ANDY MURRAY avoided following Novak Djokovic in making an early exit from the Monte Carlo Masters after swerving a third-round defeat to world No.21 Benoit Paire.

On the day after top seed Djokovic suffered a surprise three-set loss to Czech player Jiri Vesely, world No.2 Murray was forced to launch a late comeback against fiery local hopeful Paire.

The first ever meeting between the two men finished 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 in Murray's favour and he will next face Milos Raonic, who beat Tomas Berdych's conqueror, Damir Dzumhur, in the last eight.

Paire gained the upper hand after only three games in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, the plucky 26-year-old breaking his Scottish opponent before pushing on to take a 5-1 lead.

Unforced errors from the Frenchman helped Murray claw a game back but the unpredictable Paire managed to wrap up the first set inside 30 minutes.

Avignon's Paire - employing his smooth backhand and visibly boosted by his aggression on the second serve - rattled off three more games before Murray broke back and held to stem the tide.

The 2013 Wimbledon champion was struggling to combat Paire's incessant drop shots and took a long time to win a protracted tussle when 4-3 down, finally wresting a one-game lead in the match.

Murray then channelled the grit that saw him rally to beat low-ranking Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the opening round. As the temperamental Paire began to implode, Murray clinched the second set 7-5.

The Frenchman's sharp decline did not carry through to the decider, though, and he matched Murray blow for blow until, at the end of the ninth game, he emerged victorious from a long battle at deuce.

It was not enough. In the end Murray's top-level experience paid off and after two-and-a-half frenetic hours, the Scot powered his way into a fourth-round meeting with Canadian number one Raonic.

Laura Robson will be one of seven British singles players in the main draw of the French Open next month.

The former British number one is ranked down at 465 but is using her protected ranking of 58 following her long absence with a wrist injury.

Robson had surgery in April 2014 and her progress has been frustratingly slow but the 22-year-old is at least free of pain.

Her only two victories this season were in qualifying for a small tournament in the United States, with her last tour-level win coming way back in September 2013.

Robson, who last played at Roland Garros in 2013 and has never been beyond the first round, joins Australian Open semi-finalist Johanna Konta, Heather Watson and Naomi Broady in the women's singles.

Broady's only previous grand slam appearances have come courtesy of Wimbledon wild cards but the 26-year-old goes straight into the main draw after reaching 79th in the rankings.

World number two Andy Murray is joined by Aljaz Bedene and Kyle Edmund in the men's singles, making it the most British players in the singles main draws at Roland Garros since 1985.

Like Robson, former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro and exciting Australian youngster Thanasi Kokkinakis are using protected rankings but Maria Sharapova's name was missing when the entry lists were released on Thursday.

The two-time champion is currently serving a provisional suspension pending a hearing after testing positive for meldonium at the Australian Open.

The International Tennis Federation confirmed that Sharapova's hearing will go ahead, although the date will not be made public.

The World Anti-Doping Agency changed its guidance to stakeholders this week after admitting it is unclear how long meldonium stays in the body.

That has potentially opened the door for some of the more than 170 athletes that have tested positive for the drug to avoid sanction.