French Open: Briton Aljaz Bedene beats Ryan Harrison

The 27-year-old became a British citizen in 2015, just after rules came in barring players from representing two different nations.

Bedene and the Lawn Tennis Association have fought a two-year battle to try to overturn the ban but so far without success.

Speaking after a 6-4 6-0 3-6 6-1 victory over Ryan Harrison in the first round of the French Open, Bedene said: "At the moment I'm representing Great Britain, but I do want to play Olympic Games.

"That's, I think, a dream for every athlete. I'll have to see on that what can be done. I don't know what the rules are."

Having spent significant time and money on trying to persuade the International Tennis Federation to allow Bedene to play for Britain in Davis Cup, the LTA is likely to be very unimpressed by his comments.

The governing body had still been intending to pursue further avenues but will surely now be thinking twice, while Bedene's case has probably also not been helped by him basing himself back in Slovenia with fiancee Kimalie, who is a singer.

He said: "I still have a house in England, in Welwyn. At the moment for the clay season I spent quite a lot of time in Slovenia. My fiancee said she wants to move back. She wants to have her career there.

"I'm travelling a lot, so it's not easy. But I do want to spend as much time as I can with her. But I've still got a house there (in England). My home is still there.

"I have always been known as Slovenian-born. But I love Britain. I have spent quite a lot of time there. I'm enjoying it there. I can't wait for the grass season to start. I feel Slovenian and British."

Even if Bedene did decide to switch back to Slovenia, it would not necessarily be straightforward for him to play in the Olympics.

He would need to build bridges with the Slovenian tennis federation, who were very unhappy with his defection and have been a thorn in his side during his various appeals.

To compete in the Olympics, a player needs to have made himself available for Davis Cup and be in good standing with his federation.

The Tokyo Games in 2020 could well be Bedene's last chance, and he would need to move fairly swiftly if he was to fulfil those criteria.

"If it's next year, then next year," he said. "But I want to focus on myself now."

No one from the LTA was available for comment.

Bedene made a decision ahead of this season to put the Davis Cup issue to one side and focus on his tennis, and it has been paying dividends.

Since the start of the clay stretch he has won 21 of 24 matches, climbing back to 52nd in the rankings having dipped outside the top 100.

He had far too much claycourt nous for American Harrison, who is ranked 10 places higher but struggled with the heat and his opponent's play.

Harrison won just seven points in an 18-minute second set before rousing himself for the third. But, once Bedene had forged ahead in the fourth, there was only one winner.

He said: "I think the three sets I won I was really solid. The third set wasn't the best. Basically gave one game away too easily. The first set was tougher than expected. Second set I played really well."

Bedene next meets Czech Jiri Vesely, who upset 14th seed Jack Sock 7-5 7-5 6-3.

That result came as no surprise to Bedene, who said: "I think Vesely can beat many good players on clay, and it's best of five. I don't think Sock is the fittest. I think Vesely is really fit.

"I think he's a great player. I played him once. I lost on clay. Great serve. He doesn't miss from the back. It's going to be a good match if I play well."