Tennis news: Andy Murray will withdraw from Australian Open to attend birth of first child

Andy Murray has confirmed his intention to withdraw from this month's Australian Open should pregnant wife Kim go into labour. The pair's first child is due in mid-February, but should the birth be brought forward the world number two will end his campaign in Melbourne in order to attend.

"I'm going to fly home I think," Murray said. "We spoke about it and chatted and obviously it'd be disappointing if I was to get in that position and not be able to play the final. But I'd be way more disappointed winning the Australian Open and not being at the birth of the child.

"Hopefully it doesn't come to that. It's going to be a big change but I am very excited about it. I have got a few weeks of tennis here and then I'll take February off to spend time with Kim." Murray is a four-time runner-up at the opening grand slam of calendar year, losing 2015's final to Novak Djokovic, and would be considered among the main contenders for the title. This year's event runs between 16 and 31 January and marks the start of the new tennis season.

Murray, fresh from guiding Great Britain to their first Davis Cup title for 79 years, is warming up for the Australian Open at the Hopman Cup team event in Perth, alongside Heather Watson. The pair began their campaign with victory over France on 4 January, with Murray beating Kenny de Schepper in two sets, and face Australia and Germany in their final two group games.

Fellow Davis Cup winner Kyle Edmund continued his impressive start to the year with the third tour victory of his career over Martin Klizan at the Qatar Open. The 20-year-old won in straight sets and faces Daniel Munoz for a place in the quarter-finals.

There were mixed fortunes however for Britain's women. Naomi Broady shocked former world number one Ana Ivanovic in the first round of the ASB Classic in Auckland. Broady had never beaten a top-20 ranked player before but claimed victory in straight sets to march into round two. Johanna Konta meanwhile was unable to maintain her impressive recent form as she was beaten by qualifier Qiang Wang at the Shenzhen Open in a three-set match lasting just under two hours.