LIFE POST-MURRAY WON’T BE EASY... BUT LEGACY IS THERE

REVELLING in a moment he’ll likely never forget, the home hero took a four-step run-up and hurled his wristband towards the crowd. Just like you know who. Cam Norrie had earned the right to play at being Andy Murray for an afternoon. He deserved this opportunity to make amends. And the fans who turned up for Glasgow’s possible/probable/ almost certain Davis Cup farewell fully embraced Norrie, very much a citizen of the world, as one of their own. Born in South Africa and raised in New Zealand by a Welsh mum and a Glaswegian dad whose accent has survived — perhaps even been strengthened — by almost four decades abroad, Norrie arrived for his home debut as the highest ranked player in the Great Britain team. That pressure clearly got to him on Friday night, when he threw away a winning position against Jurabek Karimov. Yesterday, shouldering even more expectation after Uzbekistan No 1 Denis Istomin withdrew to leave Sanjar Fayziev in the firing line, the 23-year-old did exactly what was expected of him. Norrie, very much a product of the American collegiate system after topping the NCAA rankings with Texas Christian University, was simply too good for a no-hoper who had never won a single ATP Tour-level match. Victory wasn’t quite as straightforward as the 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 scoreline suggests, though. Which is possibly why the crowd here enjoyed it so much. Glasgow is still a town where the work ethic matters. Even in a middle-class sport like tennis, Scots like their heroes sweaty, grimy and perpetually on the brink of exhaustion. Not for us the effortless elegance of Roger Federer. Give us the Murray boys, grinding and

grafting their way to Slams. Or the sight of Norrie steaming into the net, saving break points and — at times — struggling to get out of his own way. The fact that he lost the very first game yesterday, throwing away his own service through a combination of unforced errors and a double fault, certainly meant that he had to work for momentum here. Even when the home favourite got himself in front, there always seemed to be the chance of disaster. Watching him blow easy chances three yards beyond the baseline, it almost felt as if young Norrie was trying to torture the fans. Yet, at the decisive moments, he had everyone on their feet, clattering their inflatable thunder sticks and roaring in appreciation. If this was a glimpse of what life will be like once Our Andy departs the stage for good, well, we know it’s not going to be easy. But the legacy, if we can talk about that while Murray is still battling to remain active, was in evidence here this week. Against unglamorous opposition, without the biggest box-office draw in British tennis history, in a tie considered ‘meaningless’ by many, the LTA still managed to draw decent — if not quite capacity — crowds to the Emirates Arena. There is an appetite here for this kind of event. Which makes it all the more disappointing that the Davis Cup revamp will mean an end to these home ties; although there’s an outside chance of GB having to play a qualifier in February, it definitely won’t be in Scotland. We’ll miss days like this. Miss the chance to cheer on established greats — and hail new heroes for their efforts. Norrie loved every single minute of it, of course. Never more so than in the seconds after his triumph, as he punched the air and the victory tunes kicked in. The DJ’s choice? A bit of Deacon Blue. Very on trend, picking a Dundee band. Glasgow, once again the subject of fulsome praise from everyone in the Great Britain team, could afford to share the love. One last time, at least.