Andy Murray finally progressed to the fourth round of the French Open as he beat Philipp Kohlschreiber in an epic five-set match.
The Brit had been left frustrated on Saturday as the match was
suspended for bad light with the scores level at 7-7 in the fifth and
final set.
Murray had been up a break in the decider the previous day, only for Kohlschreiber to fight back and send the contest through to Sunday.
But the two-time grand slam champion brought an encounter that lasted four hours and seven minutes to an end, emerging triumphant 3-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 12-10 to set up a fourth-round meeting with Fernando Verdasco of Spain.
The quality of tennis remained high despite any fatigue the players may have been feeling, but it was Murray who always looked the more likely to claim victory.
Kohlschreiber continued to display good resolve, though, saving a match point at 8-9 down with a forehand smash at the end of a long rally.
The German then had half a chance to break when he got to deuce on the Murray serve at 10-10, but the world number eight held firm.
And Murray carried that momentum into the next game, taking the first of another two match points with a fierce backhand return to ensure success.
Afterwards, the 27-year-old conceded that he had found playing into an extra day challenging.
"Last night was extremely tough for me," Murray said. "I did a lot of running, I was up a break in every set.
"Considering the circumstances today I thought both of us played some good points. It was a pretty high standard.
"It's obviously very tough, I was very nervous but I just tried to my usual preparations. It's not easy coming back at seven-all in the fifth set."
Murray had been up a break in the decider the previous day, only for Kohlschreiber to fight back and send the contest through to Sunday.
But the two-time grand slam champion brought an encounter that lasted four hours and seven minutes to an end, emerging triumphant 3-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 12-10 to set up a fourth-round meeting with Fernando Verdasco of Spain.
The quality of tennis remained high despite any fatigue the players may have been feeling, but it was Murray who always looked the more likely to claim victory.
Kohlschreiber continued to display good resolve, though, saving a match point at 8-9 down with a forehand smash at the end of a long rally.
The German then had half a chance to break when he got to deuce on the Murray serve at 10-10, but the world number eight held firm.
And Murray carried that momentum into the next game, taking the first of another two match points with a fierce backhand return to ensure success.
Afterwards, the 27-year-old conceded that he had found playing into an extra day challenging.
"Last night was extremely tough for me," Murray said. "I did a lot of running, I was up a break in every set.
"Considering the circumstances today I thought both of us played some good points. It was a pretty high standard.
"It's obviously very tough, I was very nervous but I just tried to my usual preparations. It's not easy coming back at seven-all in the fifth set."
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