Andy Murray survives Marcos Baghdatis scare in Tokyo
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Andy Murray came back from a break down in the deciding set to beat Marcos Baghdatis in the opening round of the Japan Open.
The Cypriot led 3-1 in the third set but the Briton battled back to complete a 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-4 victory in Tokyo.
Each player broke serve in the first set before Murray came through the tie-break, but Baghdatis levelled to take it to a decider.
The Scot looked set for an early exit but held his nerve to progress.
"He played well under the conditions. It took me longer to find the range," Murray said. "The hardest thing for me always is changing from playing outdoors to indoors.
"It was very tough, it was very long, I did a lot of running in the first two sets.
"He is a tough guy to play against. He has a big serve. He can hurt you in many ways on the court."
Murray has now won 17 of his last 18 matches, his most recent defeat coming in the semi-finals of the US Open at the hands of Rafael Nadal.
Murray's rich run of form seemed to have ended, though, when former Australian Open finalist Baghdatis took the second set.
Baghdatis had beaten the British number one in three of their four previous meetings, including a match in Rotterdam this February, and a fourth victory seemed on the horizon when he broke early in the third set.
Murray, however, came through several tight games to book a second-round clash with American Alex Bogomolov Jr.
