THE mutual admiration society that has developed between two of Britain’s top sporting hopes went into overdrive at the weekend, when Andy Murray, the leading tennis prospect, said that he is to go to Manchester this week to watch Amir Khan train.

Murray was ringside when Khan stopped Steve Gethin in the third round of his third professional bout at the Braehead Arena, Glasgow, on Saturday and the boxing fanatic will be looking to get some tips on how to improve his fitness as he tries to climb up the world tennis rankings next season.

Standing next to each other, the difference in physique between the two 18-year-old sporting prodigies is noticeable. Murray is taller but looks thinner and gawkier, while Khan seems to get more muscular by the day.

“I’m going up to see him next Friday, I’m looking forward to that,” Murray said. “I’m going to hopefully get a few tips on how to get in great shape.”

Murray said that he has sometimes struggled in the later stages of long matches during his first year on the ATP Tour — memorably throwing up on court during one match at the US Open — and he sees boxing training as a way of toughening himself up.

“I just want to go and see what they do and how good they are because everybody says that boxers train really hard,” Murray said. “These guys are always in great shape and I would love to be in the same shape. They fight every three months, so it’s a little bit different to tennis.

“I’ve got four weeks in December to get ready for next year and I want to be in the best shape I can be and then try and maintain it. I’ll see what Amir does and then maybe I can work on some of that in December.”

His season having finished the week before in Paris, Murray enjoyed the chance to watch his favourite other sport and see Khan in action live for the first time. “Amir has really inspired me,” Murray said. “He’s done such a lot and I believe I can do the same. He’s very special, winning a silver medal (at the Olympic Games) when he was so young.

“This is the second time I’ve seen Scott (Harrison, who successfully defended his WBO featherweight title against Nedal Hussein in Saturday’s main event). I’ve also seen Alex Arthur and Joe Calzaghe. I go to the fights whenever I get the chance. It’s good to have a lot of younger sportsmen doing well. We’ve been looking for someone to come through to take over from Tim (Henman) and Greg (Rusedski) in tennis and now we’ve got Amir, who’s doing it in the boxing. It’s all good for British sport.”

Khan said that he hoped the two could help each other, but he was not quite sure how he would benefit. “I punch people, he hits a ball — it’s a bit different, isn’t it?” he said. But Khan was satisfied with his night’s work. He received a huge ovation from the crowd, although there were some boos afterwards aimed at the stoppage by Victor Loughlin, the referee, which some regarded as premature.

It was a busy night for the Khan family all round. Shortly before the bout, Amir became an uncle for the first time when his sister, Tabinda, gave birth. Meanwhile, Harry, his younger brother, 14, was one of a group of Amir’s supporters who were escorted from the arena by stewards for their safety after trouble broke out in the crowd during an over-long gap — because of live television demands — between the Khan and Harrison bouts.

A group of Khan supporters had been looking to leave before the main event, which upset a group of Scottish fans and bottles were thrown in the mêlée that broke out.

Khan will next be in action on December 10, at the ExCeL arena in East London. “I would like to see him take his time more and learn to plant his feet,” Frank Warren, his promoter, said. “As much as we want to keep Amir busy, we don’t want him to burn out.”