Murray: Brits must broaden horizons

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The young Scot, who grew up in Dunblane, spent his formative years at the Schiller International School in Barcelona and trained at the Sanchez-Casal Academy.

And he believes that leaving family and friends, as he did, may well be the only way a dedicated British youngster can go on and compete with the best from around the globe, saying: "When you look at the Russian women, every single one of them trained at a different academy and have all come from different backgrounds, gone to train in foreign countries and managed to find a way to do it."

He added: "I do not know too many British players who have gone to train in other parts of the world, and I think that is the one thing you need to decide when you are younger - what is the best environment to train in and which atmosphere do you enjoy the most?

"For some, that might be to train in the UK, some in America, Spain or Germany. They do not just have to practice in the UK if they want to get to the top."

Lawn Tennis Association chief executive Roger Draper, meanwhile, accepts "a number of points" Murray makes and that it is up to the LTA to encourage children to take up the game. However, he does feel things are getting better.

Murray maintained: "I haven't spoken to too many people about it but, if someone wants to discuss it with me, that's fine.

"I'll give my opinion and I'll go into as much detail as you want to, but I believe that it needs to get better.

"If anyone is happy with the state that it's in just now then I don't agree with them."