As they head into action at Scotstoun today, Scotland's two top squash players believe a rivalry which was born in the heart of the Highlands has steeled them for the battles to come.

While Kevin Moran, who hails from Paisley, is in the top half of the men's singles draw for the Commonwealth Games, his compatriots and Inverness natives Alan Clyne and Greg Lobban are both in the top half, albeit well separated.

Seedings for the competition suggest that their best chances of picking up medals will come next week, when they team up for to play in the doubles. That will be when Clyne, who has long been Scotland's top-ranked player, is seeded fourth with Harry Leitch, while Lobban and Stuart Crawford are seeded eighth.

"For Scotland to medal our biggest opportunity is doubles," said Lobban, who at the age of 21 is very much the up-and-comer among Scotland's squash ranks. "Roger [Flynn, their head coach] has made it clear to us that we've still got a shot in singles and we're going to give it our all in the first week.

"To be honest, while the English are very strong with three top-10 players and Australia have their top two players in the top 30, there are not many people I'm scared of. I know I can hold my own against anyone out there."

A large part of the reason for that belief has stemmed from the opportunity that Lobban has had to work with Clyne on a day-to-day basis. The Scots work as hard as anyone in the game and since their own battles are getting closer, the sight of Clyne overcoming Spain's then world No.5 Borja Golan at this year's European Team Championships could only inspire his young compatriot.

"I've had Alan to look up to for years now because we've always had the same base in Inverness and since I've joined the PSA he's always been in the top 30 or 40 players in the world so I'm always trying to chase him," said Lobban.

"I think that's beneficial for me because I've got something to push forward to in training to try to get as good as Alan.

"I think over the years it's started to become beneficial for Alan as well because he's got someone on his tail and even in training he's got a better standard of opposition as well."

The men's singles competition is scheduled to get underway at 11am, while the women's singles - a contest which will feature Malaysia's Nicol David, one of the all-time greats of the sport - is scheduled to start at 4.30pm. The second round of the men's tournament is also due to start at 4.30pm.