Andy Murray knows he must find his best form quickly if he is to have any hope of winning a first French Open title.
The world number two is through to the third round, but only just, and has already spent more than seven hours on court in five-set wins over Radek Stepanek and Mathias Bourgue.
No player has won a grand slam title in the Open era having played more than three five-set matches during the tournament, while it is the first time in more than a decade Murray has played back-to-back five-setters.
The concern is the Scot has not yet faced a player in the top 100, and it was a major surprise that world number 164 Bourgue, playing in his first slam, caused the problems he did.
Things began predictably enough as the sun finally showed its face in Paris but, from 6-2 2-0 up, Murray inexplicably lost 24 of the next 27 points and eight games in row, and then found himself two sets to one down.
Staring at the worst defeat of his career, Murray did what he invariably does in such situations and found a way back, eventually winning 6-2 2-6 4-6 6-2 6-3 in three hours and 34 minutes.
He was in the unusual position of being somewhat relieved to next be facing 37-year-old Ivo Karlovic, who became the oldest man to reach the third round at a slam since Jimmy Connors in 1991 when he edged an epic fifth set 12-10 against Australian Jordan Thompson.
While facing Karlovic can be immensely frustrating, the rallies should be short and Murray can take confidence from knowing he has won all six of their previous matches.
He said of the 6ft 11in Croatian: ''Physically the average rally length will only be a few shots, maybe three, four shots max. So that's a positive there.
''For sure, tomorrow I will be tired. At least I get a day's rest now. But you can't continue playing matches like that and then expect to win the tournament. So if I can get through the next one, it will be nice to win it a bit quicker.''
Murray made no attempt to hide his disappointment at the way he played but struggled to find an explanation.
He said: ''I lost my way on the court for quite a while.
''It obviously doesn't happen that often where you're struggling to win points. But I was trying. I was trying to find a way. It wasn't like I was not there mentally, but I just couldn't find the court."
British number two Aljaz Bedene will hope to join Murray in the third round when he takes on Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta on Thursday, while Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are also in action.
Murray and Bedene are the only British singles player left after defeats for Heather Watson and Kyle Edmund.
Watson lost 6-1 6-3 to 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova while Edmund was beaten 6-4 6-4 6-4 by 15th seed John Isner.
Source: PA
