Andy Murray was made to work hard for his place in the third round of the French Open, having been pushed all the way by wildcard entry Mathias Bourgue this afternoon.
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The British number one came out on top 6-2 2-6 4-6 6-0 6-3 in Paris, but it was so nearly a different story as Bourgue - playing a top-50 opponent for the first time in his career - almost produced a stunning upset in his first ever Grand Slam.
The first set of a match spanning more than three-and-a-half hours provided a sign of things to come for the Scotsman, as he battled to an eventual 6-2 triumph after being pushed heavily by his relatively unknown opponent.
A sweet forehand in the fourth game, lasting more than 10 minutes, allowed Murray to push on and he wrapped up the first set in a gruelling manner.
Murray was again far from his best in the second set, losing serve on three occasions as Bourgue took six games in a row to level things up in the French capital.
A loss of serve in the first game of a potentially pivotal third set gave the world number 164 a chance to edge ahead for the first time in the topsy-turvy match, and he took his chance by holding throughout.
As witnessed in his first-round match, Murray opted to change shirt colour - this time from black to white - with his fortunes of progressing fast fading.
The Brit powered his way through the fourth set, however, earning a triple break point in the final game in a sign that he was now back to his best.
There was to be no upset in the end, as Murray took the final set in a comfortable manner against a tiring Bourgue to progress into the third round in Paris where he will face Ivo Karlovic.
Daniel Lewis
