THE chilled interior of the Emirates Arena echoed yesterday afternoon to the noises of the final blows that has created a sporting arena out of a vast, dark space.

This afternoon at precisely 1pm it will resound to the cheers of 7700 fans as Scotland welcomes its greatest sportsman back to Glasgow for the greatest tennis occasion the nation has hosted.

Great Britain faces USA in the first round World Group tie. There can be no doubts about the importance of the match in purely sporting terms but it carries particularly resonance for the nation.

Murray comes back to play in his home country for the first time as a Wimbledon champion, a US Open winner and an Olympic gold medallist. This is, too, his first post-Tweet appearance in Scotland with a racket in his hand. His brief intervention in the referendum debate caused such a stir in Middle England that one would have believed he had just declared war on the notion of afternoon tea.

He comes to a friendlier environment but the Emirates 2015 is not just the Andy story. There is Jamie Murray, too. And there is James Ward, Dominic Inglot and a USA team determined to win after losing to the Brits in San Diego next year.

The major news of the draw yesterday was that Murray would start proceedings against Donald Young while Ward will play John Isner. There was some muttering from Andy Murray yesterday about it being "highly unlikely" that he would partner Jamie tomorrow against the Bryan brothers in what could be the pivotal doubles rubber.

Inglot, a powerful server, has been in fine form and has been nominated to play with Jamie Murray. But the doubles pairing need not be confirmed until 12 noon tomorrow.

The state of the match and the freshness of Andy may impact heavily on Leon Smith, the team captain, before the match against the Bryans. The sentiment that Andy has no chance of playing tomorrow is best met with a Glaswegian "aye, right".

The expectation is that Andy Murray will win both singles so Ward's contribution in the singles may be decisive. He defeated Sam Querrey in the tie in San Diego last year and beat Isner in an exhibition match in Koolong Country Club in Melbourne in January. He is far from being without hope against Isner in Glasgow but is more likely to cause an upset against Young. Ward, ranked 11 against Young's 47, will still be second favourite but he is one of those sportsmen who gains stature when playing for his country.

Ward is best described as a "proper Londoner", brought up on a council estate just yards away from Euston station. He would not deny charges of extraordinary patriotism.

"I am patriotic towards the Arsenal, very. Too much some would say," he said with a grin yesterday. "The two biggest passions in my life are Arsenal and playing for my country. I wish I played for Arsenal rather than playing tennis, to be honest with you. You can't have everything in life and I try my best at what I am doing.

"I am patriotic. I think you have seen that in the past and I think you will see it at the weekend."

His story of a rise through tennis, aided by a cabbie father, is inspirational but it pales in comparison to the sheer romanticism, the absurd unlikelihood of Scotland producing a player who has won two grand slam singles titles playing in a team that includes his brother who has also won a Wimbledon title.

And how is this for the signature scene in the Brigadoon of tennis? A group of lads were driven by a mum down in a van to Newcastle for a Great Britain Davis Cup tie against Slovenia in 1996. This merry gang had four boys who would play Davis Cup tennis for the country: the Murray brothers, Jamie Baker and Colin Fleming.

Andy Murray spent his days in Newcastle watching the tennis, his nights in a local Premier Inn. He was looking forward to his ninth birthday later that month.

At 27, does he ever reflect on this outlandish, outrageous journey with his brother or with others?

"I don't think we've ever done that together. Myself, I do think about that from time to time, not necessarily just when a Davis Cup match is coming or at the Olympics or whatever. For me if I look back, getting to compete at the Olympics together two times, even though we might have liked to have done better, nobody would ever have expected that, to have two players who grew up together playing tennis in Dunblane doing that, where there had never been any tennis players before.

"Hopefully there will be some more in the future, but it's very unlikely that something like that would ever happen again. So we've been very lucky to get the opportunity to do that."

Jamie was similarly gratified at the journey, pointing out: "For us now to be at that kind of level where Andy is basically doing what Tim [Henman] was doing for however many years and I'm lucky enough to be in this tie, and to be doing it in Scotland as well, it's pretty amazing. I think we're both really looking forward to Friday, Saturday, Sunday, seeing the crowds and feeding off that."

The Bryan brothers, Mike and Bob, may yet have to face the brothers tomorrow.

"We don't know who they're going to throw at us, they've got a few options and we're prepared for every option," said Bob. "I'm sure the fans want to see the Murrays vs the Bryans - the marquee match-up. Dom Inglot has the hot hand, he's played us well in the last couple of matches so we're prepared for him."

He ended simply with: "We'll be ready."

The press conferences ended and the teams walked back through an arena that was now also ready. The work had stilled, the only noise was the clatter of those moving through the empty seats to head out of the stadium.

It will be filled today, tomorrow and Sunday. The roadshow that began in Newcastle has rumbled into Glasgow. The Murray journey continues but no one should doubt the significance of a pit stop in Dalmarnock.