Murray, the 2016 runner up on the red clay in the French capital, once again struggled for form early on before he rallied to claim a 6-7, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 victory.

The Briton, the double Olympic gold medallist and three-time Grand Slam champion, took advantage of Kližan seemingly taking his foot off the gas after winning the opener.

The 30-year-old could not find his rhythm in the first set, which he lost on a tie-break, and was also forced to fight back in the fourth before he eventually prevailed.

His win set up a heavyweight clash with Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in what will be a repeat of the gold medal match at last year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Del Potro was level at one set-all when Spanish opponent Nicolas Almagro had to withdraw through injury.

The Argentine consoled Almagro, who departed the arena in tears, and helped him off court.

"I expected it to be very tough," said Murray. 

"He goes for huge shots and on his forehand he can hit winners anywhere on the court.

"Sometimes you think you have hit a good shot and then he comes up with unbelievable power from a defensive position. 

"It was very tough.

"I tried to play a solid match.

"As it went on I hit deeper and started to dictate more points."

Elsewhere in the men's singles draw, 2015 champion and third seed Stanislas Wawrinka beat Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 7-6, 7-5.

Japan's Kei Nishikori is also through after he overcame Jeremy Chardy of France 6-3, 6-0, 7-6, but 13th seed Tomáš Berdych of the Czech Republic is out as he lost 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 to Russia's Karen Khachanov.

In the women's draw, Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina dropped the opening set before she ousted Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Agnieszka Radwańska of Poland, the eighth seed, also made life difficult for herself but managed to get past Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck 6-7, 6-2, 6-3.