Kieran Merrilees and Martin Campbell line up in an all-home second round clash in the men’s singles at the Bank of Scotland International Championships at Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall.

“Martin and I went on holiday together in Greece this year so it’s going to be a bit strange,” said Glasgow’s Merrilees, the No.9 seed, who opened with a 21-11 21-16 win over England’s Sam Phillips. “But you just have to forget whose on the other side of the net and get on with business.”

For Campbell, a year younger at 19, a 21-14 22-20 triumph over Swiss-based  Takahiro Hiramatsu set up a chance to test his form following a recent move to Loughborough University to study maths and management.

“It’s great because there is High Performance Centre and a lot of really talented sports people,” he said. “I definitely think I have a chance against Kieran. I’ve got nothing to lose and all the pressure is on him.”

Craig Goddard, Calum Menzies, Stephen McPhail and Scottish Champion Gordon Thomson were the other Scots to make the last 32 in the men’s singles, while Bothwell 16-year-old Kirsty Gilmour made the second round of the women’s singles without hitting a shuttle. Her English opponent, Sarah Milne, withdrew due to illness.  

Thomson is suffering from a sportsman’s hernia and admitted it was  “touch and go” whether he made it onto court. But he did, and was delighted with a battling 21-16 16-21 21-11 win over England’s Robert Kettle.