Andy Murray Tops Juan Martin del Potro in 3rd Round of 2017 French Open

Andy Murray dumped Juan Martin del Potro out of the 2017 French Open on Saturday, as the tournament's top seed won 7-6(8), 7-5, 6-0 in the third-round meeting.

The world No. 1 was 5-3 down in the first set but won three games in succession before clinching a tiebreak win and proceeding to enforce his stature upon the fixture as the match progressed.

Murray will now square off against either John Isner or Karen Khachanov in the fourth round at Roland Garros, with that pair set to meet later on Saturday.

It was far from Murray's best, but the world No. 1 looked closer to top form after finding his groove on Philippe-Chatrier court, and he ultimately impressed, per the Press Association's Eleanor Crooks:

Del Potro got the jump on his opponent first and took a quick break of serve to lead 2-1 in the first set, and the pair proceeded to trade blows before the South American's two-game cushion escalated to 5-3.

It looked as though Murray was on course to pay the price for the poor form he's displayed of late, but signs of a second wind for the Scot emerged as his defiance began to take root, via Eurosport UK:

That fabulous lob came amid a three-game winning streak for Murray, who took the lead for the first time in the match at 6-5, saving two set points along the way.

Both players swapped the shift of power in the tiebreak and were denied two set points apiece before Murray took his chance at the third time of asking, per Crooks:

After Murray surrendered serve first in the opening set, Del Potro's dip in energy took a turn for the worse as he gave up his in the second set's maiden game, signalling a change in the direction this match was moving.

Reem Abulleil commented on the broken figure cast by the world No. 30 after conceding an early lead in the second, a far cry from the comfortable position he found himself in not long before:

Murray eventually lost his two-game advantage after late pressure from Del Potro brought the scoreline to five games apiece, but it proved to be all too short-lived, as the Argentinian was broken in the following game.

The tournament's top seed served out to amass a valuable two-set lead, per Jose Morgado of Portuguese newspaper Record:

That looked like the end of Del Potro's motivation to win, however, as the third set made Murray look like 10 times the player we'd seen in the sets prior, while his opponent slipped off the pace in fast fashion.

In fact, Del Potro failed to defend either of his two opening serves with any success, as pointed out by tennis writer Chris Goldsmith, who indicated there was no chance of a comeback attempt from the tiring contender: 

Murray skewed the scoreline further by completing his donut beating of Del Potro in the third and final set, an embarrassing method to lose by considering the tenacity with which he fought in the match's first half.

Not for the first time in his career, Murray's stamina and fitness appeared to play a key role in extending his stay at the French Open, while Del Potro will rue missed early opportunities as he fell to the Scot for a seventh time.