Andy Murray will resume his first-round match against Radek Stepanek today with his French Open hopes hanging by a thread.
The world No 2 was regarded by many as the second favourite for the title but he looked anything but as he dropped the opening two sets to 37-year-old qualifier Stepanek.
The Scot has recovered to win from two sets down eight times in his career and he must do so again after play was called off for the night at 9.22pm with Stepanek leading 6-3 6-3 0-6 2-4.
This was not the match Murray wanted after responding to Amelie Mauresmo’s comments about the end of their coaching partnership.
The Frenchwoman opened the lid on the split in an interview in L’Equipe in which she indicated his difficulty in controlling his emotions on court played a big part in her leaving.
Murray admitted he sometimes feels embarrassed when he sees replays of matches, but said in L’Equipe: “When you’re on the court, a lot of the things that happen are not always really a true reflection of how you feel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqq6UrvpAU8
“And sometimes, the things that I say on court, I don’t always say stuff to my coach. I also say stuff about myself as well. I don’t speak well of myself when I’m on the court either. And that’s something that I’ve always tried to find a way to improve.”
He argued he had been better in recent weeks – notably when he won the title in Rome, just after the split from Mauresmo had been announced.
“I’ve seen the benefits in the last few weeks of being a little bit better in that respect,” he said.
“Obviously you never want to upset anyone when you’re on the court, but this happens in all sports. It’s up to me to improve that side of things but also for my team to support me through it as well.”
That could certainly be interpreted as a dig at Mauresmo, but if he had hoped to be a picture of calm, it did not work out that way.
It was after 7pm when the players took to the court following a lengthy rain delay earlier in the day, and conditions were damp and heavy.
Stepanek revels in making life difficult for his opponent, through his play and by any other means, and it was not long before Murray was chuntering away.
A double fault gave Stepanek the early break in the third game, and Murray netted a routine forehand to hand the Czech the set.
Murray was a shadow of the player who drove Novak Djokovic to distraction with a superlative performance in the final in Rome. But Stepanek was playing more like the top-10 player he used to be than a qualifier ranked 128, showing superb touch with drop shots and at the net but also trading with Murray from the back of the court.
The Scot’s temper reached volcanic levels and he was given a warning for swearing after Stepanek held for 4-3 in the second set.
Murray, who had been an early break up, then netted a forehand to trail 5-3 and an unreturnable serve put Stepanek on the brink of an enormous shock.
With the light fading, Murray knew there was no time to waste and he raced through the third set, yelling encouragement to himself after most points.
Stepanek knew getting off the court as quickly as possible represented his best chance and Murray had a lengthy exchange with umpire Damien Dumusois about his opponent’s apparent time wasting.
Stepanek duly received a warning after taking a toilet break and then changing his shirt, but it did not disrupt Murray’s rhythm and he extended his run of games to nine before the Czech held.
After Stepanek held again to make it 4-2, conditions were deemed too dark, leaving Murray facing a very important service game when play resumes.
Stan Wawrinka narrowly avoided becoming the first men’s defending champion to lose in the first round of the French Open but there was another troubling defeat for Grigor Dimitrov.
Third seed Wawrinka, who beat Djokovic in the final 12 months ago, trailed Lukas Rosol by two sets to one but hit back to win 4-6 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4 in three hours and 11 minutes.
Dimitrov has fallen to 36 in the rankings and headed into the French Open on the back of three straight losses.
He led Viktor Troicki by two sets to one and 4-2 in the fourth but went down 2-6 6-3 5-7 7-5 6-3.
Eighth seed Milos Raonic moved through by defeating former top-10 player Janko Tipsarevic 6-3 6-2 7-6 (7-5) while fifth seed Kei Nishikori began with a 6-1 7-5 6-3 victory over Simone Bolelli and ninth-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet just beat the darkness to see off Thomaz Bellucci 6-1 6-3 6-4.
But 10th seed Marin Cilic, who lost to Wawrinka in the final in Geneva on Saturday, was shocked 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 6-4 6-2 by Argentinian qualifier Marco Trungelliti.
