Andy Murray and the Great Britain team land in Ghent and will start practicing ahead of the Davis Cup final at the Flanders Expo

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Murray and the rest of the 15-man British team land in terror-threatened Belgium in countdown to Davis Cup final in Ghent
Will Fury bottle it? British giant lands in Germany ahead of heavyweight clash with Klitschko

Britain have landed in Ghent for the Davis Cup final, despite security fears
Ghent is 35 miles from Brussels, which is in lockdown due to attack threat
Britain will play Belgium in their first Davis Cup final in 37 years
See more of the latest news on Andy Murray and the Great British team

Published: 09:35 EST, 23 November 2015 | Updated: 10:35 EST, 23 November 2015

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Great Britain's Davis Cup team flew in by chartered jet to a private airport near Ghent on Monday to begin their preparations for the Davis Cup final.

The five players led by Andy Murray, and their support staff, flew out of London and arrived just before lunchtime, ahead of having a first practice at the Flanders Expo on Monday afternoon.

Belgium's players were on court in the morning, with the Great Britain team booking it for several hours from mid-afternoon onwards.

Britain (from left to right): 1. Rob Hill (physio), 2. Josh Murray (Andy Murray's account executive), 3. Matt Little (physical trainer), 4. James Ward (player), 5. Ken Skupski (hitter), 6. Andy Murray (player), 7. Dominic Inglot (player), 8. Dan Evans (player), 9. Leon Smith (captain), 10. Nick Weal (coach), 11. Roger Dalton (stringer), 12. Kyle Edmund (player), 13. Jamie Murray (player), 14. John Dolan (press officer) 15. Louis Cayer (coach)

The Flanders Expo arena will hold 13,000 people when the Davis Cup final begins on Friday

The Davis Cup final between Great Britain and Belgium in Ghent is going to be played on clay

An international food fair staged last week meant there was still an enormous amount of work left to do

After a major international food fair staged last week there was still an enormous amount of building work left to do at this exhibition centre on the outskirts of the picturesque Flemmish city ahead of Friday's start.

What Murray, Leon Smith and co. would find is an extremely tight stadium, where the seats have been crammed in to maximise capacity to 13,000 and go over the minimum 12,000-threshold for a Davis Cup final.

The roof is comparatively low, and with the density of seating below it the noise is likely to be extremely loud come Friday.

The team landed at Flanders Airport, used mainly for business travel and 20 miles from Ghent, having delayed their departure by 24 hours and practised at London's Queen's Club on Sunday afternoon.

Although Brussels is on high alert for terrorist attacks, Ghent and the rest of Belgium is one notch down from that and there did not appear to be a particularly tense atmosphere in the city on Monday.

It is an attractive place full of bicycles, trams and waterways with a large old town, but the Expo is a purely functional building a few miles out of the centre amid a business and retail park.

Some of the thousands of British fans expected to attend are naturally anxious, with Tim Henman announcing that he would not be attending with his family as planned.

'I was going to go but I am not going any more,' Henman said. 'I was going to take the three girls, I was going to go with my family. With the train and the going over there, I just thought: 'Is it really worth the hassle for them?' So we are going to be watching at home.'

Tim Henman has cancelled plans to go to Belgium this week and watch the Davis Cup final

Murray and the Britain team will practice on the court for the first time on Monday afternoon

Brussels, the Belgian capital, is on lockdown due to fears of an imminent attack on the city

I travelled via Eurostar to Brussels this morning and on the brief stopover found it quieter than usual with a few soldiers patrolling the station. But it did not appear especially abnormal or threatening.

While the Metro is shut overland trains seemed to be running, albeit with a slight delay to some of them.

Ghent is around thirty miles from the centre of the capital and took less than half an hour by onward train. Life seemed to be going in usual fashion in the attractive centre, and unlike Brussels schools and universities remains open. The locals, however, are being told to be vigilant.

Both teams will have four days' practice on the specially laid indoor court at the Flanders Expo, with the draw being made early on Thursday afternoon

The International Tennis Federation issued a statement this afternoon about security, saying: 'The ITF and Royal Belgian Tennis Federation, in consultation with the relevant officials and our risk assessment and security advisers, are closely monitoring the situation in Belgium and specifically in Ghent.

'As of today there are no changes to the previously published start times for the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Final between Belgium and Great Britain.

Murray and the British team will have four days of practice on the court ahead of the start of the final

Murray (right) celebrates with brother Jamie after doubles victory over Australia in Glasgow in September

David Goffin is the leading player in the Belgium squad and will prove a difficult opponent on a clay court

'We are taking every necessary step to ensure the safety of the teams, the spectators, the media and all working staff. '

They have warned that additional security measures will include bags and backpacks having to be stored outside the arena, with no food and drink allowed in. Spectators are advised to allow more time to enter.