If Andy Murray is to reach the French Open final for the second year in a row, confounding critics who say he will not make it out of the first week, he will have to shrug off the lethargy that plagued the start of his campaign last year and has struck again this week. In 2016 he survived two five-set matches early on. This year, as world No1, his two opening matches have taken him to four sets against low-ranked rivals when he might have got the job done with quick, cleaner victories. Andy Murray battles past Martin Klizan and more: French Open 2017 – as http://www.officialoriolestore.com/Dylan_Bundy_Jersey it happened The world No1 Andy Murray reached the third round at Roland Garros with a hard-fought 6-7, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 victory over Martin Klizan Read more In the third round against Juan Martín del Potro he will not be allowed the luxury of easing himself into the fight the way he could against the world No85, Andrey Kuznetsov, in the first round and the world No50, Martin Klizan, on Thursday, when he won 6-7, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 on Court Suzanne Lenglen in three hours and 34 minutes. For an hour against Klizan, Murray’s gears refused to mesh. For the next hour or so he was on top, then the match took a sharp swerve at the start of the fourth for the tensest of finishes. Having struggled to stay in touch with Murray, the rangy left-hander was dramatically revived after receiving treatment for his serving shoulder. He was 3-0 up in the fourth before Murray had even mouthed his loud complaint about the interruption, railing at his box and the umpire, to little effect on either front. He was on his own and needed to get his composure back against an opponent who had tried all his tricks against the French qualifier Laurent Lokoli on Tuesday – and got away with them. As Klizan started pounding down his serve at 196kph to go 4-1 up, his shoulder looked just fine. John McEnroe observed courtside: “How long has this been going on in our game? It brings a little drama, sure, but from the standpoint of a player who has worked on his fitness all year to try to get an edge, I can see how that could be absolutely infuriating. That’s not fair.” Murray, who also threatened to sit down if the umpire did not have the spidercam stilled above his serving position, said: “I was getting frustrated on the court – something I have always battled with. That’s just how I am. I feel like I have improved it from where I was in the Rollie Fingers Womens Jersey middle of my career. Sometimes I think for my team it’s difficult to know exactly how I’m feeling or what it is I need when I’m on the court.” Advertisement They were not often left in doubt on Thursday. Did he think he would beat Del Potro? “Absolutely,” he said. The Argentinian had been detained for only an hour and a half on court two before the Spaniard Nicolás Almagro retired with an injury to his left knee. Del Potro, who lost to Murray in the Olympic final but beat him in the Davis Cup semi-final, was a set apiece at 6-3, 3-6 and 1-1 in the third when Almagro withdrew. Del Potro, seeded No29, said: “It could be another great battle – if I feel good. Andy is one of the favourites to win this tournament. Now I know his game a lot, but I need to be in good shape and physically be stronger if we play a long match, long rallies.” Murray said: “Juan Martín, in my opinion, plays better than his ranking. He’s come back from injury and has had a lot of tough draws this year. He’s playing well. I’m sure it’ll be a great atmosphere.” The Recap: sign up for the best of the Guardian's sport coverage Read more Klizan arrived in Paris complaining of pain in his left calf and said he had reluctantly withdrawn from three lead-up tournaments at the last minute. In the first round against Lokoli he collapsed dramatically in the fourth set before recovering to take the fifth. The furious Frenchman accused him of feigning injury and refused to shake his hand. Murray started poorly again while Klizan went for his shots from the first ball. In the seventh game, a lady in pink arrived as Klizan raised his racket to serve. He paused. To whistles and boos, she eased slowly out of his eyeline, ascending the stairs with all the hauteur of a diva and disappeared from view. The Slovak, chortling and chuntering, held. But http://www.officialpadrestore.com/Tony_Gwynn_Jersey errors began to feed into his ground strokes, his temper quickened and the shape of his game began to unravel. He was there for the taking. Klizan did not look a good bet to finish the fight but he took the tie-break. Murray was livid with himself, rightly so. Then he hit a pleasing tempo. From 1-2 down he won five games in a row to take him into the third looking capable of another whirlwind finish, drilling the ball deep and wide, and all looked set for a quick denouement. By the time they reached the end of the fourth on level terms, however, nerves jangled like loose change. Advertisement They traded breaks and, two points away from a fifth set, Murray hit a double fault when a door slammed off-court. A baby cried as he served to hold for 5-5, and he smiled. When they got to the second tie-break, Murray, who had botched a few good chances earlier, finally drove the dagger home – probably two hours later than he would have liked. “Sometimes you think you’ve hit a good shot and he comes up with an unbelievable winner,” he said of Klizan. “When he’s controlling with his forehand it’s very difficult. I certainly didn’t want a fifth set but in the end there were some entertaining points, some great shots.” Edmund moves into third round after beating Renzo Olivo Kyle Edmund is in the curious position of being in better shape than Andy Murray. Whether it will remain that way after the weekend is asking a lot of the British No2 but he won many friends on Thursday. While the world No1 was struggling with his focus and a difficult opponent in Martin Klizan, Edmund breezed past the Italian Renzo Olivo 7-5, 6-3, 6-1. On Saturday he plays the South African Kevin Anderson, who beat the Australian Nick Kyrgios 7-5, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. The former French Open champion Jim Courier thinks Edmund is good enough to make the world’s top 10; former British No1 Greg Rusedski says he could get to “the fourth round or further”. Edmund said: “It’s nice to hear those things but I’ve still go out there and win the matches.” Earlier he paid tribute to the British fans who crowded around the small court. “As the match went along, I used the support to my benefit. I could feel me getting http://www.officialmarinershop.com/Kyle_Seager_Jersey on top. It’s great to have British support. There’s always British accents out there you can hear, people asking for autographs and selfies later. “I knew I had to play well today, got it done in straights. You have to be ruthless, when you see the guy down you’ve got to finish him. You’ve just got to keep going.” Olivo admitted: “Yesterday [when he completed his held-over match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga] was big for me. There was a lot of expectation on me. I knew I had to handle it the best way. I got into it today, but it didn’t work out.” Rusedski said on Eurosport: “This season’s been a bit tough for [Edmund]. He’s had a few tough draws and a few matches he could have won but this was huge for him. It’s his favourite surface and he has an opportunity now against Kevin Anderson. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets to the fourth round and further because he’s playing the right way. It looks like everything is turning around right now