Andy Murray has spoken about how becoming a father made him appreciate the sacrifices that his parents made for him (Neil Johnston writes). The tennis star has also revealed his pain at being separated from his daughter as he travels the world playing tennis.
He said he did not see his parents for months at a time when he moved to Spain to train as a teenager, and could not imagine going through the same thing with his daughter, Sophia.
His wife, Kim, gave birth in February and mother and baby have flown 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 realised how difficult the move must have been for his mother, Judy, and his 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 sponsor, Standard Life, the Edinburgh-based investment company, and praised his parents for allowing him and his 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 left home when we were around the same age and my parents would not have seen us for months at a time. I can only imagine how difficult that was for them.
“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.’ ”
Murray said that when he went to the Sanchez-Casal academy in Spain, he found it difficult to be away from home the first two or three weeks. “And then I loved it.”
At the weekend Murray told how his daughter had a sunny disposition — unlike himself — and said she was not giving him any sleepless nights.
