Nick Kyrgios saddened by plight of ‘good guy’ Andy Murray

Nick Kyrgios admits he has been left saddened by Andy Murray’s latest hip setback and hailed the Scot as ‘good for the sport’.

Murray pulled out of the Brisbane International on Tuesday as the long-term hip injury that has sidelined him since Wimbledon was still causing him pain.

The 30-year-old revealed he is considering surgery but Kyrgios, the world No 21 and a close friend of Murray’s, hopes it does not come to that.

‘It’s pretty sad; he’s definitely a fan favourite,’ Kyrgios said. ‘He brings a lot of the people to all these tournaments and he’s a good friend of mine.

‘It’s never good seeing a guy like that get injured, especially because he’s just good for the sport. He’s a good guy as well.’

Murray’s participation in the first grand slam of the year – the Australian Open which starts on January 15 – is in serious doubt.

The former world No 1 revealed his frustrations with the injury, which has put a hold on his career, in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

Kyrgios was speaking after his second-round win over Matthew Ebden at the Brisbane Open

He said: ‘In the short term I’m going to be staying in Australia for the next couple of days to see if my hip settles down a bit and will decide by the weekend whether to stay out here or fly home to assess what I do next.’

Miles Maclagan, Murray’s former coach, suggested the current world number 16 might have to adapt his game when he finally makes his return to the court.

‘The characteristic of these great players is that when they’ve had a setback they often come back stronger, reinvigorated in the mind,’ Maclagan told the BBC.

‘He said he was tired, so could come back with a fresh mentality.

‘If he can get fit, it might force him to play a different sort of game, with shorter rallies.

‘That could be very exciting, [but] he’s got a tough road back.’

Murray is currently unlikely to play in the Australian Open owing to a long-term hip injury