;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
What can I say? ... Scotland 4
1/
2 England 2
1/
2 
I have to say, the Aberdeen crowd were great - if only Wimbledon could be like that ... a little less 'restrained'. Maybe they should stop hanging on to nearly all the tickets for the ballot and put more aside for the punters queueing out on the pavement half the night ... Oh, I say ... that's my tennis moan out the way. I can still feel the chill of the pavement on my er*e as we say in Scotland. For a ground pass.
Andy's been causing a wee bit of controversy with comments about the LTA (see below). There is definitely a need for a big shake up in how tennis is promoted in the UK. It's still too much an elitist, middle-class sport. If they want kids to be hungry for success, they need to extend the access wider and reach into working class areas. A lot of these kids can't afford the cost of tennis club membership, rackets, tuition ... hell, many of them couldn't afford the bus fare to get to a public club! No offence to the middle class players that frequent a lot of the clubs, but by and large they aren't there to get ahead. They're there for pleasure. Nothing wrong with that, but it's time we started bringing in more kids with a desire to prove themselves ... and invest in more indoor courts with coaches on hand (why oh why have mainly outside courts in the UK? ... good grief. In Scotland you'll get 2 days per year when it ain't raining).
How much money does Wimbledon generate for tennis every year? Why not look at changing how it's allocated? Cripes ... a lot of it over the years has been mine! That's my second tennis moan out of the way. Now, here's Andy's.
LTA 'ruined' my brother - Murray Murray gains revenge against Rusedski
Andy Murray has blamed the Lawn Tennis Association for hampering older brother Jamie's tennis career.
Murray, 18, teamed up with his brother for a doubles win on Sunday as Scotland beat England in the Aberdeen Cup.
"He was number two in the world when he was around the age of 13," the world number 65 said of his brother.
"Then he went down to an LTA school in Cambridge and they ruined him for a few years. It was their fault. But I really want him to come back and do well."
The LTA has reacted to Murray's criticism, with performance director David Felgate stressing that there was no uniform way of bringing on players.
He wants to be a tennis player and I think he has shown he has the talent
Andy Murray on brother Jamie
Felgate, Tim Henman's former coach, said the LTA had backed Andy Murray's move to Spain to develop his game.
"The LTA recognises that different players react to different approaches which is why we have introduced choice and flexibility into our performance system and continue to support our best players wherever they want to train," said Felgate.
Jamie is 15 months older than Andy and, despite reaching the doubles semi-finals of the junior US Open with his brother in 2004, is currently at a career-high of 896th in the world.
"My brother is very talented," added Andy Murray.
"He is a good guy and he works very hard. He wants to be a tennis player and I think he has shown he has the talent."
None of the current top three British players - Tim Henman, Rusedski and Murray - came through the recognised LTA coaching ranks as youngsters.
Rusedski grew up in Canada and moved to Britain as a ready-made top-50 professional, while Henman also developed largely outside typical LTA coaching structures.
The younger Murray spent the formative stages of his career learning the ropes in Spain, albeit with the aid of LTA financial support.
Rusedski was more diplomatic about the standard of the UK's coaching infrastructure, but also recognises the problems.
"Things are getting better but there is still a lot of room for improvement, that's for sure," said Rusedski.
But it is also about finding those kids who have something different and finding parents who are really involved with the kids.
"Judy (Murray) is very involved with Andy's tennis and he is quite a fighter and a character. He is not your average young person.
"It is about finding the kids that are like that from a young age and whether they are in or out of the system, trying to find a way to develop them. There has to be a way to work it."
The England v Scotland team competition finished 4½-2½ at the weekend as the young Scot beat Greg Rusedski in the final singles match to seal victory for his side.
Earlier, the Murray brothers had beaten Rusedski and David Sherwood 6-3 2-6 10-5, the third set on a first-to-10 points system, in the doubles.
