ANDY Murray’s dad has launched a scathing attack on his ex-wife Judy, claiming he put more time into bringing up the young prodigy than her.
Will Murray says that despite his dedication to Andy and Jamie, their mum “demands publicity” and claims she has only really been there since they became famous.
The 54 year-old newsagent manager was at Wimbledon on Friday to see Andy, 22, miss out on a place in the final by just a few agonising points.
After the game Andy said: “It’s not the end of the world to lose – my family is more important to me than tennis.”
But it was tennis that ripped the young Scot’s parents apart at a young age.
Speaking in a weekend interview, Will said breaking the divorce news to Andy and Jamie, 23 – who also reached the SW19 semi-finals in mixed doubles – was ‘the worst day of my life.’
He said: “I had to tell them that their mum was leaving home.
“It ripped me apart to have to hurt them by telling them what I did. They were distraught.
“They are both very different personalities but they both took the news much the same way and I remember they were very upset.”
Andy and Jamie lived with their dad in Dunblane while Judy pursued her career as Scotland’s national tennis coach.
But Will watched on with envy when their then-teenage sons hit the big time, as Judy became a celebrity in her own right with high-profile newspaper columns and television appearances.
He said: “Since Andy and Jamie have been in the public eye for the past couple of years, Judy has always been there with them.
“I am not the kind who runs in and demands publicity.
“But the tale has come out like she was the one always there. I worked full time but I cooked when they came home from school. I did the washing and ironing.
“Most people get the impression I was an absent father. That certainly was not and is not the case.
“I kept the family home and look after them for four or five years.
“A lot of people don’t realise that because the story isn’t portrayed that way. That’s fine by me, because the boys know exactly what happened.”
Of the break-up Judy once said: “I was away a lot and coaching until quite late in the evening. Your domestic life gets hit for six.”
And Will conceded: “Tennis may have played a part in our break up but we just grew apart.”
And Andy has also admitted he took the split badly, saying: “I would get really upset. One of the things I would have loved to have had was a family that worked better together, although I love my mother and father to bits.”
And Will approves of his son’s own personal life, with Andy now shacked up in £5.3million mansion in Surrey with long-term girlfriend Kim Sears.
Will added: “She is a very beautiful girl.
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure if Andy entering into a relationship was a good thing for her because of the amount of time he is away,
“But Kim is the beast thing that happened to him.
“She had her own life, and she’s not a hanger-on or a WAG.
“She understands tennis as her father, Nigel, has been in the game as a coach all his life.
“She is a very stabilising influence and they’re a lovely couple to be around.”
