French Open 2017 Results: Winners, Scores, Stats from Thursday's Singles Bracket
Top seed Andy Murray needed four sets to progress into Round 3 of the French Open on Thursday, as he eventually beat Martin Klizan 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3) at Roland Garros.
The world No. 1 was well below his best early in the contest, as Klizan's forehand dictated the first set. Murray was able to step it up from that point on, winning the next two by a comfortable margin and recovering from a break down in the fourth to see the match out.
Elsewhere, 2015 champion Stanislas Wawrinka was a straight-set winner over Alexandr Dolgopolov, as was Marin Cilic against Konstantin Kravchuk.
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In the women's draw, third seed Simona Halep continued to build momentum, sweeping past Tatjana Maria in straight sets. Things weren't so easy for Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina and Agnieszka Radwanska—seeded second, fifth and ninth, respectively—as they all needed three sets to get through into Round 3.
Here are the results from Thursday's bracket and a reminder of how the action panned out in the French capital.
Thursday Results
Men's Draw
(22) Pablo Cuevas bt. Nicolas Kicker, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
(15) Gael Monfils bt. Thiago Monteiro, 6-1, 6-4, 6-1
Kevin Anderson bt. (18) Nick Kyrgios, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2
Kyle Edmund bt. Renzo Olivo, 7-5, 6-3, 6-1
(1) Andy Murray bt. Martin Klizan, 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3)
(28) Fabio Fognini bt. Andreas Seppi, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3
(3) Stan Wawrinka bt. Alexandr Dolgopolov, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 7-5
Chung Hyeon bt. Denis Istomin, 6-1, 7-5, 6-1
Karen Khachanov beat (13) Tomas Berdych, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4
(8) Kei Nishikori bt. Jeremy Chardy, 6-3, 6-0, 7-6 (5)
Feliciano Lopez bt. (30) David Ferrer, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
(29) Juan Martin del Potro bt. Nicolas Almagro, 6-3, 3-6, 1-1 (Ret)
(21) John Isner bt. Paolo Lorenzi, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2)
(7) Marin Cilic bt. Konstantin Kravchuk, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
(24) Richard Gasquet bt. Victor Estrella Burgos, 6-1, 6-0, 6-4
Women's Draw
(14) Elena Vesnina bt. Varvara Lepchenko, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
(17) Anastasija Sevastova bt. Eugenie Bouchard, 6-3, 6-0
Hsieh Su-Wei bt. Taylor Townsend, 6-0, 2-6, 6-3
(9) Agnieszka Radwanska bt. Alison Van Uytvanck, 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-3
Alize Cornet bt. (20) Barbora Strycova, 6-4, 6-1
(5) Elina Svitolina bt. Tsvetana Pironkova, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
(26) Daria Kasatkina bt. Marketa Vondrousova, 7-6 (1), 6-4
Magda Linette bt. (29) Ana Konjuh, 6-0, 7-5
(2) Karolina Pliskova bt. Ekaterina Alexandrova, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
(21) Carla Suarez Navarro bt. Sorana Cirstea, 7-5, 6-4
(3) Simona Halep bt. Tatjana Maria, 6-4, 6-3
Veronica Cepede Royg bt. (16) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-4
Petra Martic bt. (11) Madison Keys, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
Carina Witthoft bt. Pauline Parmentier, 6-4, 7-6 (5)
(28) Caroline Garcia bt. Chloe Paquet, 7-5, 6-4
Thursday Recap
Given his uneven form and inconsistency in the opening match against Andrey Kuznetsov, there would have been concerns in the Murray camp when he slipped a set behind against Klizan.
The man himself kept it together. In the second set, he was authoritative and intelligent, taking up smarter positions around the court. Klizan struggled to cope as a result, taking just four games in the next two sets, with momentum shifting back to Murray.
A deciding fifth set was looming as Klizan had the chance to serve out the fourth. But Murray battled his way back level and eventually won the decisive tiebreak. Per BBC Sport's Russell Fuller, the top seed made hard work of this one:
Murray will need to improve if he's to go any further in the competition, with Juan Martin del Potro waiting for him in Round 3 on Saturday. The Scotsman has won six of their nine meetings.
Del Potro should be sharp, though, as Nicolas Almagro pulled out of their match after just two sets. Courtesy of the Tennis Channel, the former was a class act in consoling the latter on Thursday:
Another man to keep an eye on is Wawrinka, who has been making his way through the draw with quiet composure. Dolgopolov played well in their match, but the Swiss was supreme in the clutch moments.
In the women's draw, Pliskova did enough to overcome Ekaterina Alexandrova in three sets despite being a long way short of her best. It was a scrappy match in truth, with a total of 54 unforced errors made.
Still, as noted by the tournament's official Twitter feed, it is the first time the Czech has made it this far at Roland Garros:
With Angelique Kerber eliminated and Serena Williams missing the tournament due to her pregnancy, many have tipped Halep to clinch her first Grand Slam win in Paris. She's looking ready to do so based on her early efforts, with Maria having no answer to her quality in their match.
Here’s a look at how she got over the line, per Eurosport UK:
Meanwhile, Italian Open winner Svitolina was almost upset by Tsvetana Pironkova. The latter caught the fifth seed off guard with some scintillating play in the first stanza. With time to recover, the Ukrainian improved and showed why some feel she has the game to win this showpiece.
Like Halep and Svitolina, Radwanska will also see this tournament as an ideal chance to pick up her first Grand Slam victory. She too had to be patient in seeing off a diligent opponent in Alison Van Uytvanck, upping the ante in sets two and three having lost the opener.
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