World No.1 Andy Murray's struggles this season on clay came back to plague him at the French Open as he ground out an unconvincing 6-7 (7-3) 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-3) win against Slovakian power-hitter Martin Klizan.
Out-hit and more surprisingly often out-thought in the first set by a player he had described as unpredictable, the Scot conceded it on a tiebreak.
Looking faster and keener, Murray pushed through the second set in 37 minutes and the third in one minute less.
The Slovakian, ranked No.50, then began to chance his arm and, as Murray's level dipped, raced to a 5-2 lead before, with yet another momentum shift, the Scot broke back and took the fourth set to a tiebreak, closing out the match with a scrambled volley.
"I expected it to be very tough. He (Klizan) goes for huge shots and on his forehand, he can hit winners from anywhere," Murray said after three hours and 35 minutes on court.
"Sometimes you think you've hit a good shot and he comes up with unbelievable power. It's very tough. I tried to play solid, as the match went on I tried to hit the ball deeper and was controlling more of the points."
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