Murray Pulls Off Escape at French Open

Andy Murray 's hopes of a first French Open title remain intact after he pulled off another great escape against the veteran Radek Stepanek.

The world No. 2 recovered to win a match from two sets down for the eighth time in his career, beating 37-year-old qualifier Stepanek 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5.

Murray, whose last first-round exit at a grand slam was more than eight years ago, lost the first two sets when the match began on Monday but had turned things around and led 4-2 in the fourth when darkness brought an end to play.

He had no trouble polishing off that set but the fifth was hugely tense and at one point Stepanek was two points away from victory. But Murray held firm and then took advantage of the first drop in his opponent's level to clinch victory after three hours and 41 minutes.

The 29-year-old now plays Frenchman Mathias Bourgue and was at his animated best when dragging himself back into the contest. Having sealed the win, he paid tribute to his new-look coaching team.

"In matches like today, it's an extremely important match for me," Murray, who parted with former coach Amelie Mauresmo before the Italian Open, said. "It could turn out to be one of the biggest wins of my career, which, it may not, also, but to get through that match, it was really, really important for me.

"And it easily could have gone the other way. When it is pretty much one set to stay in the tournament, you have to have as much energy, intensity as you can. I'm glad that my team's right behind me in situations like that."