Murray says Davis Cup can belong to Glasgow again

GLASGOW could yet host Britain’s glamour Davis Cup quarter-final with France in July — if Team GB opt to put atmosphere ahead of a desire to play on grass. Andy Murray led the home team to victory over USA in front of 7,500 passionate fans at the Emirates Arena yesterday and, with all three days sold out in a matter of minutes, there is an obvious desire to see Scotland’s greatest active sportsman in action again. Murray himself expressed a preference for facing the French on grass — but said: ‘I think grass might be a good surface, but we’ll have to see,

because playing in front of a crowd like this also makes a difference and it helps. ‘If we cannot guarantee that at a grass venue, then maybe it makes sense to play it somewhere where we can get that.’ Great Britain captain Leon Smith, a Glaswegian himself, said there was ‘no chance’ of finding or creating a suitably large outdoor venue — a minimum of 600 seats are required — in order to bring a grass-court tie to Scotland. But he added: ‘I say no chance — but I’m not a lawn expert. So, if someone can tell me there is a chance, I’m sure we would explore it. ‘Internally, we’ve looked at other options, thinking outside the box. ‘The first thing I need to do, over the next week or two, is think about the best surface. Andy said grass but we need to sit down as a group, look at the likely French team and think about what is best. ‘Then we have to go somewhere with a great atmosphere. If it’s indoor hard, why not here — or somewhere near here? Something like this, it definitely worked in Scotland. You also have to look at when the tie lands in the summer. ‘There will have been an awful lot of tennis in certain regions, so you want to put it somewhere people have the hunger for more tennis. We’ll be phoning around like mad. ‘Ultimately, you go with the surface that gives you the best chance of winning. ‘The atmosphere is great — but it will be even better to be in the semi-finals. ‘We’ve got to pick a surface that all the players agree on. We’ll put our heads together over the next week, then go to the suits and ask them to