ANDY MURRAY has promised to show how much playing for Britain means to him when he steps on to court against USA in Glasgow tomorrow.
The 27-year-old Scot was embroiled in controversy when he tweeted in support of a Yes vote in the Scottish referendum in September.
Asked whether this would affect his motivation to play for Team GB, the world No.3 said with an unmistakeable steeliness: "I guess we will see at the weekend." Pressed on whether he understood why some people might see it as an issue, he said: "No, not at all."
Questioning on the topic was brought to an end when Leon Smith, the Team GB captain, said: "I don't think this is the right time to bring this up. I would like to focus on the tennis."
Murray also supported his brother, Jamie, over the lack of tennis facilities in Scotland. The elder Murray criticised Tennis Scotland over failing to capitalise on the success of his brother.
Tennis Scotland has a £3.3m four-year funding deal with the Lawn Tennis association but Jamie Murray said this week that the "LTA neglects Scotland. I really believe that. But, in saying that, if I was in charge of dishing out the money, I wouldn't give a hell of a lot of money to Tennis Scotland with the people that are there."
Jamie missed yesterday's press conference at the Emirates with what was described by Smith as "a bit of a cold".
But his younger brother was asked about his views on the state of the sport in Scotland. "I don't know as much about that as my brother and my mum," said the double grand slam winner.
"I spoke to them about it quite a bit over the Christmas period, but I don't know as much as they do. They've been around it a lot more, obviously. I don't spend as much time in Scotland now."
However, he added: "But I respect both of their opinions. My mum does spend a lot of time going round Scotland, into schools, and looking at the facilities and how things have improved. So they would know a lot better than me."
Smith said: "It's a no-brainer that there's a need for indoor courts, especially as you start to go north of the central belt. It starts to become few and far between. And if you look at Andy and Jamie they made really good use of the Stirling University courts. He would probably have been a great player anyway, but it certainly helps if you can access courts when you're a youngster."
He played a straight bat to a question over whether sufficient coaching is available in Scotland.
"I've not been around Scottish tennis enough in the last seven or eight years to really know what it's like at club level. But it's still probably not too dissimilar to Britain," he said.
" We need to keep improving the workforce and they need to make sure, like everyone, that there's a plan in place to make sure that there are more coaches being coached. Because it's the coaches who are going to get people in the game, keep them playing, and improve and develop them."
He believed the decision to bring the World group tie to Glasgow could help inspire a generation of youngsters to become involved in the sport.
" I think the Scottish fans deserve to get something more accessible for them and particularly while Andy is playing and active, the opportunity for them to see him up close is really important," he said.
He hoped Scotland could build on the reality that it had created two Wimbledon champions in the shape of Jamie (mixed doubles 2007) and Andy (singles 2012), but added that it had to be done quickly.
''Time is important, to make sure that while Andy in particular is active at the very highest level of the game - which he still is obviously and will be for the foreseeable future - it's really important to have that impact, spreading it everywhere across Scotland," he said.
The Murray bothers are joined by James Ward and doubles player Dominic Inglot for the tie against an America side comprising John Isner, Donald Young and the Bryan brothers.
Jim Courier, the USA captain, admitted the venue had added spice to what should be a compelling tie. The USA lost 3-2 at home to Team GB in San Diego last year but Courier is aware that there is added spice in Glasgow as two brothers return to their homeland.
"It is a really unique opportunity for Andy and a really unique opportunity for us to experience the vibe that the crowd will have for him. We obviously know there is a political undercurrent here, we are aware of that, and that just adds a little intrigue," he said of both brothers' support for Yes in the referendum.
He added: "It is another wrinkle, another element to this competition. We know what it means to everybody to play for their country and maybe a little bit extra special for Andy and Jamie playing here in Scotland. It is business, but we are aware of that extra little wrinkle."
Extra tickets have been made available for the tie which was sold out immediately when briefs were released in November. However, extra room was created when the stands were erected this week.
Tickets are now available on www.lta.org.uk/daviscup to buy online or call 0844 338 8838.
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