Tennis: Murray rallies to win Indian Wells opener

Andy Murray of Great Britain hits a return to Evgeny Donskoy of Russia during day 5 of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 10, 2013 in Indian Wells, California. AFP

INDIAN WELLS, California – World No. 3 Andy Murray got off to a slow start in his opening match at Indian Wells on Sunday but persevered to post a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Russian Evgeny Donskoy.

Murray, playing his first match in six weeks, found himself in a 5-1 hole in just 24 minutes against the 22-year-old ranked 83rd in the world.

The Scot reeled off four straight games to knot the set, but Donskoy broke him for a third time in the 12th game to pocket the set.

Murray, however, had found his range and made short work of the second and third sets, avoiding the ignominy of a third straight opening-match exit in the year’s first Masters event.

The US Open champion next faces Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun, a 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5) winner over 26th-seeded Slovakian Martin Klizan.