Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep's coach Darren Cahill has revealed that she is like 'family' to him. 

Ahead of the 2019 season, it was announced that the two were officially on a break after three years working together.

But Cahill, who is now back in the coaching box after a year away from Halep, admitted to missing coaching the Romanian and insisted despite their break that they still communicated regularly. 

He said: "We would speak most days, even last year when we weren't working together.

"We're friends. As I have said many times before, she's really a part of my family.

"I told that story about thinking I was doing the right thing for my family over 12 months ago when I came home and said, ‘Hey, kids, I'm taking a year off work and I'm going to be around a little bit more,’ and my daughter started crying. I thought she was really happy, but she was annoyed that I was leaving Simona. That's what she means to my family."

The 28 year-old's run at the Australian Open has seen her reach the semi-finals after a 6-1 6-1 victory over Anett Kontaveit.

"So not much changed. I just wasn't at as many tournaments, obviously," Cahill added. "I spoke to her most days at Wimbledon last year, spoke to her most days during the US hard court season, and we started working a little bit together before Shenzhen.

"As far as I'm concerned, the relationship is exactly the same. She's still as stressed on the court as she always is, but she's learning ways to deal with it and to handle it."