World number two Andy Murray again needed five sets to reach the next round of the French Open ©Getty Images

World number two Andy Murray again did it the hard way as he needed five sets to overcome French wildcard Mathias Bourgue to reach the third round of the French Open at Roland Garros.

The Briton, whose opening match at the second Grand Slam tournament of the season against Czech veteran Radek Štěpánek also went the distance, took the opening set with ease but then consigned to lose the next two.

Bourgue, ranked at 164 in the world, won eight consecutive games to win sets two and three before Murray launched another spirited fightback despite not playing his best tennis.

The two-time Grand Slam winner looked in trouble when he trailed but recovered to claim a battling 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory to ensure he avoided a shock upset.

Murray, whose form on the red clay in the French capital remains a mystery after he won the Italian Open in the build-up to the tournament, will take on big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic on Friday (May 27).

"I led 6-2 2-0 then he started playing unbelievably and I was finding it hard to win points, let alone games," Murray said.

"I've played matches like this before and tried to fight through to the end because your opponent can hit a rough patch.

"You can't play too many matches like this if you want to go far in this tournament.

"I hope to win the next one a little bit faster."

Defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka, who was also taken to five sets in his round one clash, enjoyed serene progress this time around as he comprehensively beat Japan’s Taro Daniel 7-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The Swiss’ next opponent will be 30th seed Jeremy Chardy of France.

Defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka enjoyed comfortable progress to round three
Defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka enjoyed comfortable progress to round three ©Getty Images

Japan’s Kei Nishikori comfortably progressed thanks to a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 triumph against Russian Andrey Kuznetsov.

Spain’s Feliciano Lopez awaits for the fifth seed in round three.

In the women’s draw, sixth seed Simona Halep of Romania, a beaten French Open finalist in 2014, fought back from 4-1 down in the first set of her clash with Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan to seal a 7-6, 6-2 success.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, seeded 10th, is also through as she swept aside Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei 6-4, 6-1.

They will both be joined by highly-rated Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, who dispatched French wildcard Myrtille Georges 6-2, 6-0.

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