Andy Murray beats Nick Kyrgios to reach Boss Open final

Andy Murray beat Nick Kyrgios in straight sets to book his place in the final of the Boss Open in Stuttgart, although the match was overshadowed by allegations from the Australian of racist abuse from the crowd.

The Scot followed up his victory over top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas with a 7-6 (5) 6-2 triumph to reach his 70th career final.

The first set went with serve before Murray took it with his second set point of the tie-break. And he raced through the second, quickly opening up a 5-1 lead before sealing victory over combustible Kyrgios in just over an hour-and-a-half.

At one point the Australian was involved in a heated exchange with spectators.

After the match he wrote on Instagram: “When is this going to stop? Dealing with racial slurs from the crowd?

“I UNDERSTAND THAT MY BEHAVIOUR ISNT 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.”

And the Scot said he was proud of his effort against Kyrgios.

“It has been a long time since the last final [on grass],” he said, reported by atptour.com.

“A lot of ups and downs, but I kept going and kept working and finally managed to get to another one. I am proud of the effort I have put in.

“I was just a little more solid in the tie-break. I asked the questions.

“On these courts, when it is playing quick, the set often comes down to one or two points and I was a little more secure at the end of the first set.”

The British number three, currently ranked 68 in the world, will take on Italian world number 10 Matteo Berrettini in the final on Sunday.

Berrettini came through his semi-final 7-6 (7) 7-6 (5) against German Oscar Otte.