PARIS – World number one Andy Murray reached the French Open third round on Thursday with a bruising 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) win over Martin Klizan of Slovakia.
Murray will face Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro for a place in the last 16.
"I expected a tough match. Martin goes for his shots, he can hit winners with that forehand from anywhere on the court," said 2016 runner-up Murray.
"I tried to play a solid match, I hit deeper the longer the match went on and tried to dictate the points."
Murray faced Del Potro in two epic encounters last year.
He beat the Argentine in a marathon Olympic final before Del Potro, now 30 in the world, gained his revenge with a come-from-behind win in five sets in the Davis Cup semi-final.
"It will be very tough. Juan Martin is playing a lot better than his ranking," said Murray.
"He's come back from injury and had some tough draws this year. It should be a great atmosphere."
Klizan smashed 57 winners on Thursday but 64 unforced errors as his all-or-nothing game proved in vain.