Lethargic at times and brooding at others, Andy Murray worked his way into the French Open quarterfinals by coming back to beat Victor Troicki 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 today in a match that started a day earlier in Paris. The three-time Grand Slam runner-up won the final five games of the fifth set despite injuring his right ankle in the previous round. The first four sets were played Monday before darkness suspended the match.
Defending women's champion Francesca Schiavone also rallied, reaching the semifinals by beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 1-6, 7-5, 7-5. Later Tuesday, Roger Federer is set to face Gael Monfils for a spot in the semifinals, and 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova is scheduled to play No. 11 Marion Bartoli of France.
Murray looked out of it in the opening two sets on Court Suzanne Lenglen, often pacing around the clay with his head low and sometimes screaming to no one in particular. But he soon started placing his shots and quickly worked his way back into the match before play was suspended. When the match resumed Tuesday, the pair held serve until Troicki broke for a 4-2 lead shortly after a ball boy interfered with play on a point won by the 15th-seeded Serb. Troicki complained, but the point was replayed and Murray eventually took a 15-0 lead.