Kyrgios claims he was racially abused by Stuttgart crowd

Australia's Nick Kyrgios claims he was racially abused by members of the crowd during his Stuttgart semi-final defeat to Andy Murray on Saturday in which he was penalised a game for an on-court outburst.

"When is this going to stop? Dealing with racist slurs from the crowd?" Kyrgios wrote on Instagram.

"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."

Kyrgios smashed a racquet and exchanged words with a group in the Stuttgart crowd early in the second set.

The Australian was penalised a point and then a game for unsportsmanlike conduct to trail 1-0.

After the tournament supervisor was called, Kyrgios merely went through the motions on court as Murray took complete command to secure victory in 93 minutes.

Murray reached his 70th career final with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 win and will bid for his first title since Antwerp in 2019 when he plays Matteo Berrettini on Sunday.