Tennis news - Kyrgios plays up Murray as 'better than Djokovic' during Instagram live chat

Over several glasses of red wine, Kyrgios praised Murray's serve during the pair's first meeting in Toronto in 2014, claiming that Rafael Nadal had been unable to cope with it when the two met.

Nadal wasn't the only one of Tennis's 'big three' to find himself on the receiving end of Kygios's musings, with Novak Djokovic also featuring on the list of players the Australian deems to have been less of a player than Murray.

"I’d beaten Rafa [Nadal], he’s a mate of yours," said Kyrgios, who also claimed to have been on his sixth glass of red by the time the call started. "I beat him pretty convincingly at Wimby.

"When you returned my serve, which Rafa didn’t, I was like '“I’m in trouble'" Kyrgios went on to claim Murray – a three-time Grand Slam champion – is better than Djokovic, who has won 17 major titles.

"I think you should have one of the best careers ever. I said that you many times," added the world No. 40. "I think you are better than Djokovic. Djokovic was playing dodgeball on my serve and you were slapping it for a winner. He was trying to dodge it, you were on it like a light." Murray observed that: "the results would suggest otherwise."

Kyrgios's fiery temper and occasional lack of discipline have been known to get him in trouble during singles matches, though in team events he has been of far more reliable temperament.

Murray even agreed to team up with the 25-year-old for doubles in future, on the obvious condition that he "behaves" himself. At the Laver Cup, where a team from Europe takes on the rest of the world, Kyrgios has thrived.

When explaining his enjoyment of the competition, however, he couldn’t resist a swipe at European team members Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem. "Because it’s fun, they are my best buds (the world team). They are trying to be some European guys who have no banter, don’t give one ‘F’ about each other. Which pisses me off.

"Let’s be honest Tsitsipas and Zverev hate each other. I like to get up and about with the boys. Aussies and people from England, we are the same. Do you think me and Dominic Thiem would vibe? No. I’m more invested in maybe, like, a nice cocktail. But my boy D Thiem would be like "'I want to see this paint dry.'"