THE girls were doing it for themselves. After David Sherwood's victory over Jamie Murray edged England ahead in the opening tie of this Aberdeen Cup tournament, it was the Scottish females who turned things around.

Eleven-year-old Joanna Henderson, in front of her hometown crowd, won the junior match to record a half point for Scotland before British No 1 Elena Baltacha blew her rival, Katie O'Brien, off court with a convincing 6-2 6-1 triumph.

"We are all having fun but everyone is trying to win," said Baltacha, delighted with the support of the 3,000-strong partisan crowd. "We are not taking it as seriously as a competitive tournament but we all want to win."

With the top draw of Andy Murray and Greg Rusedski still to take to the court, that meant that Scotland had a narrow lead of one and a half points compared to the solitary point secured by the Auld Enemy.

But while the glory belonged to the girls, the spotlight in this Scotland v England contest was always likely to be hogged by the Murray family.

In the midst of all the pre-match pomp and ceremony which heralded the start of the tournament yesterday, younger brother Andy had professed an absence of nerves but it was OK for him, he is more than used to playing in front of several thousand spectators these days and he wasn't on court for another few hours. Instead, the job of giving Team Scotland a boost by winning the opening rubber was down to his elder sibling, Jamie.

In the end, up against the more established David Sherwood, he failed in that task but anyone who doubted whether he had the fight and dogged determination epitomised by his younger brother over the past few months, will have had those misgivings quashed as Jamie fought back from 5-1 down in the first set to win the next three games and push his English opponent to the limit. He then grabbed the initiative in the second set, winning it 6-2, to level the match and take it to a tie-break.

The fact he ultimately lost that 7-4 was a disappointment but the nature of his display will have bolstered his confidence ahead of his two doubles matches today.

A player who is making his way slowly but surely up the world rankings, he has yet to lay claim to the quality of scalp taken by his brother on a regular basis throughout an extraordinary six months, and he spent last week in Montreal playing in front of a crowd which struggled to reach double figures. For him the bag-pipe playing as he and the rest of the Scottish players marched out on to court and the television cameras were all new.

And he was also up against a guy ranked around No.200 in the world, while he is circling just inside the top 1,000. Sherwood is also an experienced competitor on this stage, suggesting he would be tough to overcome. A veteran of Davis Cup ties, even a partisan crowd was unlikely to trouble him. Unfortunately, neither would the early serves and returns of the elder Murray. Patrolling the net, Murray tried to give his more experienced opponent something to think about but struggled to settle and could not find his serving rhythm either.

With both Andy Murray and Rusedski sitting courtside offering encouragement and the home crowd waving Saltires and willing success for their homegrown hero, Murray lost the first two games. But with Andy repeatedly urging concentration, while he may not have a reputation for the same terrier-like attitude of his brother and admits that maybe he could do with honing that never-say-never spirit, he showed plenty of pluck.

He prevented Sherwood from seeing out the first set 6-1. Determined not to be rolled over, he held his nerve and found his serve. As that seventh game went to deuce he eventually hauled it back to 5-2. That impressed the fans, but not as much as his ability to break Sherwood, who is ranked more than 20 places ahead of him even in the British rankings, in the next game and take it to 5-3.

By that stage Murray looked a calmer figure on court and when he took his next service game to hang in there 5-4, he even looked to be enjoying himself. In the end Sherwood saw out that set but took several attempts as Jamie saved set points.

It was all a far cry from the days when Jamie watched Davis Cup players and aspired to be them. Now he aspires to beat them and he gave himself a real chance, winning the second set 6-2 in impressive style.

Sherwood came to the British public's attention when he partnered Andy in the historic doubles win in Tel Aviv and that day he was at one with the Murray camp - not so in the Aberdeen Exhibition Centre yesterday. With immediate family and friends watching, Murray proved that on his day he has the game and the temperament to mix it with players of that calibre. The roar that greeted his shots grew in volume and was a sound few would have believed could he heard at a Scottish tennis tournament.

For so long tennis was a sport that only mattered for a couple of weeks every year. Not now, not since Jamie's better known brother firmly placed the sport firmly in the national consciousness. His summer exploits have excited more than club players and immediate family. Politicians and world renowned actors have tracked his development, fellow sportstars admired his performances.

But while he was inspiring strangers, Andy was also giving his brother something to aim for. He has watched proudly but he has also been a tad envious. He hasn't grudged Andy a moment of his time in the spotlight but has been desperate for a taste of it.

Yesterday he got that taste and rather than choke he made a determined job of proving to the uneducated that there are definitely two tennis playing boys in the Murray household. As has been the case so often this year a Murray took to court and made a mockery of the odds. These Murray boys obviously have tennis in the genes but they also have a lot of fight, which bodes well for Scotland's hopes in today's doubles.

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