Paris: Defending French Open champion Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland reached the third round on Wednesday after labouring to a 7-6 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4 win over Japan’s Taro Daniel.
Number three seed Stan fended off two set points against world number 93 Daniel in an opening tie-break, and Wawrinka was also forced to rally from a break down in the third set before wrapping up a straight-sets victory.
Having narrowly avoiding becoming the first reigning Roland Garros champion to lose in the first round when he was taken to five sets by Lukas Rosol, Wawrinka was relieved to eventually come through unscathed against a player with just one Grand Slam win to his name.
“I’m happy to get through in three sets. For sure it was some up and down, could have been better, but winning three sets, it’s always good,” said Wawrinka.
“It was a tough three-sets match, but I think I did the job I had to do. I'm happy. I think I'm playing better and better.”
Later, Britain’s Andy Murray survived a monumental second-round upset at the French Open on Wednesday as he battled back to beat 164th-ranked local wildcard Mathias Bourgue 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Second seed Murray looked poised for a routine victory after sweeping to the opening set against Bourgue, but the Frenchman stunned the world number two by claiming the next two sets to leave Murray facing his earliest Grand Slam exit since 2008.
Earlier, Japan’s fifth seed Kei Nishikori, former runner-up Simona Halep and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova all proved early second round winners at the French Open Wednesday.
Nishikori, a quarter-finalist in 2015, coasted into the last 32 with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov. Nishikori, the 2014 US Open runner-up, goes on to face former world number seven Fernando Verdasco of Spain.
Verdasco, 32, is playing his 13th Roland Garros and will present Nishikori with a formidable challenge holding a 2-1 lead in their head to head record. Sixth seed Halep, the losing finalist to Maria Sharapova in 2014, endured a rollercoaster tie on Court Philippe Chatrier against Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan before securing a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 win.
