Andy Murray got a Father’s Day surprise after clinching the Nottingham Open today, after the British tennis star spotted his four children watching from the stands.
In the emotional moment, Murray stopped his acceptance speech after catching a glimpse of wife Kim Sears, 35, and his four children – none of whom he knew were attending the match, telling a delighted audience: ‘I had no idea they were coming!’
The former world number one beat Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4 6-4 in the final to make it 10 wins in a row, and lift the Rothesay Nottingham Open.
During his post match on-court interview, he was clearly none the wiser that any of his children were there in person, saying: ‘Hopefully I’ll get back home tonight, see my kids for Father’s Day.
Surprise! A shocked Andy Murray spots his wife and four children in the crowd during his victory interview at the Nottingham Open Final today
‘Hopefully I’ll get in before their bed time, get a rest day in tomorrow, get pumped for Queens.’
It was at that point he heard cheering in the stands, looked up and saw his supportive family all gathered, with wife Kim, wearing black cat-eye sunglasses, smiling back at him and holding the couple’s youngest child.
Genuinely shocked, Murray, 36, counted his children, saying ‘they’re all here’ and admitted he had ‘no idea’ they were coming to watch.
He said: ‘Oh my god, I didn’t know they were here. I had no idea they were coming.’
He added: ‘They came last week for the final at Surbiton, they turned up and it started raining, so then they had to go home for the kids’ bedtime.
It was a nice surprise for Murray, 36, who said he had ‘no idea’ his family were coming to watch
People were certainly moved by the video on Twitter – posted by the LTA – with one person moved to tears
‘They missed the end of the match, so it’s great that they managed to come today. I don’t know how many of them are here – they’re all here – thanks guys.’
People were certainly moved by the video on Twitter – posted by the LTA – with one person commenting: ‘Omg that moment had me in tears, so wonderful for them to see their father win today.’
Another wrote: ‘Loved this, his genuine dad voice entered the room real quick, such a precious moment.’
A third penned: ‘What a lovely, genuine moment. Beautiful family.’
A fourth said: ‘The way he seemed genuinely shocked, happy Father’s Day Andy.
Murray reportedly first met his wife at a party for the US open in 2005 and they kept their relationship private for a while.
But they became public a year later when won his first tournament in California and went into the stands to give Kim a kiss.
Kim, who was 18 at the time and still studying at school, said that she asked her mother to call in sick for her, but pictures of them were splashed over all the papers.
The pair tied the knot on 11 April 2015 at Dunblane Cathedral in Scotland where she wore a glamorous Swarovski crystal-encrusted gown by Jenny Packham, who also designs outfits for The Princess of Wales.
They held their reception at Cromlix House Hotel in Dunblane, which Murray bought for almost £2 million in 2013.
The hotel was shut for a couple of months for a refurbishment led by Kim herself and has since reopened.
Kim gave The Sunday Times Style a tour around the place which was uploaded on YouTube. She said in the video: ‘We’ve owned Cromlix for ten years now.
The Scottish tennis player beat Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4 6-4 in the final to make it 10 wins in a row
‘I think at the point where it needed a refurbishment anyway and it was the perfect timing.
‘I’d finished building our family home, I’d finished having babies and I saw it as an opportunity to really put our stamp on it, put my mark on it.’
The hotel even has a private chapel where Murray’s brother and father both got married.
She said: ‘Those were really special memories for us.’
The pair share four children together, Sophia, seven, Edie, five, Teddie, three, and a two-year-old thought to be called Lola.
Their fourth child was born in lockdown in March 2021 and the couple have never announced the baby’s name or gender.
In April, he posted a drawing by Edie after the pair had a coaching session together, where she hilariously wrote: ‘I don’t want to play anymore… you stand too close to me.’
Murray captioned the picture: ‘My first venture into the coaching world has ended in disgrace,’ with a crying emoji.
The family recently went on a family holiday to Marbella in April, where he shared a snap of him lifting Teddie above his head.
Speaking to This Morning’s Alison Hammond in 2021, the tennis star said his proudest achievement is getting all four children to bed on time.
He also revealed that his eldest daughter, Sophia, plays tennis once a week.
Murray made it through the week at Nottingham without dropping a set, but it was a second-tier Challenger event so he will receive a truer test of where his game is at next week at Queen’s, with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Matteo Berrettini and Holger Rune all in the draw.
However, on the evidence of his movement, serving and matchplay this week, he looks a good bet to enjoy his best run at Wimbledon since he hobbled out of the 2017 quarter-finals with the hip injury that derailed his career.
His physicality was tested here as he won his semi-final at 6.30pm on Saturday night but was back on at 11am for the final, which was brought forward owing to the threat of rain on Sunday afternoon.
He hit the ground running, though, breaking the world number 181 in the opening game before eventually seeing the first set out 6-4.
The second set was much tighter, owing to Cazaux’s big serve, but Murray broke at 4-4 and then served it out to get his hands on the trophy.
