London 2012 gold medallist Andy Murray handed tricky opener as he begins Olympic Games title defence in Rio
Britain's Andy Murray will begin his Olympic title defence against Serbia’s world No35 Viktor Troicki when the opening round of the tennis singles at the Rio Games get underway this weekend.
London 2012 gold medallist Murray, who has been chosen as Team GB’s flagbearer for tonight’s opening ceremony, holds a 7-0 career record against Troicki, including three victories in matches on a hard court – the surface being used in Brazil.
Murray has been seeded second in the draw behind world No1 Novak Djokovic, who will open up against 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro – the player who beat him in the bronze medal match four years ago.
Djokovic could face France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last eight, while Murray’s projected opponents are David Ferrer in the quarter-final and Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the semi.
Murrray’s team-mate Kyle Edmund, who proved instrumental as Great Britain defeated Serbia in the Davis Cup quarter-final last month, will face Australia’s Jordan Thompson in the first round.
In the women’s singles, 10th seed Johanna Konta has been drawn against Stephanie Vogt of Liechtenstein in the opening round, while Heather Watson will do battle against China’s former world No27 Peng Shuai.
Andy Murray will be joined on court by his brother Jamie in the doubles where Brazil pair Andre Sa and Thomaz Bellucci will provide the opposition. Colin Fleming and Dom Inglot will face Santiago Gonzalez and Miguel-Angel Reyes-Varela of Mexico, while Konta and Watson play Serbia duo Jelena Jankovic and Aleksandra Krunic.