Not so much a training session, more a boys' day out. Andy Murray prepared for the biggest day in his Wimbledon life with a kickabout with the lads he calls Team Murray.

There might well have been serious intent behind the 45-minute game and it seemed to be all about Murray's extraordinary competitive instinct as he cajoled and barracked his chums into losing points and suffering the dreaded forfeit.

Just after noon, with the sun blazing out of the sky, Murray strolled out of the Aorangi Pavilion, Wimbledon's exclusive practice area, to make his way down to Court 16, almost the furthest point of the Wimbledon complex. Crowds had formed at the entrance long before he arrived and lined the fences around the practice courts as he strolled down the narrow path with Ross Hutchins, his doubles partner, to join Miles Maclagan, his coach, Jez Green, his fitness trainer, and Matty Little, his conditioning coach.

The heavy tennis bags were dumped at the side of the court for a serious huddle to take place. Nothing to do with forehands and serves, you understand, just a natter to establish the rules of their footy game - most of the rules, it seems, dictated by Murray in consultation with Maclagan. He was first victim of the arcane points system that seems to mean little to anybody apart from this tight group of five, who have bonded into a unit with all the solidarity of a regiment of Royal Marines.

The game is a combination of keepy-uppy and tennis but without a racquet. And it is vital that you put off your opponent - and that means the man on the same side of the net as you.

Maclagan was first to lose a point but Hutchins paid the forfeit for dropping the maximum - and was forced to wear a girl's tee-shirt emblazoned with the motto: "Game, set, Murray". Could that be the mantra for Wimbledon come tomorrow night after his semi-final on Friday against Andy Roddick? We shall see.

It was 45 minutes before Murray picked up a racquet and started swinging with that familiar freedom, pinging the ball back at Hutchins and Maclagan on the other side of the net. While they sweated and strained, changing into dry shirts at one point, Murray looked as though he was playing on a cool spring day and not in the hottest temperatures of the year.

All the while, there were the cries from the far fencing as fans spotted him working out and the ever-present BBC camera crew waiting to snatch some questions. Clare Balding, reporting for BBC Radio Five Live, also waited on the balcony overlooking the court wondering whether Murray would want a word for her. After all, an entire nation waits on the young man from Dunblane in Scotland, who seemed to have anything but a Wimbledon semi-final on his mind.

Queue a business opportunity

Pretty quiet around Wimbledon on women's semi-finals day. It seems the girls simply don't stir the emotions in the way the men do - particularly this year with Murray's assault on the Wimbledon title. But the queues are expected late Thursday night as fans attempt to get tickets for the men's semi-finals and the finals on Sunday.

Thousands will, no doubt, turn up, prepared to wilt in the sun for their treasured ticket. As always, where there is suffering, there is a business opportunity. Just ask Sir Alan Sugar.

Sabrina Sayed is a lot younger than business's Mr Angry, but clearly switched on. The 20-year-old student has started a controversial business selling a place in the queue. She advertises her service, which costs around £50, on the internet, turns up at 5am in the queue and then calls her customer as she nears the ticket office. Think it might be a bit naughty and not sure what the attitude of the local constabulary would be. But there will be plenty of business for her this weekend.

Beware of the dog

They have lovely signs around here. I am particularly taken with the canteen that serves the umpires and officials. Because it is Wimbledon, it can't be called something as plain as a canteen. Oh no, it is the "Officials' Buttery". Lovely, isn't it.

Slightly less confusing, though, is the sign that greets you at some entrances which warns of "Explosive Dogs" patrolling. Explosive dogs? Actually, they are a pair of very sweet, black Cocker spaniels called Joey and Puck. And they don't blow up at all, I am assured.