Andy Murray vs. Juan Monaco: Score and Reaction from 2016 Olympics

Great Britain's Andy Murray cruised into the third round at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday with a routine 6-3, 6-1 victory over Juan Monaco of Argentina. 

Murray entered the match with a 3-2 record against the feisty Argentine, but he was never in serious danger during the encounter. The battle featured a lot of extended rallies, which wasn't a surprise given the strong defense of both players, but the 2012 London Olympic champion was a step above throughout.

The road to a second straight gold medal is wide open for Murray. Juan Martin del Potro knocked out top seed Novak Djokovic in the first round Sunday, Rafael Nadal isn't in top form, and the other top contenders, Swiss stars Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, aren't playing in the event.

The 29-year-old Scot stated after his first-round victory over Viktor Troicki that his focus in Rio is less about trying to defend his title from the London Games and more about trying to add to his already impressive resume, per BBC Sport:

"

I will always keep my gold medal. 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.

"

Murray came out firing on all cylinders, as he raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set. A lot of top players across the tennis spectrum, including in doubles, have struggled adapting to the Rio court surfaces in the first few rounds, but there have been no such problems for the three-time major champion.

Russell Fuller of BBC Tennis commented on the fast start:

Monaco eventually got the opening set back on serve with a break. Murray immediately broke back, however, and he eased to the finish line of the set to grab complete control of the match.

The second set was even more lopsided as Murray secured a 4-0 lead. He never looked back en route to punching his ticket to Round 3. It's exactly the type of quick match players love in these type of one-week tournaments, when there isn't as much rest time as during the majors.

The No. 2 seed finished the match with 14 winners and five aces to go along with 10 unforced errors. Monaco, meanwhile, was charged with 26 unforced errors, but a lot of those came at the end of long rallies when he just couldn't solve the Murray defensive puzzle.

As Mark Williams-Thomas of ITV pointed out, everything is trending in the right direction for the reigning champion through the first two rounds:

Looking ahead, Murray moves on to face the winner of the second-round clash between Benoit Paire and Fabio Fognini in his next match. While he holds just a 1-0 record against Paire and a 2-2 mark against Fognini, he'll still be a heavy favorite, regardless of the opponent.

It's ultimately hard to imagine a scenario in which he doesn't reach the medal rounds, even when factoring in the other upsets in the tennis events so far. And another gold medal is within reach given the lack of top-tier opponents in the field.

Post-Match Reaction

Murray stated afterward that his loss in doubles alongside brother Jamie didn't really alter his singles outlook despite the disappointment, according to Team Great Britain's official site.

"I didn't use the doubles defeat as fuel. It made things harder if anything," he said. "It was a tough loss obviously and the way the match went was really tough so you've got to take it, move on and try your best the next day to win your matches and that's it."

He also discussed the challenges that come with a lack of preparation, though it's hard to tell based on his quick victories in each of the first two rounds.

"I've played a lot of tennis. It's been really hard to prepare here after the French and Wimbledon," Murray said. "I haven't played a match on a hard court for five months so playing two matches every day is not easy on this surface and in these conditions."

All match statistics courtesy of the Olympics' official site.