And so, again, there is a lone survivor. Andy Murray flies the British flag for as many of the next ten days as his increasingly powerful legs will carry him in this oasis, which is going to have to batten down its hatches this weekend, with storm-force winds forecast. Such a buffeting is familiar for those beavering away to improve the fortunes of British tennis.

The four players who attempted to join Murray in the main draws for the Pacific Life Open - the first of the nine Masters Series tournaments; one step away from the grand slams - were beaten in qualifying and so Alex Bogdanovic, Jamie Baker, Katie O'Brien and Anne Keothavong must continue to fight for recognition at levels far removed from this stature.

All of which makes a gathering in Warwick today one of the more significant for years, where those British coaches who have borne the brunt of the criticism for the country's lack of international presence join forces. The British Tennis Coaches Association (BTCA) has a renewed vibrancy, having broken from its affiliation with the LTA, and is working on its own blueprint for the sport's future, which will be discussed at today's summit meeting.

Among those attending are Jeremy Bates, Alan Jones, David Felgate, Mark Cox, Jo Durie, Jim Edgar, Jo Ward, Keith Reynolds, Martin Weston and Jayant Mistry, Britain's finest wheelchair player of his generation. They form an unmatched nucleus of experience and knowledge of the sport in Britain and are eager to work together for the common good.Mike Lynch, the chief executive of the BTCA, said: “We have had too many people saying that British coaches are the root cause of the ills of the game here and what I've done quietly over the past few months is to ask these coaches what they believe in and why they should have a voice.

“We are keen to move forward on this without any sense of confrontation with the LTA. We want to work with them on this and if they are happy to work with us, that's fine. We all want the same outcome, a successful British game.”

Bruce Philipps, the director of communications for the LTA, insisted that his organisation is “flat out” seeking to deliver its own blueprint.

Back in this particular desert, Murray has a first-round bye and awaits the winner of the match between Marat Safin, of Russia, and Jürgen Melzer, of Austria. A semifinalist last year, the British No1 is in the same quarter as Roger Federer, the world No1, and Andy Roddick.