French Open: Andy Murray takes opening set

Andy Murray returns the ball during the fourth round match of the French Open against Fernando Verdasco. Picture: AP

The Scot played arguably his best grand slam set since winning Wimbledon last summer to take it 6-4.

Murray has a great record against left-handers, a legacy of growing up playing against brother Jamie, and had beaten Verdasco in nine of their 10 previous meetings.

But they had never met on clay, the Scot’s weakest surface, and Murray’s Wimbledon dream would have been snuffed out in the quarter-finals last year had Verdasco capitalised on a two-set lead.

A big question was how well would Murray pull up physically after his two-day, five-set battle against Philipp Kohlschreiber in round three.

He seemed to be moving well but Verdasco was on his game straight away and Murray dug deep to save three break points in his first service game.

The Scot then broke for 2-1 with a trademark backhand pass but Verdasco hit straight back when Murray netted a backhand.

Both men were hitting thumping groundstrokes, with Murray certainly stepping up a level from his first three matches.

And he got his reward with a break for 5-4, pinning Verdasco on his less-favoured backhand and then serving out the set to love.