Andy Murray was spared the otherwise mandatory attendance at the National Tennis Centre last week when the LTA summoned all potential British competitors at Wimbledon to make sure they are not coerced into saying anything that reflects badly on the bosses when the nation's international record is placed under an unflattering spotlight next month.

Such is the level of the national governing body's neurosis that players it funds might blurt out a contrary message - be it about departed coaches, the size of their contracts, national programmes and anything else remotely sensitive - a three-line whip has been issued. It has come to this. Murray, though he was the chief beneficiary of LTA funding with regards to Brad Gilbert, his former coach, is considered a law unto himself.

It was certainly that way at Roland Garros yesterday as the British No1 put himself in danger of what would have been a shocking defeat by Jonathan Eysseric, of France, the youngest man in the draw, only to extricate himself as the 17-year-old eventually wilted. Had Gilbert still been his coach, this would probably have been the performance that rendered their partnership unsustainable.

As Murray said last week, it only matters if W for winner is placed beside your name on the drawsheet and, as the 6-2, 1-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 scoreline after a fretful two hours and 44 minutes was in his favour, he and not the teenage left-hander will be in the second round here for the first time. It is a milestone but one Murray reached with many faltering steps.

In Murray, the sport possesses a player who has all the shots but does not have a clear enough picture of which one he should use at any given time. Near the end of the third set, when his mind was at its most cluttered, he screamed “play your own game” and promptly dumped another accursed drop shot into the bottom of the net. But that is his own game.

As this was his sixth victory in ten five-set matches, one cannot question Murray's levels of bravery or endurance. At no stage yesterday did he look tired in the legs, just a shade skewed mentally. The Sunday start was not to his liking, especially as he was not feeling well, nor was the fact that Eysseric's game was foreign to him and that left-handers with whippy serves and nothing-to-lose attitudes can pose problems to the finest in the sport. Ask Novak Djokovic, the Serbian No3 seed, who needed all his fortitude to see off Denis Gremelmayr, the German world No52, yesterday.

Eysseric is to be found at No390 and has done all his best work thus far at the junior level, where he competes again here in the boys' tournament next week. Initially, he looked to be out of his depth, miscuing on the forehand and vulnerable to Murray's wily shot selection. Then, that shot selection lost all of its wiliness. Murray went walkabout as drop shots barely reached the net, errors spewed from his racket and his service functioned to sporadic effect.

When he trailed by two sets to one, the emotions were precisely those experienced on the same court four years ago, when Tim Henman lost the first two sets against Cyril Saulnier, of France, a situation from which he not only recovered but went on to reach the semi-finals. Best, in Murray's case, given that his throat is sore, which is not helping his mood or movement, not to look beyond tomorrow, when he plays José Acasuso, of Argentina.

There were tears in the eyes of the three-time champion, Gustavo Kuerten, before he walked on to Court Philippe Chatrier before his final grand-slam match and, inevitably tears at the end as the great Brazilian collected only nine games in his defeat by Paul-Henri Mathieu, of France. Guga's hips just do not function any more. “I am just thankful for all that has happened to me in my career,” he said. The acclaim of the crowd will stay with him for ever.