Andy Murray was heading towards a place in the quarter-finals of the French Open when bad light halted his match against Viktor Troicki.The umpire called a halt after Murray levelled the match at two sets all, with the deciding set now scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at Roland Garros.
It was unfortunate for Murray that they could not continue because he had gained control over the tiring Serbian.
Now, when the match resumes, Murray will hope that he does not repeat his uncertain start, which left him two sets adrift.
The opening set was an extraordinary affair as Murray dropped his serve three times to trail 5-0 against a player ranked 15th in the world
There was no hint of a problem with the ankle that he damaged in his previous match, but Murray still made a series of unforced errors as Troicki took control.
A change of racket sparked a dramatic swing in the balance of power as the fourth-seed Scot won the next four games.
But Murray failed to take two chances to break back to 5-5 before Troicki finally held his serve to win a set for the first time in three meetings between the two men.
His second successful set was not long delayed. A succession of drop shots from the Serbian unsettled Murray and, at 4-4, the serve of the British No.1 was broken.
Troicki, who needed so many attempts to seal the opening set, was not so careless this time and, despite some nervous serves, held on to win it 6-4.
Murray now faced a monumental task against an improving player, whose belief that his higher-ranked opponent is vulnerable on clay courts was starting to appear justified. Murray was also grimacing occasionally when at full stretch, sparking fears that the ankle strain was starting to trouble him'
However, he remained mobile and it appeared the anguish was caused by his failure to control the game rather than any pain from his injury.
Murray even arranged for a physiotherapist to remove the strapping round his ankle when he led 3-2 in a third set which began with the pair exchanging service breaks.
It was a risky move, but suggested Murray was not worried about the injury - and he soon showed his best form of the match as he broke Troicki's serve to lead 5-3 before serving superbly to close out the set 6-3.
The momentum was now with Murray, who soon broke the tiring Troicki's serve again to lead 3-2 in a fourth set played as the light faded rapidly at Roland Garros. From then on, the outcome was never in doubt, with the Scot winning it 6-2 to set up Tuesday's sudden-death set.
