Simon Carr hopeful rare home comforts give Ireland an edge in Davis Cup tie against Austria

It's not all that often that Irish tennis has got a day out in the sun since the high point of 1983.

And while we'll have to wait to see what the forecast has in store for this coming weekend of 3-4 February in Limerick, any potential lack of sunshine will be made up for by the throngs of spectators that will be amassing inside the UL Sports Arena for what had become quite a lesser spotted beast - a home Davis Cup tie.

Not since meeting Belarus in 2015 have the Ireland men's tennis team had the opportunity to host a Davis Cup event on home soil.

But that long wait is now ending with a strong Austria side coming to these shores in a play-off for a place in World Group I, the second tier of the international men's team competition.

Since the draw was made by the International Tennis Federation last September, the anticipation has been building and that was only cemented further by how quickly tickets were snapped up once they were made available in December, with the initial 3,000 allocation selling out within a couple of hours.

The excitement of the Irish fans is very much reflected by the members of the five-strong team named by Ireland's non-playing captain Conor Niland, not least for Simon Carr.

Joining Osgar O'hOisin, Michael Agwi, Conor Gannon and playing vice-captain David O’Hare in the squad, the 24-year-old returns to the fold after missing last September's crucial World Group II victory over El Salvador through injury.

Speaking to RTÉ Sport as the Austria tie closes in, Carr said he saw the coming weekend as a showcase opportunity for tennis on this island.

"Having players like Dominic Thiem and Sebastian Ofner coming over and exposing Irish juniors, Irish tennis enthusiasts to that sort of level is something that