Nick Kyrgios says he received ‘racial slurs’ during BOSS Open defeat to Andy Murray in Stuttgart

The 27-year-old was penalised at the start of the second set after becoming frustrated and breaking a racquet, and has since taken to Instagram to explain his behaviour on court.

Kyrgios said “racial slurs” from the crowd were the reason for his behaviour, and it was “messed up”.that he was penalised after responding to comments he heard from the crowd.

He wrote: “When is this going to stop? Dealing with racial slurs from the crowd? I UNDERSTAND THAT MY BEHAVIOUR ISN’T THE BEST ALL THE TIME – but ‘you little BLACK SHEEP’, ‘shut up and play’… little comments like this are NOT ACCEPTABLE. When I retaliate to the crowd, I get penalised. This is messed up.”

After a closely fought first set, Murray clinched the set after a 7-5 tie-break win, which led to Kyrgios launching his racquet towards the floor in anger, breaking it in two, and receiving a point penalty.

He then conceded a game penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct as he continuously argued with the umpire, which gave Murray a decent advantage at the start of the second set.

The incident put Kyrgios off his stride as he failed to mount a comeback, which left Murray to capitalise and book his place in Sunday’s final against Matteo Berrettini.