Expecting third child, Murray ready to travel with three kids on tour

Andy Murray is going to be balancing his play with the demands of a bigger family, with his wife, Kim, expecting their third child within the next couple of weeks.

Murray, who is playing this week in Antwerp, Belgium, will leave the event for the birth if required and is happy it isn't a long trip back to England. He's also not planning to start taking the family for lengthy travel, recalling his first Australian Open with his oldest daughter Sophia.

"I felt terrible, during the day she was so tired," said Murray in a video interview with the European Open in Antwerp. "And we had to turn around and go home. They were only there for about a week.

"It's not really fair on them. They will travel for sure to Europe and places like here where it's convenient. But yeah, the long-haul travel was tough on the kids. And with three, it's not easy."

But Murray says wis wife has also been instrumental in keeping his career going, especially when he was repeatedly sidelined with the hip problems on which he had surgery this season.

"There’s a number of times that I had stopped," he was quoted as saying during an interview with a small group of journalists at Antwerp. "I was like ‘I don’t want to do this any more.’ But Kim, she was always trying to keep me going, and trying to help get me back on the court, stay motivated, and always happy for me to go and train and go away and stuff."

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That's something that hasn't changed during his career. The 32-year-old began dating Kim, who is the daughter of veteran coach Nigel Sears, towards the beginning of his career.

"She’s just been very understanding of everything that I’ve done," he said. "Like going away for training blocks in Miami. It might not seem like much but we don’t get to see each other all of the time.

"She has been brilliant like that, allowed me to pursue my career and been unbelievably supportive of me."

Murray, who won his opener at Antwerp, reiterated the improvements in his game since he returned to playing singles regularly.

"The body is starting to understand what it has to do, again," he said. "I have no issues with my hip and I’m able to do what I have always done. Maybe not quite to the level as what I did in my mid-20s, but I’m pretty competitive with most players.

"But if I take a few days off it takes a little bit longer to get going nowadays."

Murray, who entered Antwerp with a wildcard, is No. 243 in the rankings. He will face Pablo Cuevas for a spot in the quarterfinals.