JAMIE Murray said it was good to be back yesterday as thousands of local primary school kids provided the noisiest of Glaswegian welcomes for Great Britain's Davis Cup team ahead of this weekend's tie against Uzbekistan.

Around 3,300 children were bussed into the Emirates Arena, some taking part in an on-court work out with the squad as part of the LTA's Tennis for Kids programme, as Leon Smith's side were greeted like heroes ahead of their training session.

In particular demand were a series of signed tennis balls, which were fired into the crowd by the players.

Glasgow ties - the bedrock of Britain's successful and Andy Murray-inspired campaign to claim this title in 2015 - could be in short supply under the new format of this competition, but Jamie Murray said he was determined to make the most of it while they still can.

"It feels good to be back," said the 32-year-old doubles specialist, a native of this city who has recently returned from celebrating his sixth Grand Slam title at the US Open.

"We’ve always had great experiences playing in Glasgow, we have always had great support here and I’m sure this weekend won’t be any different. I enjoy doing things like today, you can see the energy the children have, the enthusiasm, they are so excited and so noisy. I also had a good day at Dalmarnock Primary yesterday with my mum, she was obviously doing all her Judy Murray Foundation initiatives, and getting the game into underprivileged areas. It is important kids get these opportunities for I think."

There was a novelty factor yesterday for Cam Norrie, Britain's No 1 singles player in the absence of Andy Murray - who is using the time for further rehab work on his hip. Born in Johannesburg and raised in Auckland, Norrie's father David was born and raised in King's Park, Glasgow.

“I don’t know what I was expecting ... but it is so nice to have these kids out today," said Norrie. "They gave us such a nice welcome, it is great to have them here and hopefully we can boost tennis in Scotland. It is nice to be part of something different like this – hopefully some of these kids will get the bug and get into playing tennis.

"My dad gets here today – he is stoked, him and his brother Alex who is coming in from Aberdeenshire so it is going to be a pretty special moment for me and him. They will be pretty loud too I think."

Tennis Scotland chief executive Blane Dodds welcomed the expansion of the LTA's outreach Tennis for Kids programme and said he was hopeful that Glasgow could yet host more Davis Cup ties in the future. "What a fantastic atmosphere, it is absolutely buzzing," he said.

"There's 3,500 kids here and we will be doing a lot of follow ups, to try to get these kids into tennis. Every February there will be a play off, home or away, ties so there are still opportunities to get tennis back here. I can see a space where we could get this back again, depending on the draw."