Andy Murray is safely through to the third round of the men’s singles draw at Rio 2016 after an emphatic straight sets victory over Juan Monaco.
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Del Potro’s Argentinian team-mate Monaco, ranked 107, appeared to hold few fears for Murray and so it proved as the world number two prevailed 6-3 6-1 after only 69 minutes.
Murray, who swept side Viktor Troicki in his opening match, was broken in the first set but this was a brief moment of concern for the Scot, who immediately broke back and raced through the second set to seal victory.
The 29-year-old Scot, who won gold for Great Britain in London four years ago, made short work of his Argentinian opponent on Tuesday afternoon and will now look forward to a last-16 showdown against Italy’s Fabio Fognini or Benoit Paire of France.
Murray won the first three games, was pegged back to 3-2, but quickly forged ahead again, coming out on top of most of the long rallies and clinching the set with his fourth ace.
The world No.2 lost in his doubles opener alongside brother Jamie on Sunday night, beaten by Brazilians Thomaz Bellucci and Andre Sa. Andy and Heather Watson, placed second on the list of alternates, will not compete unless there are two withdrawals before the competition gets underway.
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Jamie Murray and Johanna Konta have now been confirmed by the British Olympic Association (BOA) as Team GB’s mixed doubles pairing. Their combined ranking is too high for automatic entry.
