Stewart Fisher: Meticulous Murray the standard bearer for an all-new Scottish and British success story in Brazil

There has always been an emotional quality to Murray's tennis - that is part of what makes him so watchable - but it is underpinned by an unwavering meticulousness and method which leaves nothing to chance.

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Those moaning and groaning on social media about what the Scot was subjecting them to as his thrilling gold medal match against a resurgent Juan Martin del Potro was being beamed into their living rooms have decidedly short memories. This is a man, after all, who hardly seemed to break sweat a month or so ago as he racked up a second Wimbledon triumph.

Having sailed economically through both semi-final and final at SW19 without losing a set, in fact, the last time the Scot could be accused of even the slightest uncertainty of purpose was around March, when he tumbled out of Indian Wells and Miami in short order to Federico Delbonis and Grigor Dimitrov.

By contrast, he has now been victorious on his last 18 matches, or alternatively lost just one of his last 30. The Scot's 2016 record stands at 46-6 to Novak Djokovic's 51-5 and suddenly it is the previously relentless Serb's fans who are more entitled to be throwing their arms in the air and complaining of what their man is putting them through.

Different variables, of course, have come into play in all of these individual battles. Opponents' playing styles, game plans, surfaces, conditions, all are part of the mix. But still meticulous Murray continues to find a way to win. At times, such as his Wimbledon quarter final against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or during Sunday night's onslaught against the Del Potro forehand, he has had to fight a rearguard action, waiting for a storm to subside.

That is simply top level sport, where an inspired opponent can take matters out of your hands for a period. But while the giant Argentinian's storming play blew the likes of Djokovic and Rafa Nadal off court in Rio de Janeiro, the Scot simply steadied the ship before sailing serenely to a supreme second successive Olympic triumph.

When push came to shove the golfing fraternity mainly found excuses to get out of going to Rio, but the Olympic tennis competition has come of age with a vengeance. Some of the sport's more idiosyncratic names, from stealthy Slovakian baseliner Miloslav Mecir to Nicolas Massu of Chile, have won gold since 1988 but all the top players wanted this one alright - not least Djokovic, who will be 33 by the time his next chance comes around.

A bit like the majors in golf, the parameters of Andy Murray's career will be defined by Grand Slam success but retaining an Olympic gold medal in an era when the best players in the world all coveted it is another part of his formidable legend.

Winning becomes a habit and if he still has enough in the tank the Scot will see no reason to stop now. He is scheduled to begin his campaign at the Cincinnati Masters tomorrow and by the time he returns to Glasgow in mid-September to renew acquaintances with the re-born Del Potro in a Davis Cup semi final against Argentina then perform in his own 'Andy Murray Live' charity exhibition event at the Hydro he could yet have a second US Open title under his belt.

The 29-year-old from Dunblane will always hog the headlines but in every sense he is merely the standard bearer for a Scottish success story in Brazil which is both stunning and not entirely predictable. There was a suggestion that London 2012 and Glasgow 2014 were one-off never-to-be-repeated phenomenons, but a seed was sown and Rio 2016 has merely confirmed Britain's ongoing love affair with these multi sport events.

It can be a struggle staying up to watch the BBC coverage, but in some ways this may even be our finest hour. With four golds and 12 medals already to their name, by the time you read this Laura Muir may have moved the Scottish haul level with the 13 they claimed in London 2012 with days still to spare.

Scots are more than pulling their weight but is there any nation out there more invested, both literally and metaphorically, in these championships than the British? It wasn't just Murray and Justin Rose who were persuaded to wholeheartedly hitch their talents to the combined cause.

You could say the same about Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish, while the likes of Max Whitlock, Jason Kenny, Laura Trott and Adam Peaty have all accepted the baton of British sporting superstardom. Whether another Scottish tennis sensation ever comes along who is capable of following in Murray's footsteps seems rather more uncertain, sadly. Long may he subject us to the kind of stress we all experienced on Sunday.