Andy Murray kept a bedside vigil in a Melbourne hospital on Saturday night while doctors monitored the condition of his 58-year-old father-in-law, Nigel Sears, who collapsed earlier in the stands at the Australian Open.

Murray won through to the fourth round, unaware of what had happened while he was on court, then rushed immediately to the hospital about a mile from the tournament venue to be with Sears, whose daughter, Murray’s wife Kim, is at home in London awaiting the arrival of their first child.

Andy Murray’s father-in-law Nigel Sears collapses during Ana Ivanovic match Read more

Murray’s continued participation in the tournament was not immediately in doubt, although he had said earlier he would leave Melbourne if news came through that his wife was about to give birth imminently. If Murray thought Kim’s father’s collapse was sufficiently distressing for her that he needed to be with her – with the birth expected in the next few weeks – it is possible he could decide to go home early.

His long-time friend and Great Britain Davis Cup captain Leon Smith, said, “If Nigel is absolutely fine, it will be business as usual. But obviously Andy needs to find out what exactly happened.”

Andy Murray beats João Sousa at Australian Open in extraordinary circumstances Read more

Sears had been watching the player he coaches, the former world No1 Ana Ivanovic, against the American Madison Keys on the tournament’s main court, the Rod Laver Arena, which adjoins the court where Murray was playing, Margaret Court Arena.

ESPN reported there was “a pool of blood” where Sears collapsed and fell after the first game of the second set. There were gasps around the arena and Ivanovic, alerted to movement in the stands, looked up to her box and was heard on the courtside microphone saying, “I think it’s my coach.” Medics applied a defibrillator and, after attending to him for 20 minutes, carried Sears away on a stretcher.

Andy Murray v João Sousa, Madison Keys v Ana Ivanovic: Australian Open 2016 – live! | Les Roopanarine Read more

While play was suspended for 50 minutes, Ivanovic told friends in the locker room that “Nigel had similar episodes before”. She was visibly upset on her return, lost in three sets and later cancelled her scheduled press conference.

Within moments of beating the Portuguese João Sousa 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in two hours and 24 minutes, Murray was met at the end of the players’ tunnel by his mother, Judy, who took him into a quiet room and told him what had happened. The world No2 dashed past waiting journalists through the corridors of the complex to a waiting car, still in his match kit with his bag over his shoulder.

His brother, Jamie, who had been liaising with the tournament director, Craig Tiley, said Sears was “undergoing tests” but was “conscious, talking and sitting up”. He had had an ECG heart test in the ambulance and again at the Epworth Hospital in nearby Richmond. The hospital later described Sears’s condition as “stable”.

Wimbledon referee Andrew Jarrett, who is working here as an assistant referee, accompanied Sears in the ambulance.

“It was very worrying to begin with and, when I saw him lying on the steps, he looked so grey facially,” he said. “They gave Nige an ECG in the ambulance on the way to hospital and another when he got there. The results of both of those were fine. Now they are doing some blood test on him, which will more accurately determine what the problem is.

“I was a lot happier when I left the hospital than when I arrived. He was totally conscious and talking very normally. All he wanted to know was how Ana’s match was going. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is discharged from the hospital in the morning.”

He added: “I’m not quite sure how all the blood ended up on the steps. I saw no sign of Nigel cutting his head at all but the sleeve of his tracksuit was bloodied, and maybe the medics pushed something into his arm.”