A surprise highlight of today's Davis Cup countdown was an Antipodean address to the haggis. Tennis is a sport at the apex of advancements in diet and nutrition but since arriving in Glasgow Wally Masur's Australian team, which this weekend stands in the way of Great Britain's first final appearance since 1978, still made time to sample some local delicacies.

Thanasi Kokkinakis, the 19-year-old World No 72 from Adelaide, had made some mildly disparaging comments about the trip to Scotland after being forced to retire in the US Open first round ["Look, no disrespect to Scotland," he had said. "But I don't think I'll be getting there too early"] but there was a swift bit of backtracking yesterday. Not only had Kokkinakis been pleasantly surprised by his first view of the city, he had also savoured his first taste of the combination of sheep's heart, liver and lungs, stomach lining, oatmeal and suet which comprises our national dish.

"I didn't mean that [tweet] offensively!" said Kokkinakis. "It is actually a pretty nice city. It is bigger than I thought. I didn't read up too much on it. But I was in New York and I wanted to enjoy New York a bit longer. I tried some haggis. Again, better than I thought. It didn’t look great served on my plate. I thought, ‘What is this?’ Bernie [Tomic] didn’t take too kindly to it, but each to their own. So yeah, the haggis… I would give it a seven."

By the stats Kokkinakis, ranked No 72, is only the third-highest ranked singles player in Masur's selection, behind Tomic (23) and big-serving Sam Groth (54), and ahead of veteran Lleyton Hewitt (286). With Tomic, who is freshly recalled to the group following a legendary fall-out between his father John and the Australian tennis federation, thought likely to take on James Ward or Kyle Edmund, the suggestion is that tomorrow's draw may pit Kokkinakis into a rather epic day one opening showdown with his friend and the World No 3 Andy Murray, on his home patch of Glasgow. While the two men have played many sets together in practice, they have never met competitively.

For his part, Kokkinakis, after his helping of haggis, is desperate to step up to the plate. "It would be a crazy experience," said the 19-year-old. "The fans went nuts here the last time and I would expect more of the same and then some. Obviously he is a quality player who has had a great year as well so it would be a big challenge for me but I would love to get the opportunity. I have spoken to him - but not about the match."

Such an outcome would see Kokkinakis emerge as a surrogate for his friend and contemporary Nick Kyrgios, aka Naughty Nick, who is back in his native Canberra right now, having been omitted/rested from this tie at the end of a wearying autumn which saw him outrage much opinion with lewd comments to Stan Wawrinka about an alleged liaison between his pal Kokkinakis and Wawrinka's girlfriend Donna Vekic. Without a coach after parting ways with Todd Larkham, Kyrgios spent some time with Hewitt in the lead-up to the US Open in a coach and mentoring role and Masur last night explained the decision.

"I think we were on the same page pretty quickly to be honest," said Masur. "I had been speaking with Nick prior to the US Open, and Nick had been spending some time with Lleyton. We all felt this was the right decision but he has a really bright future and he is mates with all these guys. He is going to be a good player for us. Nick is at an interesting stage right now. He doesn't have a coach at present, and there are just a few underpinning things he needs to put right then we will see the best of him pretty soon I am sure."

Few nations on this planet are more committed to the Davis Cup than Australia - not least in what could well be Hewitt's final bow in the competition as a player - and there was a sense of harmony about this squad which will take some beating. Back in July, they were two rubbers to love down against Kazakhstan in Darwin before Groth and Hewitt turned things around, winning together in the doubles, then each taking another point in the reverse singles en route to a 3-2 victory. It is a role both men could be asked to play again here, although they were cagey last night on the subject of whether they would prefer to face the Murray brothers on doubles duty on Saturday, or Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot, both of whom reached at least the last four at Flushing Meadows. "This competition obviously means a lot to me," said Hewitt. "In my last year playing, it’s a great opportunity. With my experience and the other boys’ youth out there, we’ve really mixed it up out there. We won’t be leaving anything in the locker room, that’s for certain."

The presence of so many Scots in Great Britain colours meant that those who compared the tie with a chance for Australia to atone for their ashes disappointment were only half right. "That is a good call," said Hewitt. "You are probably right. But in the past their cricket team hasn't had too many English players in it either!"