He might be seven years older and a father to boot, but Scotsman Andy Murray has emerged as an unlikely mate of Nick Kyrgios on the tennis tour.

Kyrgios has bounced back strongly from his Australian Open disappointment, winning 15 of 19 matches since in a run of form that has seen him reach three semi-finals and beat Novak Djokovic twice.

The Aussie credited his upturn in form to being more comfortable on tour, something for which he thanks Murray and girlfriend Ajla Tomljanovic, also a professional player.

Kyrgios, who spoke last year about how he joked with Murray in the locker room regularly, said the world No.1 was also “really caring” and had helped him recover from a tough start to 2017 that left him in a “pretty dark place”.

“I think he’s [Murray] a really caring guy,” Kyrgios told The Tennis Podcast.

“You know, I think we get along well, not only at tournaments but when I see him just around we get along well.

“We like the same stuff. He likes basketball as well.

“He’s a very friendly guy, he’s very down to earth. He’s a good bloke.”

Kyrgios said Tomljanovic’s injury struggles – caused by a troublesome shoulder – helped put his patchy form into perspective, and that her presence on tour had lifted his mood.

“Seeing her back on the court, and just seeing her getting back into tournament mode, it’s been helping me because I’ve seen her when she was in a sling, you know, just after surgery, not being able to hit and in the dark place she was in,” he said.

“It kind of put a bit of perspective into my life as well.

“After the Australian Open, I wasn’t in the greatest mindset. I was in a pretty dark place.

“I thought about the position she was in and I was in a pretty lucky position myself, being healthy. Seeing her has been good, seeing her more often is obviously helping my headspace as well.”

Kyrgios and Tomljanovic regularly practice together. Photo: Getty

Kyrgios, who revealed the pair might play mixed doubles together at Wimbledon, said regularly playing doubles was becoming a major help for his singles ambitions.

“I’m trying to play doubles – I think it’s really helping my singles game a lot with my returns,” he said.

“I think I’m volleying a lot better, I think I’m coming forward a lot better … I think it’s developing my game.”

‘He responded brilliantly’

Speaking on the same podcast, Australia’s Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt said Kyrgios can win Wimbledon “one day for sure”.

He added that Kyrgios needed a good support network around him, and regular breaks on tour, to fulfil his potential.

“After he lost early at the Australian Open he was pretty disappointed,” Hewitt said.

“We got him to come around the other teammates and that was massive for him.

“He realised that people had his back and were going to come around him when times were tough. He responded brilliantly, helping out the young players and becoming the leader of the team.

“We now have a group chat (on the phone) throughout the year and that’s really helped Nick.

“Everyone’s on there speaking to him. Telling him how well he’s doing.

“Scheduling is important for Nick because it gets lonely on the tour.

“He’s got his girlfriend, Ajla, he’s got a mate on tour in Matt Reid and he needs to make sure he has a couple of weeks off every so often to keep him in a happy place.”