Murray on brink as Edmund wins

The world No 2 was regarded by many as the second favourite for the title heading into the tournament.

However, he looked like anything but as he dropped the opening two sets to 37-year-old qualifier Stepanek.

Murray has recovered to win from two sets down eight times in his career and he must do so again after play was called off for the night at 9.22pm with Stepanek leading 6-3 6-3 0-6 2-4.

This was not the match Murray wanted after responding to Amelie Mauresmo’s comments about the end of their coaching partnership.

The Frenchwoman opened the lid on the split in an interview in L’Equipe in which she indicated his difficulty in controlling his emotions on court played a big part in her leaving.

Murray’s most unappealing habit is taking his frustration out on his support camp by screaming abuse at them. The Scot has long been aware of the problem, but has yet to find a way to solve it. He admitted he sometimes feels embarrassed when he sees replays of matches, but said in L’Equipe: “When you’re on the court, a lot of the things that happen are not always really a true reflection of how you feel.

It was after 7pm when the players took to the court following a lengthy rain delay earlier in the day, and conditions were damp and heavy. Stepanek revels in making life difficult for his opponent, through his play and by any other means possible, and it was not long before Murray was chuntering away.

After losing the first two sets, and with the light fading, Murray raced through the third set, yelling encouragement to himself after virtually every point.

Stepanek knew getting off the court as quickly as possible represented his best chance and Murray had a lengthy exchange with umpire Damien Dumusois about his opponent’s apparent time wasting.

Stepanek duly received a warning after taking a toilet break and then changing his shirt, but it did not disrupt Murray’s rhythm and he extended his run of games to nine before the Czech held.

After Stepanek held again to make it 4-2, conditions were deemed too dark, leaving Murray facing a very important service game when play resumes.

Yorkshire’s Kyle Edmund reached the second round of the French Open for the second successive year with a four-set win over qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili. The 21-year-old, from Beverley, again showed his battling qualities in a 7-6 (7/4) 6-7 (9/7) 7-5 6-1 victory that lasted two hours and 47 minutes and finished with the darkness closing.

There was not quite the drama of last year, when Andy Murray was among the crowd as Edmund defeated French qualifier Stephane Robert in five sets, but this was another impressive victory.

Georgian Basilashvili is ranked outside the top 100 but came into the match on the back of a title on the second-tier Challenger circuit and three victories in qualifying.

Edmund’s win set up a clash with 15th seed John Isner or Australia’s John Millman.

Stan Wawrinka narrowly avoided becoming the first men’s defending champion to lose in the first round of the French Open. The third seed trailed Lukas Rosol by two sets to one, but hit back to win 4-6 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4 in three hours and 11 minutes.

Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov led Viktor Troicki by two sets to one and 4-2 in the fourth, but went down to another troubling defeat, 2-6 6-3 5-7 7-5 6-3.