The former world No. 8, bidding to become the oldest male to win a match at a Grand Slam in almost 24 years, earned two break points in the seventh game of the fourth set after play resumed, but Murray held firm to take the game, and later the set.
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Britain’s Andy Murray returns the ball to Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek during the men’s first round match at the Roland Garros 2016 French Tennis Open in Paris on Tuesday.
The duo returned on Tuesday and it was the Scot who claimed set four before breaking in the 11th game of the decider, and then going on to secure a 3-6 3-6 6-0 6-2 7-5 triumph.
He said: “People ask me, ‘Why do you still want to play qualifying at your age after you have been at the top?’ The love for the game is there, no matter where I’m standing or what the number of my ranking is”.
While Murray needed two days to progress, nine-time champion Nadal had a much easier time, easing past Sam Groth 6-1, 6-1, 6-1.In the womens draw, Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber lost in the first round.
Andy Murray had to come from two sets down to beat 37-year-old qualifier Radek Stepanek at the French Open on Tuesday.
Second seed Murray stunned Novak Djokovic to win the Rome Masters the weekend before last, but he struggled mightily against the crafty Stepanek on Court Phillipe Chatrier.
The 29-year-old now plays Frenchman Mathias Bourgue and was at his animated best when dragging himself back into the contest.
The two traded breaks in the second set and battled back and forth until Stepanek won two-straight games to send Murray to the brink of a first-round exit. Some people say it’s positive when I don’t show my emotions, when I control them completely.
“I’ve played matches like this before and tried to fight through to the end because your opponent can hit a rough patch”.
In a thrilling final set which went to serve until 5-5, neither was able to make significant inroads on the other’s serve, though the British No 1 passed up a number of break point opportunities. Remarkably, Murray sees his record in five setters when he drops the opening two sets improve to 9-2 lifetime.
Murray, three times a semifinalist in Paris, never had won consecutive five-set matches in any tournament.
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“It was obviously an extremely hard match, very tricky and challenging”, Murray said. Murray made a combined 10 unforced errors over the last two sets, after having at least that many in each of the first three. Stepanek has the advantage of playing three matches in qualifying so is more adjusted to the courts and conditions, however it should be the Brit who advances to the second round.
