Andy Murray was in for a Father’s Day surprise after winning the Nottingham Open today after the British tennis star spotted his four children watching from the stands.
In the emotional moment, Murray broke off his acceptance speech after catching a glimpse of his wife Kim Sears, 35, and their four children – none of whom he knew were attending the game – telling an enthusiastic audience: “I had no idea they were coming!’ ‘
The former world number one defeated Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4, 6-4 in the final to claim ten straight wins and win the Rothesay Nottingham Open.
During his on-pitch interview after the game, he was apparently unaware that one of his children was present in person, saying: “Hopefully I’ll get home tonight and 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 can get in before bed, give myself a day off tomorrow and look forward to Queens.”
It was then that he heard cheers from the stands and looked up to see his supportive family gathered, including his wife Kim, who wore black cat-eye sunglasses, smiled at him and held the couple’s youngest child in her arms.
Genuinely shocked, 36-year-old Murray counted his children and said: “They’re all here.” He 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 to the finals in Surbiton last week, got there and it started raining, so they had to go home for the kids to go to bed.”
Hey dad: Murray’s wife, Kim Sears, 35, looked over the moon as she sat in the crowd with the couple’s two children
It was a nice surprise for Murray, 36, who said he had “no idea” his family would come to watch
The video posted by the LTA on Twitter certainly moved people, with one person brought to tears
“They missed the end of the game so it’s great they managed to come today. I don’t know how many of them are here – they’re all here – thanks guys.”
People were definitely touched by the video posted by the LTA on Twitter. One person commented: “Oh my god that moment brought me to tears it’s so nice for her to see her dad win today.”
Another wrote: “I loved it, his real father voice soared into the room what a precious moment.”
A third wrote: “What a beautiful genuine moment. Beautiful family.’
A fourth said: “The way he looked really shocked was happy for Father’s Day Andy.”
Murray reportedly met his wife at a party for the US Open in 2005 and they kept their relationship private for a while.
Andy Murray won the Nottingham Open in front of his children on Father’s Day
However, they became public a year later when he won his first tournament in California and took to the stands to kiss Kim.
Kim, who was 18 at the time and still in school, said she asked her mother to call in sick for her, but all the papers had pictures of them.
The couple tied the knot on April 11, 2015 at Dunblane Cathedral in Scotland, where she wore a glamorous Swarovski crystal gown by Jenny Packham, who also designs outfits for the Princess of Wales.
They held their reception at the Cromlix House Hotel in Dunblane, which Murray bought for almost £2million in 2013.
The hotel was closed for a few months for a renovation Kim herself led and has since reopened.
Kim gave The Sunday Times Style a tour of the place which was uploaded to YouTube. She said in the video, “We’ve owned Cromlix for ten years now.”
The couple tied the knot on April 11, 2015 at Dunblane Cathedral in Scotland, where she wore a glamorous Swarovski crystal-encrusted Jenny Packham gown
The Scottish tennis player defeated Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4 and 6-4 in the final, earning his tenth consecutive win
“I think at the point where it needed a refurbishment anyway, it was the perfect timing.”
“I had finished building our family home, I had completed the birth of my children, and I saw this as an opportunity to really put our stamp on it, to put my stamp 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 couple have four children together: Sophia, seven, Edie, five, Teddie, three, and a two-year-old believed to be named Lola.
Their fourth child was born in lockdown in March 2021 and the couple have not revealed the baby’s name or gender.
In April, he posted a drawing of Edie after the two had a coaching session together, in which she hilariously wrote, “I don’t want to play anymore… you’re standing too close to me.”
Andy Murray and Kim Sears are pictured watching the race whilst attending the 2019 Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse
Murray captioned the pic with a crying emoji: “My first foray into coaching ended in shame.”
The family were on a family holiday in Marbella recently in April, where he shared a photo of him lifting Teddie over his head.
Speaking to This Morning’s Alison Hammond in 2021, the tennis star said his greatest achievement was getting all four children to bed on time.
He also revealed that his eldest daughter Sophia plays tennis once a week.
Murray has come through the week in Nottingham without dropping a set but it was a second-rate Challenger event so he will get a closer test of where his game stands at Queen’s next week with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Matteo Berrettini and others Holger Rune all in the win.
Murray has now clinched titles in consecutive weeks, winning 10 games in a row
However, based on his movement, serve and match play this week, he seems in with a good chance of enjoying his best run at Wimbledon since he was knocked out of the quarter-finals in 2017 with a hip injury that derailed his career.
His physical condition was put to the test here as he won his semi-final at 18:30 on Saturday night but was back in action at 11:00 for the final which was brought forward on Sunday afternoon due to the threat of rain.
However, he came through immediately, defeating world No. 181 in the opening game before eventually going 6-4 into the opener.
The second set was a lot tighter due to Cazaux’s big serve, but Murray broke out to make it 4-4 and then served to secure the trophy.