Tennis: Thistle face last-eight trip to Whitecraigs as Cup battle hots up

Thistle men will take their bid to win the Scottish Tennis Cup back west again tomorrow when they visit Whitecraigs in a quarter-final tie.

The Paties Road outfit join fellow East Leaguers St Serfs and Braid in the last eight and will travel with confidence after inflicting a 6-0 thrashing on 2010 winners Giffnock when their third pair of Graham Dyce and Euan Bell defeated the hosts’ top partnership Owen Hadden and Euan McGinn.

However, James McKie has returned to university in the US and Neil McFie is unavailable, which puts an onus on Marcel du Coudray and Alan Macdonald, with Lauren Berkeley and Robbie Stewart stepping up.

St Serfs welcome Melrose as a break from battling Division One relegation where Thistle are runaway leaders, while Braid host Thorn Park.

Braid have James Burley and Oliver Derbyshire stepping in for unavailable duo Johnny Short and Euan Forbes.

The rest of the Braid team is Kevin Wilkie, Lloyd Greatorex-Watson, Gary Melville and Jimmy Wood, while St Serfs list Vince Havert and Craig McFie, Mark Gaffney and Neil Harden, David Gaffney and Richard Miller.

In the women’s tournament, Waverley have a daunting task at holders Newlands, while Blackhall visit Dunfermline.