Andy Murray Survives Scare in Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS – California:  Fifth seed Andy Murray rallied from behind in both the second and third sets to edge out the win against rising talent Jiri Vesely 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4 on Monday afternoon at the BNP Paribas Open.

The Brit, who has been looking to regain his top form since undergoing back surgery last September, looked as though he would be collecting his suitcase early on in the third round encounter against the Czech after dropping serve six times against the 77th-ranked Vesely. It was anything but straightforward for the Wimbledon champion who could not serve out the first set at 5-4, and twice fell behind a break in the second set.

The third set became a mirror image of the second: After both players failed to hold serve, Murray fell behind again in the third game before drawing level at 4-all.

The World No. 6 finally found his composure in the final game, breaking Vesely for an eighth time to claim the hard-fought win after a gruelling two hours and 48 minutes.

“The most important thing today was that I won,” said Murray. “I wasn’t happy with the way that I played. It’s kind of days like that where I could have lost the match and you don’t get an opportunity until Miami to play better or to improve some things. It’s good to have the chance to play another match here and hopefully put in a better performance.”