All seemed well for Andy Murray when he spoke to Nick Kyrgios at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp earlier this week to arrange a practice session.
The British No.1 spoke to Kyrgios, hoping to arrange an early morning hit ahead of the start of the 2018 ATP World Tour season but the 22-year-old, sensing an opportunity for competition, quickly fired back with his own request.
“He was actually trying to organise a hit for me at 8am,” revealed Kyrgios. “I [said], Andy, I'm not going to make that hit."
The initial response from the World No. 21 gave Murray food for thought but with both men standing strong, negotiations eventually broke down.
“I offered him 9am. I thought 9am is pretty good and then he said 8am. I [said] no, you're going to have to find someone else.”
The light-hearted standoff between the two friends eventually took an unfortunate turn with Murray being forced to withdraw from the tournament.
“I saw him the next day and he told me he pulled out,” said Kyrgios. “It's pretty sad; he's definitely a fan favourite. 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.”