Stepanek leads Murray at French Open

Omnisports

May 23, 2016 5:06 AM

Radek Stepanek took a two set lead against Andy Murray before the Scot came off the ropes in the first round of the French Open on Monday.

___5068414___https:______static.pulse.com.gh___webservice___escenic___binary___5068414___2016___5___24___3___andymurraycropped_9bwf3g8hzaev1ccbj4evyzcdi_2

Andy Murray regained his composure after falling two sets down to Radek Stepanek in the first round of the French Open but the world number two's momentum was halted when bad light stopped play on Monday.

Second seed Murray was in danger of a humiliating defeat against the veteran Czech on Court Philippe Chatrier, but had recovered to 3-6 3-6 6-0 4-2 when play was suspended.

The two-time grand-slam champion struggled on serve and was broken four times in the first two sets to leave world number 128 Stepanek scenting a major scalp at Roland Garros.

Murray finally got going and reeled off nine games in a row to thwart the 37-year-old Stepanek, who missed eight months due to a sciatica nerve problem last year, and will attempt to complete the fightback on day three

Murray showed no sign of the form that enabled him to beat Novak Djokovic to win the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome last time out as he was given the run-around in the first set.

The Scot fell a break down at 2-1 with a double fault, with Stepanek pressing home his advantage to go a set up when the favourite netted a forehand after sending a lob long.

Stepanek started the second set with a double fault and was broken to love, but Murray relinquished that advantage when he put an attempted drop shot into the net.

Murray again got a drop shot wrong before netting to go 5-3 down and Stepanek sealed the second set in style with a booming ace to leave the Olympic champion facing the prospect of a stunning defeat.

A fired-up Murray hit back by wasting no time at all to take the third set in emphatic fashion and took the first three games of the fourth after expressing frustration to the umpire over what he felt was time-wasting from the wily Stepanek.

Stepanek stopped the rot to reduce the deficit to 3-1 before fading light saw the players head off the court when Murray had the wind in his sails.

Omnisports

Enhance Your Pulse News Experience!

Get rewards worth up to $20 when selected to participate in our exclusive focus group. Your input will help us to make informed decisions that align with your needs and preferences.

I've got feedback!