MUCH water will pass beneath the Kingston Bridge before Andy Murray hosts his own big house party at the Hydro in September.

Three chances to increase his Grand Slam collection, for instance, will present themselves.

The streets of Dunblane could literally be lined with gold postboxes, with Andy having defended his Olympic title in Rio, then teamed up with his brother Jamie to make it a notable family double.

These two Scottish siblings could have set Great Britain on course to double their Davis Cup money, venturing behind enemy lines to Belgrade to take the scalp of Serbia.

Or else Novak Djokovic could simply continue the usual grinding excellence which has seen him carve out such a menacing monopoly at the top of this sport.

However it all pans out, the World No 2 will be assured of a rapturous reception in the city of his birth when he takes on Gael Monfils in this welcome exhibition event, with he and his brother Jamie also teaming up to take on Monfils and Tim Henman in the doubles.

There will be gimmicks aplenty, possibly comedians too, with proceeds going to Unicef and local Possilpark charity Young People's Futures. Judging by the brisk business done on pre-sale tickets, those wanting a seat in the reduced capacity of around 10,000 which will fill this space-age ampitheatre should act with the swiftness the World No 2 usually displays when chasing down a drop shot.

Yet while 'Andy Murray Live' is a project long in the pipeline - it would have happened at the tail end of last year had complications such as the Davis Cup final and his impending fatherhood not arisen - what comes before it will define the Scot's summer.

Other news on the day included the fact that the World No 2 had been upgraded to official ambassador status with Unicef - this puts him on a par with the likes of David Beckham - but it was hardly a surprise that his continuing shadow boxing with Djokovic should dominate.

It would be wrong to talk of personal animosity between the pair, born within a week of each other 29 years ago next month, but both have the capacity to get beneath each other's skin. Their psychological interplay will be as diverting as ever before as they prepare to marshal their finite physical resources and battle it out for the big prizes in the sport yet again.

Serbia's choice to play their quarter final with Great Britain on an outdoor clay court at the 6,000 capacity Tasmajdan Stadium in Belgrade is a case in point. Surely, coming just after the grass court season and just before an intensified Olympic hard court swing, this was strategically designed to make life as difficult as possible for the World No 2 in order to dissuade him from taking part?

"I would say I was slightly surprised by it," said Murray, ruefully noting that all his away ties, the USA, Italy, Belgium, seem to be on clay. "It’s completely understandable but it’s tricky for Novak changing surfaces at that time too. Dom Inglot said he was trying to pick Nenad Zimonjic’s brain about whether Novak was playing or not. But I don’t think he got an answer."

Relations between the respective entourages of the World No 1 and No 2 have been better. Djokovic's coach Boris Becker took particular umbrage for some reason at the suggestion from Murray that at times he has wondered why a player on the other side of the net "wasn't getting tired".

The Scot's main crime in this regard is honesty and said he would continue to speak his mind on doping matters when called upon to protect the integrity of sport. "It's unlikely you are ever going to have a perfect sport but we want as athletes to be competing in one and I will continue to fight for that," he said.

Murray still feels he has improvements to make on clay, but returned from Monte Carlo in a more positive frame of mind than his retreat from Indian Wells or Miami. On Saturday he will fly out to Mallorca to prepare for Madrid with some practice with Milos Raonic and Rafa Nadal, and a seven-week spell in mid-summer will allow him to spend time with his wife Kim and daughter Sophia. For once, the Serb has a setback to get this head around, a shock loss to Jiri Vesely.

"After the run he had been on, I think it’s normal and understandable to have a match where you don’t play your best or feel your best," said Murray. "He has played a lot of matches like that over the last year, where he’s maybe not played his best and come through. That day he wasn’t able to turn it around in the end. But I’m pretty sure he will be fine in Madrid and Rome."

The last few weeks have seen some high profile golfers pulling out of the Olympics in Rio, first Australia's Adam Scott and now South Africa's Louis Ooisthuizen. The difference, Murray feels, it is that tennis in the Olympics has had time to bed in. Part of the programme for the inaugural summer Olympics in 1896, tennis was restored as an Olympic sport back in 1988.

"It has become big in the tennis calendar so I think there will be very few of the top tennis players withdrawing," said Murray, soon to become a three-time Olympian. "I guess it is almost like a new competition takes a bit of time to build but I think over time, if golf remains part of the Olympics, they will all be there."

In the same way, it would be nice to think Andy Murray Live will build, as planned, as an annual event, continuing to deliver a legacy for the sport in this county, and making money for charity at the same time. It would get a flying start if this son of Glasgow walks out there with some more major honours on his resume.