Andy Murray (Photo : Getty Images)
Andy Murray continues his quest to defend his title at the 2016 Rio Olympics when he faces Argentina's Juan Monaco in the second round of the tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Murray's title defense and a shot at a second-consecutive Olympic Gold Medal still alive after easing past Serb Viktor Troicki in the first round, 6-3 6-2. The world No. 2 was broken in his opening game, but immediately regain control of the match and seal the victory.
Murray, who won first place at the London Olympics in 2012, said he does not see the competition as a title defense for his accomplishment during the Olympic Games four years ago, but the Scot admitted there is pressure to winning another Gold Medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
"I will always keep my gold medal," Murray said, reports the BBC. "That will always be there. You don't have to give it away."
"So, it's more trying to win another medal. That builds the pressure, and wanting to do something here. It's sort of the pressure I am putting on myself. I'm not thinking about four years ago. Having the Olympics come so soon after Wimbledon for me, it may have been easy to have a bit of a lull, but that's not going to happen with the Olympics."
Murray leads Monaco by 3-2 in their ATP head2head matchup, but the 32-year-old Argentine, who easily dispatched Bosnian Mizra Basic in the first round with a 6-2 6-2 win, could follow the footsteps of his compatriot Juan Martin del Potro in upsetting top-ranked opponents.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic's exit have boosted Murray as the top favorite to win the men's singles category. However, there was disappointment for Murray in the men's doubles after he and his brother Jamie lost to the Brazilian pair of Andre Sa and Thomaz Bellucci 7-6(6) 7-6(14), joining the trend of shocking losses at the quadrennial event.
Murray and Monaco could book a third round matchup against either French Benoit Paire or Italy's Fabio Fognini. Paire defeated Czech Lukas Rosol 3-6 6-3 6-4, while Fognini also came off a three-setter victory after beating Victor Estrella Burgos 2-6 7-6(4) 6-0.
Live streaming info and score updates
Watch 2016 Rio Olympics tennis men's singles: Andy Murray vs Juan Monaco live via NBC. Live score updates will be available during game days at ATP World Tour's official website.
