• Australian Open

Murray more worried by Berdych than 'up and down' Nadal

Andy Murray says he is more wary of Tomas Berdych than he would have been of Rafael Nadal as the British No.1 prepares for his fifth Australian Open in six years.

A confident-looking Murray saw off teenager Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round at Melbourne Park on Tuesday, having already watched Berdych beat Nadal in straight sets.

But Murray does not feel he has got the better draw in the last four, describing Nadal's form as "up and down".

He added: "Tomas had played very well so far, up to today, and Rafa was coming in having not really played much tennis at all for quite a long time.

"When he was playing towards the end of last year he certainly wasn't fit, so I wouldn't imagine he would have been practicing loads either.

"I wasn't too surprised [by Berdych's win]. Rafa nearly got himself back into the match in the third set, but he was clearly not playing so well at the beginning."

Murray said Nick Kyrgios is not the 'bad guy' a lot of people make him out to be © Getty Images

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Murray also debunked the feeling that Kyrgios is a so-called "bad boy".

Kyrgios has his share of criticism in the past few days for his on-court demeanour which has seen him picked up by cameras swearing loudly as well as smashing racquets, and Murray added: "I actually think he's quite respectful on the court. He applauds good shots. He says: 'Good shot, good serve.'

"He gets frustrated with himself and sometimes says things he shouldn't, but everyone has done that in some way when they're 19. It just happens that when he's doing it he's playing in front of a large audience and it gets picked up on.

"I've spent a little bit of time with him and he's a good person. I don't think he's a bad guy. He's nice. He's always been polite and respectful. Maybe he does the odd thing on the court that might annoy some people, but I don't think he does anything with bad intent.

"He's only going to continue to mature and improve in that respect as he gets older. He just needs to be allowed to grow up. Like everyone makes mistakes when they're that age."

Kyrgios, meanwhile, was left to reflect on what he called a "rollercoaster" of a week.

"I wasn't getting much sleep [but] it's been a lot of fun, though at the same time pretty stressful. But I've enjoyed it. I'm just happy that I got as far as I did."

On the match, he added: "That was my first grand slam match playing on Rod Laver [Arena], so that was really cool. There are some things I can take from that match and get better at, but he was just way too good for me tonight.

"It's incredible how many balls he gets back into play. There were points I'd be winning five times over and he'd be making me play an extra ball. Those guys are unbelievable athletes. They're another level."

When asked what they said to each other at the net, Kyrgios revealed: "This is your time - go get it. I think he's got a really good chance of winning the whole thing.

"He told me I had a good tournament and said good luck for the rest of the year. We've got a pretty good relationship. We've talked about it on Twitter. He's always been supporting me."

The pair later shared an exchange on Twitter:

Shame I couldn't get it done tonight but @andy_murray was just too good on the night. Muzza, I wish you all the best mate. #GoGetIt— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) January 27, 2015

@NickKyrgios thanks mate... Congrats on a great tournament! #NKRising — Andy Murray (@andy_murray) January 27, 2015

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