THE Tartan Army would walk 500 miles for one of Scotland's goals so perhaps it is fitting that Andy Murray should decide to drive a similar distance in order to play his part in booking Great Britain's first Davis Cup final since 1978. After five days' clean break from tennis after crashing out to an inspired Kevin Anderson in the last 16 at Flushing Meadows, the World No 3 simply threw his stuff in the car and drove the 420-mile journey north, stopping off for some family time before commencing practice at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. The line of questioning never got as far as whether he opted to use the M6 toll or got stuck at average speed cameras but it was a further insight into the character of this 28-year-old, who for all his fastidious, meticulous nature also spent time earlier in the week attempting to whack a football off a crossbar.

"I took five full days off and then came here on Saturday and started to practice on Sunday," he said. "I've had a long long summer. I've played some long matches as well at the US Open too. My body needs to rest and recover, hard courts aren't a forgiving surface on the body. I did not find the drive stressful at all. I would not have driven had I found it stressful. I wanted to spend some time with my family whilst I was here and that gave me the chance to do that. I drove up and saw them yesterday, which was nice."

While the team environment of the Davis Cup does provide a release for the Scot in this solo sport, this weekend does have the potential to be rather stressful. The likes of James Ward, Dan Evans and Great Britain's doubles players have weighed in with some huge individual performances on Great Britain's long, remarkable journey from the brink of the third tier of world tennis, but when it gets to this stage of competition Lleyton Hewitt is right, the pressure does weigh more heavily on his shoulders than any other.

He is the sporting equivalent of Frodo Baggins and whether his body will be required to last three matches in three days will depend on both the state of the tie at the time, and the rigours which the tie has already placed on him. Rather than face the big-serving Sam Groth, part of Thanasi Kokkinakis' mission in their expected day one rubber will be to tire him out as much as possible.

"It depends on what happens - that's the reality," said Andy Murray. "We could be 2-0 up after the first day and that changes things, 2-0 down changes things or regardless of whether or not I win or lose my match on the first day, if I play for 4 and a half or five hours, it's tough, clearly, to play the following day and then back it up on Sunday, that's not easy so it really depends on how all the matches go."

The best part of 25,000 of his ain folk who will cram into this venue over the three days of the tie will certainly go some way to easing the rigours of a long-hard season. "I think everyone will be inspired this weekend, I imagine," said Andy. "It's not about one individual. There's nine or 10 players here who all have their part to play. It's hard not to be inspired when you play in an atmosphere like we will be playing in in a couple of days' time."

Andy, of course, is not the only Murray brother who arrives in Glasgow in inspired form. Jamie Murray has reached the last two men's doubles finals, and while he has yet to land that maiden Grand Slam title, by the rankings at least he is the pre-eminent doubles player in action this weekend. In-form pairing of Jamie and Dominic Inglot are likely to get the nod, against most likely Sam Groth and Lleyton Hewitt, in the event that the younger Murray sibling is not able, nor required, to play on Saturday.

"The last tie in March was a lot of fun - we all had a great week and a great weekend," said Jamie. "The crowd were great, they were so noisy and there's going to be even more people here this weekend so it'll be even better. For us [me and Andy] we don't get back to Scotland as much as we'd like and so the Scottish people and especially the kids don't get to see Andy play live very often unless it's on TV."

Perhaps Leon Smith's biggest call, though, comes in who to play the second singles rubber. The Glaswegian was still weighing these matters up last night, with late call-up Dan Evans having joined potential debutant Kyle Edmund and James Ward in the mix to take on Australia's No 1, Bernard Tomic. Edmund injured an ankle in training, but it is thought not to be too serious, while Ward has struggled for form since Wimbledon.

"There are still some things in my own head to figure out," said Smith. "I will talk to the guys. We are very open here. There are a number of factors involved – a lot of factors actually. I will shoot them over with the team and once I have done that I will go with my gut instinct."