Andy Murray hints he’s annoyed with Nick Kyrgios as Brit admits Stuttgart win ‘not fun’

Andy Murray discusses his tennis future aged just 14

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Despite reaching the Stuttgart Open final Andy Murray admitted that he did not particularly enjoy his 7-6 6-2 win over Nick Kyrgios. The Australian was penalised a point and then a game for unsportsmanlike conduct after losing the first set, as Kyrgios smashed his racket on the court and his bench in anger.

The incidents disrupted Kyrgios from his game as he imploded in the second set, and he went through the motions as he suffered defeat to Murray. “The second set was not much fun to play, it was not very competitive,” the Scot said. “It wasn’t really a match. He started well but closer to the end he got frustrated. The first set was tough and the end of the first set was the crucial part of the match.

“You expect things to happen against him, so I’m not surprised when they do. It was a very frustrating set for him to lose and he broke a racket. He also had a back and forth with the umpire and something seemed to happen in the crowd. But I didn’t really hear anything after the first set.”

Kyrgios claimed he was the subject of racial abuse from the crowd, as he took to Instagram after the game. 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.”

It isn’t yet known whether Stuttgart Open organisers will investigate Kyrgios’ claims.

Murray will face Italian second seed Matteo Berrettini in Sunday’s final after his 7-6 7-6 semi-final victory over Oscar Otte. The Brit will be full of confidence as he has enjoyed a successful week in Germany as he moves back into the world’s top 50 for the first time in four years, and will be seeded in the Wimbledon draw should he defeat Berrettini on Sunday.

Murray reached his tenth career grass court final in Stuttgart, and after the game voiced his views on his opponent without knowing that Kyrgios was the subject of racial slurs. “You are always battling yourself on court as well as the opponent,” he said. “It is one of the difficult things about individual sports.

“Nick has the potential to be one of the best players in the world. There is absolutely no question about that. But he obviously got very frustrated and made it a lot easier for me. I am happy to be in the final, I have played well this week and got a great opportunity against Matteo [Berrettini, last year’s Wimbledon runner-up].”

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