17 September 2018

Courtside at the Davis Cup

Brian Polding-Clyde

Brian (pictured above with Liz), a Glasgow Local Leaguer, took a break from his matches this weekend to cheer on Team GB in their Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan at the Emirates Arena. We headed to the stands to get his thoughts on the action

I have been going to the Davis Cup for over ten years now and this was so different from the difficult matches I watched at my first tie in Braehead in 2006.  

After Team GB played two long marathon matches on Friday, a good hard-fought victory in the doubles on Saturday, we were expecting a hard five setter when we went along on Sunday. Two hours later it was all over as Norrie closed out his match to secure another thrilling victory for GB at the Emirates and leave us in utter delight!

Congratulations to Team GB on their 3-1 victory and we look forward to seeing what happens next year when the new format comes into play!

And what about Brian's own game? 

I first played tennis in my 20’s as the house I lived in had a court in the garden. I then didn’t play for years until I came across social tennis at Gorbals. They made me feel very welcome and I have since become a much more serious and regular player.

There was a small poster at Gorbals advertising the league and I joined because I wanted to meet new players and develop my game further. By playing in the league I have learned to think about my opponents’ game and focus on what I must do to beat them.

My many memorable moments include getting tickets to the men’s final through the LTL Wimbledon ballot, playing a cage fighter who took his aggression out on his racket when I was beating him, meeting people from across the world (Italy, Colombia, India, England, Wales and Scotland) and playing at Queen’s Park with a fox attempting to steal a ball from us. There has also been the odd group win too!

If you would also like to get on court in Glasgow the next round starts on the 25th October and is open for entries here