Andy Murray survived a scare against Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik to progress to the third round of the Stuttgart Open on Thursday afternoon.
The three-time Grand Slam winner lost out to Bublik in the Indian Wells Masters earlier this year but marched to a 6-3 7-6 [7-4] win to earn a slice of revenge in Germany.
A cagey opening to the match saw both men hold well before the first of several Bublik double faults would hand Murray the vital break for a 4-2 lead, although the 24-year-old briefly managed to serve to stay in the set.
However, Murray - whose first serves were largely on point during the opening exchanges - was not to be denied a first-set triumph, with Bublik returning wide from the Brit's strong serve.
An early break for Murray in the second set would seemingly set the 35-year-old on his way to a comfortable success, but Bublik proceeded to win the next four games and leave Murray shell-shocked.
Murray's first-serve win percentage dropped by a whopping 50% in the second set as he served to stay in at 2-5 down, but with new balls in tow, the Brit found a sixth gear.
Murray's wonderful movement across the court helped him reduce the deficit to 4-5 before levelling the scores, and he successfully forced a tie-break after a stellar comeback.
Another pinpoint first serve from Murray ultimately saw him wrap up a two-set victory, and he will meet the winner of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Stricker's battle in the quarter-finals.
Ben Knapton
