Andy Murray Welcomes a Daughter

Tennis star Andy Murray is a dad!

Wife Kim Sears Murray gave birth to a daughter on the evening of Sunday, Feb. 7, reports BBC Scotland. A formal announcement is expected shortly.

The couple, who married at Dunblane Cathedral in Scotland in April and confirmed to PEOPLE they were expecting in August, were apart for the final weeks of Sears’ pregnancy as Murray reached the final of the Australian Open in January.

Shortly after his loss in the Australian Open final to world No.1 Novak Djokovic, a highly emotional Murray, 28, paid tribute to his wife in an on-court interview.

“To my wife Kim. She’s going to be watching back home just now. You’ve been a legend the last two weeks,” the Scot told tennis fans at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. “Thanks for all your support and I’ll be on the next flight home.”

He was good as his word: The Scot cut short his media duties to catch the 1 a.m. flight out of Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport and head to the family home in Oxshott, Surrey.

“She has been amazing. Handled everything unbelievably well,” Murray told reporters before he raced to the airport. “I have to thank her for allowing me to play and stay here with everything that was going on.”

The birth of baby Murray caps an emotional couple of weeks for the World No. 2. Midway through the Australian Open his father-in-law Nigel Sears was admitted to the hospital with severe cardiac issues, prompting the Scot to consider abandoning a Grand Slam tournament for the first time ever.

“A lot’s been going on,” Murray told reporters in his post-match comments. “It was a difficult one. It was close. I’ve never been in that position before, so it’s as close as I’ve been to leaving a Grand Slam. Thankfully he’s fine now. Yeah, I just want to get home.”

Among first congratulations to the new parents was a tweet by Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon: “Lovely news. Congratulations to @andy_murray and Kim on the birth of their daughter. Wishing every happiness.”

The Daily Telegraph reports that bookmaker Coral has already offered odds of 250/1 on baby Murray winning Wimbledon within 30 years.

— Peter Mikelbank and Philip Boucher