Andy Murray doesn't see it as a title defense; he just wants more gold

RIO DE JANEIRO — By its very definition, Andy Murray’s easy win against Serbia’s Viktor Troicki in the first round of the men’s singles here was the first step toward defending his gold medal from the 2012 London Games.

Perhaps only the Scottish star, ranked No. 2 in the world, would dispute the idea of Sunday’s straight-sets victory (6-3, 6-2) commencing a medal defense.

“I’m not defending a gold medal,” Murray said. “I’ll always keep my gold medal. It’s always going to be there. You don’t have to give it back.”

This is true, in a sense: London provided one gold medal, and Rio might provide another.

Yet there is no argument over Murray’s strong opening in his quest for a second Olympic gold. After an inefficient start — he had his serve broken in the first game — Murray controlled the tempo against Troicki, who claimed the third title of his career in January and reached the fourth round of the French Open in June.

The victory, Murray’s seventh in a row in Olympic competition, sends him into a second-round matchup against Argentina’s Juan Monaco, who defeated Bosnia’s Mirza Bašić.

The win maintained the pace set during what has been the finest season of Murray’s career. He reached the final of the Australian Open for the second year in a row and the fifth time overall, falling to Novak Djokovic. He then reached the final of the French Open, again falling to Djokovic.

Last month Murray claimed his second Wimbledon crown, and the carryover — while physically taxing — proved beneficial in his Olympic opener, he said.

That so much has changed for Murray since his gold four years ago might explain his mental approach to these Games. Just weeks after London, he claimed his first major title at the 2012 U.S. Open. The first Wimbledon title came a year later, the second just weeks ago.

“It’s more trying to win another medal,” Murray said. “So the pressure I’m putting on myself is not thinking about what happened four years ago.”