Andy Murray lives to fight another day at French Open

British No 1 trails by two sets to one to Stepanek in first round

The 29-year-old Scot’s on-court behaviour has been a major topic of conversation ever since Saturday (AP)

Andy Murray lived to fight another day but the world No 2 had his supporters on the edge of their seats before mounting a spirited fightback in his first-round match against Radek Stepanek here at the French Open on Monday. Murray will have plenty more work to do on Tuesday if he is to progress after the match was called off in rapidly fading light at 9.22pm with Stepanek leading 6-3, 6-3, 0-6, 2-4.

Murray has won matches from two sets down on eight occasions in his career and will need to do so for a third time here if he is to stay in the tournament, having performed the feat against Richard Gasquet in 2010 and against Viktor Troicki in 2011. The winner will meet France’s Mathias Bourgue in the second round.

Drama usually follows Murray wherever he goes and this was no exception. The 29-year-old Scot’s on-court behaviour has been a major topic of conversation ever since Saturday, when his recently departed coach, Amelie Mauresmo, talked in a newspaper about his “complex” character and about how disconcerting it could be when he was such a different person on and off the court.

Murray himself told an interviewer that he had been working hard on controlling his emotions and had been much better in recent weeks, but for the first two sets he was still conducting running conversations with nobody in particular and swearing in frustration. He was given a code violation for one audible obscenity.

Having gone into the tournament as one of the favourites after his excellent results in three successive Masters Series clay-court tournaments, Murray found himself outplayed by the oldest man in the field. At 37 Stepanek is the oldest player to compete in the main draw of any Grand Slam event for 24 years.

When he missed eight months of last year with a sciatic nerve problem and dropped out of the world’s top 350, few would have expected the Czech to make such a spirited comeback. However, Stepanek has always been a classy performer and in taking Murray to three sets earlier this month at the Madrid Masters proved that he is still very fit. An old-fashioned serve-and-volley player, he also retains an excellent touch and a cool head.

Torrential rain in the morning had delayed the start of play and although the weather improved, it was still a cold and dank day when the players entered Court Philippe Chatrier, which is the main stadium here.

Murray dropped serve in only the third game, double-faulting on break point. When he served to stay in the first set at 3-5 he was broken again after playing a loose game. At 15-30 the Scot put a lob beyond the baseline after Stepanek had chased down a drop shot and on the next point he put what should have been a straightforward forehand into the net.

The Scot’s frustration was evident at the changeover at the end of the first set. He appeared to mutter to himself about the last five days having been “a disgrace” without giving any indication what had been the problem.

When Murray broke to love in the opening game of the second set - upon which he bellowed out a huge roar of “Come on!” - it seemed that order had been restored. Stepanek, however, broke back immediately. Murray was given his code violation after Stepanek held for 4-3 and in the following game the Scot was broken again. At 15-30 he put an attempted drop shot in the net and then netted a forehand on break point. Stepanek served out for the set with an ace.

The situation was starting to look desperate for Murray, but the Scot has dug his way out of similar holes on many occasions in the past and his attitude from the third set onwards could not be faulted. Until this point many of the crowd had been on the side of the underdog, but as an animated Murray took the first game a chant of “Andy! Andy!” broke out.

Murray took the third set in just 23 minutes, winning 21 of the last 25 points. Stepanek, meanwhile, was becoming increasingly agitated about the fading light. Murray complained that the Czech was using delaying tactics and after he took a lengthy toilet break at the end of the third set he was given a time violation warning.

By now Murray’s tail was up. With cries of “Let’s go!” he quickly went 3-0 up in the fourth set, though Stepanek showed that he had no intention of going down without a fight. The Czech won two of the last three games before play was called off for the day. They will resume on Tuesday after Angelique Kerber and Kiki Bertens play the opening match on Court Philippe Chatrier