Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
FT
Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
Friday, 27 May 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
REUTERS: Andy Murray survived a second close shave at the French Open on Wednesday, but his path towards what he hopes will be a maiden title in Paris is getting so circuitous he may soon find himself hacking through trees in the nearby Bois de Boulogne.
While defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka, fifth seed Kei Nishikori, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep and Garbine Muguruza, eased into the third round on Wednesday, world number two Murray took the long and winding road again.
The Scot spent Monday and Tuesday figuring a way past an unorthodox Czech, 37-year-old Radek Stepanek, extricating himself from two sets down to scrape through in five. 
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.
Initially overwhelmed, Borgue recovered from a 6-2 2-0 deficit to take control in astonishing fashion, reeling off eight games in a row and forging into a two-sets-to-one lead.
When he pummelled a backhand winner down the line to take the third set Murray looked stunned and the partisan Court Philippe Chatrier crowd were in full cry.
Murray was rocking, but saved three break points at the start of the fourth set, one with a sublime half-volley, and gradually seized control again to prevail 6-2 2-6 4-6 6-2 6-3 in three hours 34 minutes.
REUTERS: Second seed Agnieszka Radwanska took advantage of Caroline Garcia’s weak serve to advance into the third round of the French Open with a 6-2 6-4 victory on Wednesday.
The Pole, who will next face Czech 30th seed Barbora Strycova, broke six times as her French opponent looked nothing like the player who won the Strasbourg International last Saturday.
Garcia won a higher percentage of points on her second than on her first serve, which was all too easy to read for Radwanska, who reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in 2013.
Garcia threatened a comeback in the second set after falling 3-0 down, but two successive double faults handed Radwanska her third match point, which she converted as the Frenchwoman mishit a backhand.
