Murray was also taken to five sets in the first round by veteran Czech Radek Stepanek.
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Murray didn’t have to overexert himself in comparison to his first two matches, so he should be in good position physically for his fourth-round encounter with either No. 15 John Isner or Teymuraz Gabashvili.
After the match, Murray said he was pleased with the patience and believes taking his chances was key to getting through with plenty to spare. “To go far in the tournament you can’t play too many matches like this”, Murray said after his win over Bourgue. “Sometimes an opponent can lose concentration, so I tried to fight through to the end”.
Smith said: “It’s tough for Andy because ideally he’d obviously want to get through the first two rounds a lot quicker but it’s not been that way”.
“The return has normally been the strongest part of my game but against Ivo it’s not always down to you”, Murray said after the match.
“You could say I have had three interesting and freakish days”, he said.
The Croatian’s huge service game was expected to trouble Murray but it took him until the third set to really find some rhythm and force Murray into a tie break.
Karlovic, who at 6ft 11in is the tallest player on the main tour, turned 37 in February but still possesses one of the most feared serves in tennis. This was just what Murray needed to get his French Open campaign back on course and bolster his confidence for the second week.
However, the contest between the world’s second best player and a grand slam debutant turned into an nail-biting battle as Murray endured a mid-match meltdown.
And despite being cheered on vociferously by the home crowd, Bourgue was unable to prevent Murray levelling proceedings at two sets apiece, as the unheralded challenger committed a double fault on set point.
This time it was little-known 22-year-old French wildcard Mathias Borgue, playing only his second grand slam match, who led the former US Open and Wimbledon champion astray. But you can’t continue playing matches like that and then expect to win the tournament. However, the signs were not good for the Croatian when he lost the first point against serve as Murray struck a superb backhand cross-court pass victor after chasing back to retrieve a lob volley. Even if Karlovic did get the balls back in court he was often able to do little with them.
The Scot, who could not have met Nadal until the final, told ITV4: ” I’m surprised but I knew he’d been struggling with his wrist.
Radwanska bested Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-4 and Muguruza, trying to become the first Spanish woman to win the title since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in 1998, thrashed Myrtille Georges 6-2 6-0.
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The Croat finally got on the board with a love service hold in the sixth but Murray’s serving outshone his to close out the set, 6-1, with an ace for a love hold.
