Henri Mathieu, withdrew because of a wrist injury.

Until this week Murray had never played a fellow Briton on home soil on the main tour. Indeed, the only British opponent he had ever faced in singles was Henman, who won their last meeting in Bangkok 10 years ago. Although Murray had never previously met Bedene in competition he had regularly practised with the 26-year-old Slovenian-born world No 58.

Bedene put a forehand in the net when he had a break point in the opening game and matched Murray until he dropped serve at 3-4 after netting an attempted drop shot and then hitting a forehand long. Murray served out for the first set, finishing the job with his fifth ace.

Andy Murray and Aljaz Bedene share words at the conclusion of Thursday's match (Getty)

Murray dominated the opening stages of the second set as Bedene saved four break points in the first game and was broken in the third. Murray dropped serve in the next game but broke again at 3-3 and then served out for the match.

Murray welcomes the fact that more British men are now competing regularly on the main tour. “Obviously it’s not perfect just now but it’s better,” he said. “Selfishly it’s nice having British guys around the tournament because obviously I’m closer to them than I am to other players.”

He added: “The fact I have not played against a Brit for 10 years, that’s not good. I have been playing in all of the big competitions and it’s never happened. So the fact that there are now a few more around, winning matches on a more consistent basis, is positive.”

Murray said Edmund was “very professional” in his outlook. The world No 2 added: “I think he’s done better quicker than people maybe expected. The last sort of 18 months or so he’s made big improvements, won a number of Challengers and is winning matches consistently on tour now on all of the surfaces.

“Most guys are playing their best when they get to their mid to late 20s now, so if he can continue on that path and that trajectory there’s no reason why he can’t get himself up into the top 20, top 30 in the world - and from there you never know. He’s got a big game, he’s a strong guy, and his mind is focused on tennis. That goes a long way."

Like Bedene, Edmund has never met Murray in competition but knows him well, having regularly practised with him and spent time with him on Davis Cup duty. At Murray’s invitation Edmund has also joined the Scot at his training camps in Florida, staying with him at his Miami apartment.

“He’s been the biggest inspiration for players of my age,” Edmund said. “He’s the guy we have looked up to. Andy has had all the expectations, and he’s dealt with it very well. You speak to him about the game. You look at him. His work ethic is something I have always found has been extremely high.

“It’s very fortunate for me that he’s allowed me to come into his environment. I’ve shared stuff with his team and stayed with him.”

He’s been the biggest inspiration for players of my age. He’s the guy we have looked up to. Andy has had all the expectations and he’s dealt with it very well 

&#13; <p>Kyle Edmund</p>&#13;

Asked how he would handle the task of facing Murray in competition, Edmund said: “I’ll use what I know from practising with him. He’s No 2 in the world for a reason. He’s a very good player and I have a lot of respect for him.”

Gilles Muller saved 10 match points – just one short of the Open era record in the men’s game - before beating John Isner 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 in a remarkable match featuring some big serving by both men. Isner hit 43 aces and Muller 26. Muller won the first tie-break 18-16 and the second 9-7.

Johanna Konta beat Misaki Doi 7-6, 6-1 in the Aegon Classic at Edgbaston, but two more big names followed Agnieszka Radwanska out of the tournament. Petra Kvitova, twice a Wimbledon champion, was beaten 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 by Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, while Caroline Wozniacki lost 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 to Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer.

Eurosport has announced a five-year agreement with Wimbledon to broadcast a daily 90-minute highlights programme as well as live coverage of the men’s and women’s finals at the same time as the BBC. Eurosport is now the only broadcaster to show live coverage of all four Grand Slam tournaments in Britain.