Andy Murray will stick close to Jamie, his brother, when he checks into the Athletes’ Village for the 2008 Olympic Games, mainly because there will be few familiar faces from tennis among the 16,000 competitors and officials housed there.

While Murray sleeps on a single bed, with a bedside table provided by the B&Q do-it-yourself chain and sponsor of the British Olympic team, Roger Federer, the five-times Wimbledon winner, is staying in five-star luxury at a hotel in Beijing. Murray is perplexed that players he meets on the tennis circuit have shunned the experience of mixing with fellow athletes in the confines of one of the most spectacular athletes’ villages ever built for an Olympic Games.

“I think quite a few of the tennis players are staying in hotels but I don’t understand why you would want to,” he said. “If you make the decision to play in the Olympics, why would you want to stay anywhere else? It’s a great experience to spend time with the greatest athletes in the world and I’m sure that I will speak to some of them.”

Murray has propelled himself onto the list of gold medal contenders after the biggest win of his career last weekend at the Cincinatti Masters Series event, and he will find out after the draw tomorrow who he meets in the first round. Rafael Nadal, the new world No 1, arrives as favourite while Federer will hope to overturn the run of outsiders who have won Olympic gold. The final in Athens four years ago saw Nicolas Massu take victory over Mardy Fish.

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If Murray fails in the singles, he has a chance in the doubles, where he is partnered with his brother. “I think we have a decent chance,” Andy said. “We have played a lot together and I guess we will be dark horses. There’s no reason why we can’t get close to winning a medal.”