Andy Murray was pushed to the limit by former Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian before booking his place in the third round of the Rome Masters with a 6-1 4-6 7-5 win, Daily Mail reported.
There was no hint of the drama to follow when Murray, playing for the first time since missing the Madrid Masters with a back injury, swept through the first set and looked ready for a quick night.
But Nalbandian battled back to level the match and went a break up in the decider before his frequent unforced errors began to tell and Murray clawed back to serve out for the match after two hours and 37 minutes.
Nalbandian looked much stronger from the start of the second set, and both players found their form on serve with no break points for either until Murray served to stay in the set at 4-5 down and was broken.
Nalbandian was not quite finished, going 15-40 up on his opponent's serve as Murray served for the match, but a backhand drive which clipped the outside of the line helped Murray haul back to deuce before rounding off a gutsy win.
