TIM Henman likes Andy Murray's chances of claiming the World No 1 spot for the first time in 2017 - but feels he would be wise to pick and choose his Davis Cup appearances to maximise his chances of doing so. While the 29-year-old from Dunblane has consolidated his position as the world's second best tennis player during this season, he still stands a daunting 5,000 points back from Novak Djokovic in the world rankings with tournaments running out.

Djokovic's year, including two Grand Slam wins and another final appearance, is hardly a disaster but the Englishman, as popular visitor as usual to Scotland this midweek as he participated in the 'Andy Murray Live' event at the SSE Hydro, feels his friend has a realistic shot at unseating the Serb at the summit of the game next year.

"After the French Open where Djokovic won, you were thinking that Novak was so far in front and that he was going to win four in a calendar year," said Henman. "But, you know, there has been other things going on. You look at Andy and it is going to be hard for him to be No 1 this year but if he keeps going like this then March, April time next year he definitely has a shot.

"For me one of the most remarkable moments of the Olympics and I watched it all, was Andy achieving what he did, winning gold again, in a final which was just incredible," Henman added. "Then he does his medal ceremony, he has his press conference, and then he gets on a plane to go to Cincinatti. Other athletes were saying 'I've got three months off now' but he didn't have three days off. He got there on Wednesday. That is how relentless the tennis schedule is. From Monte Carlo, he has played in big event after big event and delivered in them all. Losing to Nishikori, who is a great player, in New York was probably just the accumulation of the six months prior to that."

Henman was as interested as any other spectator as another superhuman three-day effort from the World No 2 over ten hours of play at the Emirates Arena came up just short of booking Britain's second Davis Cup final in successive years. While the format of the competition could be made more manageable for the world's top players from 2018 onwards, Henman feels Murray would be wise to be selective when it comes to his participation - as he was this July, when along with Djokovic, he opted out of playing the quarter final tie against Serbia immediately after Wimbledon.

"It was another amazing atmosphere and an amazing tie," said Henman. "Britain has had such an unbelievable run and sport is such fine margins. That weekend for me was probably decided by a running forehand on Friday. [Juan Martin] Del Potro hit an unbelievable shot and that shot probably was the difference - it was that close.

"But it is very hard," he added. "Even when Greg [Rusedski] and I were playing Davis Cup, we were both in the top ten of singles and we didn't win a world group match. We were a really good doubles pair as well but physically and mentally, playing three best of five sets three days in a row, I can't tell you how hard it is. I played pretty much non stop for 13 years, stopped for a year or two, then played my last couple of years. But what Andy has been able to do, with the back up of the team as well, has been incredible.

"The Davis Cup is an unbelievable tournament, an unbelievable event, but in all honesty it hasn't really worked in the last five or ten years when you look at the number of players who have said they aren't playing. Switzerland won but [Roger] Federer and [Stan] Wawrinka said they weren't playing, and I understand why. With the calendar it is so difficult to get all the different events in. You have four grand slams, nine Masters 1000s on the tour, then Davis Cup as well. Andy picked and chose this year and absolutely it was the right decision."

The crowded nature of the global tennis calendar may also be a factor when it comes to the 29-year-old from Dunblane's intention to explore the options of hosting a Masters 250 event in Glasgow, with matches shared between the SSE Hydro and the SECC. Last week's enjoyable 'Andy Murray Live' event, which raised funds for Unicef and local Glasgow charity Young People's Futures was yet another demonstration of the sport's pulling power in this country.

"A tour event is an option and Andy would have to be the driving force for that," said Henman. "If you are trying to bring a tour event, you have to buy a week from the Tour and it is a hell of a lot of money. You look at the calendar and when can it be? It is not going to be on grass, it is not going to be on clay, then you look at the autumn, round about now, and there are a lot of tournaments. But you come to an event like this and an arena like this and it is similar if not better to when I first walked into the o2 in London, it is so impressive. The charity element is a great way to start and hopefully this can be the foundation for the first three, five, ten years - however well it progresses."