SCOTTISH tennis has had worse weekends. Andy Murray contested his ninth Grand Slam final, coming up just short against a man who may soon be recognised as the finest player in the sport's history. For once, his older brother Jamie stole a measure of the familial thunder: he can now call himself a Grand Slam champion in his preferred event, getting over the line in his third successive major men's doubles final. Then there was Gordon Reid, who claimed a maiden Grand Slam singles win in the wheelchair event and narrowly avoided making it a hat-trick of major victories in the doubles.

If such Antipodean achievements illustrated once again that the time is now to create a lasting legacy from Scotland's golden generation, it should also be pointed out that, back home on the other side of the world, the sport's administration offices were also a hive of activity in an attempt to ensure more weekends like this might take place in the future. Jamie Murray for one has been an arch critic of Tennis Scotland but the organisation's new chairman Blane Dodds is a man with a plan. The former Scottish No 2 player and current chief executive of North Lanarkshire Leisure agrees that more should have done before now but nonetheless hopes to be the driving force behind an ambitious new funding arrangement which could revolutionise provision for the sport in this country, not to mention help build bridges with certain members of the Murray clan.

It is no small ask in these times of austerity but Dodds hopes to be a catalyst for change. A new network of indoor tennis centres, using inventive new partnerships with leisure trusts and businesses, and utilising innovative, cheaper designs is envisaged, along with more coaches and an enhanced competition structure. The legacy plan, which is 75% complete, will be presented to LTA and sportscotland imminently with hopes high that announcements could be made by the summer. Scotland now has 101 indoor courts and four bubbles (one in Aberdeen was damaged during the recent storms) but most of them are private concerns.

What's more, whether it was more symbolic than anything else, Dodds - Stirling University's first ever tennis scholar - got his sleeves rolled up in person at the Tennis Scotland training camp over the Christmas/New Year period. His time included an in-depth chat with his one-time opponent and current Davis Cup captain Leon Smith, who is known to be hugely supportive of everything Dodds is trying to achieve. Herald Sport understands that all going well, those plans will include Smith getting the green light from the LTA to spend a sizeable chunk of his year fronting up Tennis Scotland's performance arm.

"I tried to turn the clock back a bit and it was great to play with the kids in Stirling," said Dodds. "The standard was incredible I have to say. Jamie was supposed to be there the day that I was there but he had a stiff shoulder so didn't play. But I was talking to him recently and I know him pretty well. He has always been a critic but I think he just wants to see some delivery and outcomes, like we all do.

"I've been talking to Leon quite a bit, and he is keen to get involved in Scotland," Dodds added. "He lives in Edinburgh and has been travelling 35 weeks of the year which is a challenge, but we would love to get the benefit of his expertise more in Scotland, centring on lead technical advice, coach education and working with the elite players. He came along the day that I was there. He thought my backhand was a little bit worse than it was 20 years ago!"

Dodds turned down a scholarship offer in Atlanta to go to Stirling, but reckons he had already wasted too much time playing schools football to compete at a higher level by the time his father suggested it was time to get "a proper job". Nonetheless, there were a few brushes with fame along the way, not least spurning a match point at Craiglockart with his doubles partner Malcolm Watt against Vitas Gerulaitis and David Felgate, while Jimmy Connors sat courtside waiting for his match. He boasts a 100% record in his one career meeting with Tim Henman ["Two years later he was in the quarter finals of Wimbledon, playing Sampras," Dodds says] while his youngest daughter Connie was briefly coached by Judy Murray, before she opted out of the sport to pursue a career in ballet.

While Dodds agrees with the criticisms of the organisation, the key part will come in persuading the LTA to stump up more cash. "I have said this to Judy and I think we both agree, there is frustration there," said Dodds. "I think everybody is frustrated to a certain extent, thinking we probably should be doing more right now. But there is a real opportunity right now and over the next three to four years to deliver a proper lasting legacy on the back of what Andy and Jamie have done, which has been absolutely incredible.

"That is one of the reasons I am here, to be honest with you," he added. "To help drive the executive team and the staff here at Tennis Scotland. There are ways I think we can do that.

"We need to develop a new vision, be much more ambitious. What that means is, 'here is the outcomes we can have from that, here are the new facilities, here is the performance culture, the participation, the world class coaching, the competition structure'.

"But to do that we need more resources. From the LTA our funding is about £650,000 a year out of total funding of £1.7m. LTA funding is £60m a year, so we are punching well above our weight. If we present that the right way to the right people, we will get overwhelming support. Because if we deliver on behalf of the Murrays, proper lasting legacies, then we are helping the LTA deliver their goals as well."