Andy Murray Defeats Andrey Kuznetsov in 1st Round of 2017 French Open

Andy Murray survived a few shaky moments in the first round of the 2017 French Open on Tuesday, beating Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov in four sets. The final scores were 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Murray started well but ran into some trouble in the second set, when he lost his focus, seemed to clash with his own box and allowed his opponent to tie things up.

The out-of-form world No. 1 recovered in time, however, improving his level of play in the third set and cruising to the finish line.

With questions surrounding Murray's form and health entering the contest, the Scot started the day well, holding his ground in the serve game and from the baseline. Kuznetsov showed he's no slouch, keeping up with Murray through the opening stages, but he wasn't nearly as sharp with his big winners.

Four games into the first set, Murray grabbed his first break, and BBCKheredine liked what he was seeing:

"

On chatrier, @andy_murray 's decent start just turned into a good start; breaks for 4-2, first set, v Kuznetsov

— BBCKheredine (@BBCKheredine) May 30, 2017"

With the lead, Murray took a conservative approach, attempting to serve out the set. Some mistakes started creeping into his play, however, and as he was serving for the set, Kuznetsov switched gears, forcing several mistakes and breaking back.

The setback was the first real test of Murray's mental fortitude in the tournament, and per Live Tennis, he passed with flying colours:

"

If you can't serve for it, you break for it...to love in fact. #Murray breaks to love to grab the first set 6-4! pic.twitter.com/mWmogLrVS5

— Live Tennis (@livetennis) May 30, 2017"

Play got even more sloppy in the second set, with two quick breaks, courtesy of a lot of bad serving and unforced errors. Murray also engaged the umpire, visibly upset with a call.

It was the start of a horrendous stretch for the ATP World No. 1, who gave up a break in the fifth game and completely lost his focus, dropping three games in a row. Per sportswriter Jack Kinnersley, it wasn't pretty:

"

Murray in danger of going out in the first round here. Still a long way to go but sarcastic claps towards his box not helping. #RolandGarros

— Jack Kinnersley (@KinnersleyJ) May 30, 2017"

Murray fought back toward the end of the set but couldn't turn the tide, as Kuznetsov tied things up.

The break in between the sets did Murray a world of good, as he came out firing with much cleaner tennis to win the first three games. Kuznetsov suddenly couldn't hit a winner to save his life, but it was mostly down to Murray's solid play, as he found good range with his groundstrokes.

As shared by Eleanor Crooks of the Associated Press, the Russian mostly stood out for his sportsmanship in the set, rather than his play:

"

Kuznetsov not only rubs out a mark when a Murray shot was incorrectly called out but gives him the point without argument. Very sporting

— Eleanor Crooks (@EleanorcrooksPA) May 30, 2017"

Murray carried his momentum into the fourth set, and things moved quickly. The Scot wrapped things up in no time, as Kuznetsov faded and barely put up a fight.

While he was far from his best, Murray showed plenty of mental fortitude in the third set. It's a positive sign after a very slow start to the 2017 season, although he'll have to improve tremendously to make a deep run in the tournament.