ANDY Murray struggled to survive his opening match of the season on clay, with the second seed scratching out a narrow 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert at the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco on Tuesay.

    Murray needed two hours to book his place in the third round after losing serve four times against Herbert.

    “I knew it would be a tough match,” the two-time semifinalist said. “I just managed to turn it around at the end.

    “It was a tight third set, he had chances to break me. I had to hang tough: This was a good one to get through.”

    Third seed Roger Federer made a winning return to tennis two and a half months after knee surgery, with the Swiss third seed beating Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3, 6-4 to launch his pre-Roland Garros clay campaign.

    Federer has never won the Monte Carlo title, losing in four finals, most recently in 2014 to compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka, the reigning French Open champion.

    Murray has yet to regain his top form two months after becoming a father.

    The 28-year-old has a massive set of clay court ranking points to defend after winning his first two titles on the surface in Munich and Madrid last year.

    The Scot improved his tournament record to 12-7 with the victory. He needed to battle in a tight third set against the 95th-ranked Herbert, breaking to love for a 3-1 lead that proved decisive.

    Spain’s injured seventh seed David Ferrer withdrew a day prior to his second-round match against German teenager Alexander Zverev. He was replaced by compatriot Marcel Granollers.

    Ferrer, a finalist in the Principality five years ago against compatriot Rafael Nadal, has had a patchy 2016 season, taking a break from late February to late March to rest.

    Upon his return, the ATP No. 8 lost in the Miami Open third round to France’s Lucas Pouille.

    (SD-Agencies)