Andy Murray admits he is powerless in certain areas of parenthood

'Without getting particularly graphic, there’s nothing much I can do'

(Getty Images)

It is all very well being a modern dad, but there are some things a man just cannot help with. “Without getting particularly graphic, there’s nothing much I can do,” Andy Murray said here yesterday when asked whether his three-week-old baby Sophia had been disrupting his sleep.

“She is waking up because she wants feeding and unfortunately my body doesn’t produce any milk. I can’t help too much there. In the night I would stay up with her as late as is needed, whilst Kim is asleep. In the night, Kim would get up. If I was training early the next day, my mother-in-law was staying with us as well and she was helping too.

He added: “Everyone is telling me sleep is the hardest part but we have been really lucky because she’s been sleeping really well.”

Murray is here preparing for the start of the defence of Britain’s Davis Cup title. It is also the Scot’s first competitive action since his loss to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final nearly five weeks ago.

“It’s been nice to have a few weeks at home,” Murray said, his wife Kim having given birth to their first child just six days after his return from Melbourne. “Now I’ve spent a few days away from home, which isn’t easy, but obviously I had to go back to playing at some stage.”

His wife and daughter will not be here this week, but Murray said they would be with him at next month’s Miami Masters, which might give an indication of how travelling as a family would suit them.

“Babies are pretty portable at this age,” he said. “We’ll just play it by ear a little bit and see how well that works out. It’s not really up to me. It’s up to Kim as well, how much she would like to travel, too. Kim only really comes to maybe five tournaments during the year. Maybe she would come to two or three more, but I don’t see us travelling as a family all the time.”

Roger Federer and his wife Mirka employ several nannies and a nursery school teacher to look after their two sets of twins, but the Murrays have no plans to bring in a nanny, despite the advice of many fellow players.

He added: “I think everyone’s said that the more effort you put in, the more rewarding it is. You get so much back out of it, so to give as much time as you can, to enjoy every minute – because, even though at the beginning it can be challenging, with sleep and whatnot, you’ll miss it when it’s not there – that it’s a nice stage to look back on, to enjoy every minute of being a parent.”

Asked what had surprised him most about becoming a father, Murray said that watching his wife’s labour had been difficult. “It’s an amazing experience but it’s also difficult to see someone you care about go through that,” he said. “It’s also how much [babies] change on a daily basis at this stage. They’re growing all of the time. Pictures from the first day to three weeks now, she looks like a completely different person.”

Murray, who confirmed the appointment of the former British player Jamie Delgado as his assistant coach, said he would play in all of Britain’s Davis Cup ties this year if fit. He said he did not know how fatherhood would affect his tennis but added: “It can only be a positive thing. I don’t see it being negative at all, in terms of my career.”

Leon Smith, Britain’s captain, will decide today on his second singles player. Kyle Edmund suffered a back problem yesterday and could be replaced by Dan Evans. The doubles specialists Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot complete the squad. Japan’s hopes rest largely on Kei Nishikori, the world No 6.