Murray's (small) team catch the eye

Andy Murray made serene progress on day one of the Australian Open, raising hope that he can end Britain’s Grand Slam drought. He claims his focus is on his tennis rather than off-field distractions and Paul Newman in the Independent picked up on the slimmed-down nature of Murray’s entourage.

There have been times when Andy Murray's courtside entourage would have done justice to an American football team. When he grew tired of spending day after day in the company of the garrulous Brad Gilbert, the Scot replaced his coach with a private army of assistants, ranging from physical trainers to friends who doubled up as hitting partners.

There were still seven people in Murray's box here yesterday during his 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 victory over South Africa's Kevin Anderson on the opening day of the Australian Open, but they included his mother and her partner and two representatives of his management company. Team Murray was down to Miles Maclagan, his coach, Jez Green, one of his trainers, and Andy Ireland, his physiotherapist.

While people like Alex Corretja, who has played an increasingly important role as a coach, and Matt Little, another member of his fitness staff, will remain part of Murray's entourage, the 22-year-old Scot plans to travel lighter this year.