text: Andy Murray has a fairly simple message for any of his fellow British tennis players who might be agitated about the imminent arrival of Aljaz Bedene into the home ranks: don’t complain. Instead the British No 1 believes his colleagues should use the assimilation of the world No 83, originally from Slovenia, as motivation to better themselves. At present any grumbles are happening in private, and Bedene’s present ineligibility for the Davis Cup team has made it less of an issue, although that could change if his appeal to play is allowed by the International Tennis Federation. Aljaz Bedene is pictured at his British citizenship ceremony in Hatfield on Tuesday morning . Andy Murray says British players anyone questioning the move should work on their world ranking . Bedene poses for a picture with friends and family outside the petty sessional court building in Hatfield . Last year, when Bedene stated he intended to try to make the switch, the then British No 3 Dan Evans expressed some doubts about its legitimacy, wondering why he would wish to do it. But Murray thinks anyone questioning the move, now it has become official, would be better working on getting their ranking closer to his. ‘If he was 500 in the world they wouldn’t be that fussed about it but obviously he threatens their position a bit,’ said the 27-year-old Scot. ‘And he’s obviously the British No 2, comfortably. ‘So they can complain but the best thing to do is use it in the right way and accept it for what it is, and try to use it as motivation whether they agree with it or not. He’s British now so they’ve just got to deal with it. ‘I would hope that all the guys who are below him now, like James Ward, Kyle Edmund and Liam Broady, will use it as motivation. If he becomes eligible for Davis Cup ties then those guys are going to have to prove themselves. ‘He’s a good player but so are James and Kyle, and Liam has improved. Aljaz is there, he’s on the tour every week, the other guys aren’t quite there yet.’ Murray admits Bedene's stance threatens certain players position as he is on tour every week . James Ward (left) and Kyle Edmund should try to use Bedene as motivation to get better as a player . Bedene (right) with girlfriend Kimalie, who is a pop singer in her native land of Slovenia . For the first time, Murray, who has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the top 100, gave his opinion of Bedene: ‘He’s a good player with a very good serve. He’s a legitimate top-100 player, when he plays challengers he’s there or thereabouts, when he plays on the main tour he wins matches, it’s not like he turns up and always loses in the first round. ‘He had a bad (wrist) injury last year but has recovered well. I would imagine he would keep moving up the rankings, although I don’t know exactly how high he can go. I’ve practised with him a couple of times, I haven’t seen him play loads, but when you serve as well as he does it helps. I would imagine he’s going to be comfortably in the top 70 or 80 in the world for a while.’ Bedene can individually represent any country he wants where he holds a passport. The Davis Cup is a greyer area as from January 1 playing for two countries in a career was outlawed and he was picked for the Slovenian squad three times — but he will argue his intentions were clear before then and his citizenship was being held up by bureaucratic process. It is understood the Lawn Tennis Association will give support to his case but have made it clear that the onus is on him to lead the way. An official statement said: ‘To have another player in the men’s top 100 is clearly a positive thing and so we very much welcome Aljaz’s change in citizenship.’ Murray says Bedene is a great server who could possibly move up the rankings . Murray gets pumped up on his way to victory over Kevin Anderson at the Miami Open . Murray proudly poses with a cake, saying 'It's an amazing feeling' after winning his 500th game . Switching nationalities is always a contentious issue in any sport and Evans’s questions have some pertinence to them. There is a recent precedent, however. Two years ago Australian Brydan Klein switched to represent GB by virtue of his mother originally being from Manchester. He subsequently struggled but his form has picked up and he is now ranked 210 in the world to make himself the national No 5. Last year that would have guaranteed a Wimbledon wildcard worth, minimally, a staggering £27,000. However, there is now no automatic recommendation for a Championships wildcard for Brits ranked inside the top 250. The last comparable switch came twenty years ago when Greg Rusedski arrived from Canada. It was by no means universally popular but, like Bedene, he pledged that he was in for the long haul and, in fairness to him, he proved true to his word. The Great Britain Davis Cup team celebrate their victory against the USA in Glasgow last month .
target: Aljaz Bedene officially became a British citizen at a ceremony on Tuesday .
  The 25-year-old is currently ranked No 83 in the world but will be GB No 2 .
  Andy Murray says fellow British players like James Ward and Kyle Edmund should not complain about the assimilation .
  Bedene was born in Slovenia and could rise up the rankings, says Murray .
  British No 1 insists young stars should use Bedene as motivation .