Andy Murray: Being a dad makes me appreciate parents' sacrifices

ANDY Murray has told how becoming a father made him appreciate the sacrifices his parents made for him.

Andy Murray. Picture: Ian Rutherford

The tennis star revealed his pain at being separated from his daughter as he travels the world playing tennis.

He said he wouldn’t see his parents for months at a time when he moved to Spain to train as a teenager and couldn’t imagine going through the same thing with his daughter Sophia.

His wife Kim gave birth in February and mum and baby have flown over to Paris to be with Murray as he competes in the French Open.

Murray, 29, left home aged 15 to train at a tennis academy in Spain and said he now realises how difficult the move must have been for mum Judy and father Will.

The former Wimbledon champion, from Dunblane, became emotional as he watched footage of Judy travelling to Spain to visit him for his 16th birthday.

He told of his emotions in a video interview conducted by his sponsors Standard Life, the Edinburgh-based investment firm, and praised his parents for allowing him and brother Jamie to follow their dreams.

He said: “It’s quite emotional for me seeing my mum flying over to Spain to see me.

“Being a parent now I know what it’s like being away from your child for just a few days.

“Me and my brother both left home when we were around the same age and my parents wouldn’t have seen us for months at a time.

“I can only imagine how difficult that was for them and the sacrifices they made for us.

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“Our parents said ‘right if you’re going to move away from home you have to train hard, you’re not messing around, we’re allowing you to go over and do this, now do it properly.’

“I was 15 when I went to the Sanchez-Casal academy in Spain for the first time. I found that difficult just being away from home the first two or three weeks and then I loved it.”

Murray’s parents divorced in 2005 after nine years apart and Murray has previously told of his pain over their split.

At the weekend Murray, told how Sophia had sunny disposition, unlike himself, and said she wasn’t giving him any sleepless nights.

He said: “She’s a lot more smiley than me, that’s for sure.

“I don’t know if she gets that from Kim. She is calm and chilled so far.

“We have adjoining rooms so I sleep next door during tournaments, but even when we’re back home she has been great. No complaints!

“I try to be home every night for bath time.

“Every week it’s getting easier. Once she starts moving around, everyone tells me that’s when it gets more complicated.”

Murray was in first round action at the French Open yesterday(MON) against Czech player Radek Stepanek.

He is aiming to win his first title at Roland Garros after a good run of results on clay courts in recent weeks.

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