IF you think Andy Murray carried Great Britain to Davis Cup glory in 2015 you should spare a thought for poor Denis Istomin. Five times the 31-year-old, by far the Central Asian Republic’s finest player, has played a World Group play-off tie for Uzbekistan and fallen short of glory.

The man with the trademark wraparound spectacles has tangled with Nick Kyrgios and Lleyton Hewitt in Australia, mixed it with Mikhail Kukushkin in Kazakhstan, battled with Janko Tipsarevic in Belgrade. Jack Sock and the US socked it to him in Tashkent, and most annoyingly of all, a Switzerland team minus Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka still had enough in reserve to keep them at arms’ length on home soil in 2016.

So you might have thought the World 92 would be desperate for any assistance going when it comes to the small matter of September’s sixth bite at the cherry, and the Davis Cup World Group tie against Great Britain at the Emirates Arena. It could, of course, be last chance saloon for him.

But you can think again. As much as Istomin is savouring his sixth shot at glory – and maybe the chance to try a wee dram along the way – he would far prefer that his opposition that weekend includes one of the most famous sons of that city: Andy Murray.

“This will be my first time in Glasgow, both for me and the team,” Istomin told the Sunday Herald. “I have been to London so many times but never Scotland so we are looking forward to it. It will be nice to see some new places .. and maybe try some Scotch!

“The GB has a great team now, you have Kyle Edmund, [Cam] Norrie, while Dan Evans has come back. There are so many good players and Andy of course I wish that he will come back soon. For me, I hope that he plays the Davis Cup tie, it would be a great atmosphere. I like him so much, but with or without him you have a very good team anyway.”

Istomin and Murray are sporting contemporaries who have met three times on a tennis court – the Scot has won all three – but they have a few key things in common too. Not only do both have tennis coaches for mothers (Istomin is still coached by his mum Klaudiya), Istomin too knows how it feels to suffer from serious injury and hip problems. Being involved in a serious car crash en route to a tennis tournament whilst just 14, Istomin suffered a complicated leg break which left him hospitalised for three and a half months. Considering some felt he would never play again, having to retire hurt every now and again with hip problems seems like a reasonable result.

“I saw Andy playing last week at Eastbourne and he was playing at a good level but his body still needs time,” said Istomin. “I know because I have had so many problems with my hip as well because of the car accident. It just takes time. Of course everybody wants to go straightaway, but you need time.

“Since I broke my leg in the car accident I. have had so many problems - I have to retire so many times in tournaments because it doesn’t allow me to play all the time It is hard, you have to work all the time to try to make it 100%.”

It is anyone’s guess where the former World No 1 will be with his hip after the US Open, even if the pull of playing in Glasgow, in front of an enthusiastic crowd will be quite a pull for him. For his part, Istomin sees a kinship with Scotland’s No 1, even if the two don’t speak so often these days. Their last meeting on a tennis court was at the Miami Open in 2016.

“I know him but at a tournament it is tough to talk all the time because everyone has their own plan and their own team,” he said. “I respect him so much but we played three times and they were always tough matches. I always like to play against him.

“I never change my coach. And I never will do it.”

While he is correct to point out the strength and depth suddenly available to GB captain Leon Smith, once again you have to look to around the World No 500 mark for Istomin’s supporting cast for the likes of Jurabek Karimov, Sanjar Fayziev and Khumayor Sultanov. Nonetheless, Istomin - a man who conquered Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open - will give it all he has for what he knows could be his last chance at reaching the top division of world tennis.

“I think it is five times we have played qualifying rounds,” he said. “Last time we had a good chance against Switzerland because they didn’t have such a good team out, but we were very unlucky because our No 2 player was injured and the junior who was going to play instead of him was also injured.

“I hope everyone will be okay this time, and I hope I will also be able to play without injury. We are looking forward to it. We will just try our best and of course we will be fight to the end. For me it will be one of the last chances to be in the World Group. Maybe for the country at large it doesn’t mean anything but for tennis in the country it means a lot. And it means a lot for me.

“To make a first in history it is always a big thing. If you have this kind of result, to be in the world group and in with the best 16 teams in the world, it also helps with the younger players and the government.”