French Open 2017: Andy Murray and Simona Halep Win on Day 5

Andy Murray, Kyle Edmund and Stan Wawrinka were among the big winners in the men's bracket of the 2017 French Open at Roland Garros on Thursday. Murray is now set for a third-round meeting with Juan Martin del Potro, who progressed after a knee injury forced Nicolas Almagro to retire.

The women's bracket saw Eugenie Bouchard eliminated, while Elina Svitolina, Agnieszka Radwanska and Simona Halep all made it through.

World No. 1 Murray booked his place in the third round after staying strong during a lengthy match against Martin Klizan. Meanwhile, Edmund beat Argentinian Renzo Olivo, conqueror of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday.

There were also wins for eighth seed Kei Nishikori, John Isner and Marin Cilic. Among the notable exits was 13th seed Tomas Berdych, who lost to Karen Khachanov, while Nick Kyrgios was eliminated by South African Kevin Anderson.

For a full look at the all the results and scores from Thursday, visit the Roland Garros official website.

Recap

Klizan claimed the first set on a tiebreak against an initially sluggish-looking World No. 1. Murray recovered to take the second and third sets 6-2 apiece, but more trouble returned in the fourth. Klizan continued to use a booming forehand to continually put Murray through his paces.

The tactic helped force a fourth set Murray hardly needed, per Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times:

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Fortunately for Murray, he managed to stave off a fifth set and wrap up this marathon of a match at just over the three-and-a-half hour mark. Rothenberg described the Scot's deft winning shot:

Murray is yet to reach his best form, but he can still manufacture shots as well as any player at Roland Garros. It's too soon to count out the World No. 1 amid the buzz generated by defending champion Novak Djokovic, along with Rafael Nadal's pursuit of an historic 10th French Open title.

Murray will be joined in the third round by Kyle Edmund, after the 22-year-old beat Olivo in straight sets. The latter never got going, as Edmund set a fast pace.

BBC Sport's Russell Fuller applauded the youngster's commanding display:

Earlier, Wawrinka needed to survive back-to-back tiebreaks in the second set to eventually see off Alexandr Dolgopolov. The latter consistently refused to buckle, even in the face of a powerful and relentless service game from Wawrinka, per ATP Media Info:

Wawrinka is quietly showing signs of the form that helped him win this tournament in 2015.

Another player impressing is big-serving American John Isner. He beat Italian Paolo Lorenzi in straight sets, although like Wawrinka, he needed to brave a tiebreak in both the second and third sets.

Also like Wawrinka, Isner leaned heavily on his serving power:

Nishikori also had the ability to hold his nerve in a tiebreak to thank for his progression to Round 3. The Japanese player outlasted Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 7-6(7) in the third set to wrap up a worthy win.

Breaking serve proved to be the key to Nishikori's win:

Later in the day, the mercurial Gael Monfils turned on the style to dismantle Brazilian Thiago Monteiro. Monfils won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 6-1, with the Roland Garros official Twitter account showing the winning point:

Afterward, Monfils expressed his delight at being back at Roland Garros:

Monfils can be as good as anyone on his day, but his inconsistency usually costs him at Grand Slams.

In the women's bracket, Svitolina let the first set slip against Tsvetana Pironkova but rallied superbly to take the next two. The fifth seed soon closed things out at 6-3 and 6-2.

Like Svitolina, Radwanska initially struggled. The Pole lost the first set to Alison Van Uytvanck but soon proved her class by dropping just five games the rest of the way.

Halep was less generous in the first set, winning 6-4 against Tatjana Maria. She also received a huge let-off when Maria wasted a seemingly simple break point, with Eurosport UK relaying highlights of her costly error:

Things were a little more comfortable for Halep in the second set, which she took 6-3 to move on.

The big names from both brackets all enjoyed success on Thursday, as some familiar faces are beginning to emerge as this year's true contenders at Roland Garros.