Bad light may have stopped play on Monday, but Andy Murray’s determination shone brightly as he overcame the stubborn Radek Stepanek to clinch a five-set victory in the first round of the French Open. The world No.2 had trailed by two sets to one when the match was suspended on Monday evening, but dug deep when play resumed the following day to claim a 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 victory. The 29-year-old Scot won the fourth set comfortably, but was forced to his limits in the decider by 37-year-old Stepanek in what could be the veteran’s last Roland Garros. The Czech was just two points from victory as Murray served at 5-4 in the final set, before Murray broke his opponent decisively to finally draw a close to the match. Murray was full of praise for Stepanek, but expressed great relief after narrowly avoiding an early exit in Paris. “It’s unbelievable what he’s doing,” he said. “He had an extremely bad injury last year at still at 37 coming out and fighting like that, playing that way, it’s unbelievable. “I don’t expect to be doing that myself at that age. I’m just glad I managed to get through. “He’s always been extremely difficult to play. I wasn’t able to dictate many of the points, I wasn’t in great rhythm, and that’s credit to him and the way that he played. “I fought extremely hard today and I’ll get the chance to play again tomorrow.”
Sportsbeat 2016