The last time Andy Murray reached a grass-court final, it was at Wimbledon in 2016. The Boss Open may not have quite the same grandeur, but a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 semi-final victory over Nick Kyrgios in Stuttgart nonetheless offers Murray ample cause for optimism as he prepares to return to the All England Club in just over a fortnight’s time.
Having beaten top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the previous round to claim his first win over a top-five player in six years, Murray survived an absorbing first set against Kyrgios before dominating the second to reach the 10th grass-court final of his career. The two-time Wimbledon champion, who last played a final five months ago in Sydney, will face second seed Matteo Berrettini on Sunday after the big-serving Italian came through 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5) against Oscar Otte.
The contest was marred, however, by an alleged racial slur against Kyrgios by a spectator as Murray prepared to serve after breaking the Australian world No 78 at the start of the second set. Kyrgios, still simmering after he was docked a point for smashing his racket at the end of the first set, having already earned a code violation for launching a ball out of the stadium, was involved in a lively verbal exchange with chair umpire Nico Helwerth when his attention abruptly switched to someone in the crowd.
“What was that?” he demanded, approaching the stands. “What did you say?” Whatever was said next was inaudible, but it prompted Helmer to slap Kyrgios with a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct, resulting in a game penalty. Kyrgios returned to his chair and demanded to speak to the supervisor. Again the conversation could not be heard, but a subsequent Instagram post by Kyrgios is probably indicative of its tenor.
“When is this going to stop?” wrote Kyrgios. “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.”
Kyrgios later edited his post, saying: “One thing I won’t ever tolerate is spectators heckling and blasting abuse to athletes. It’s been happening personally to me for a while, from racist comments to complete disrespect.
“You may not think it’s a big deal, but it could affect someone’s life more than you think. Wake up to yourselves. Not just in tennis, but in every other sport.”
When play finally resumed with Kyrgios 2-0 down, the Australian barely went through the motions, offering token resistance as Murray sealed victory in an hour and 33 minutes. What had been a contest of booming serves, big forehands and some audacious trickery from Kyrgios, who treated the crowd to his signature array of underarm serves and tweeners, became instead a procession.
“You’re always kind of battling yourself as well as the opponent, it’s one of the difficult things about individual sports,” said Murray, who has won six of his seven meetings with Kyrgios, and has yet to drop a set in Stuttgart.
“Nick has the potential to be one of the best players in the world, there’s absolutely no question about that. But he obviously got very frustrated in the second set and made it a lot easier for me.
“But look, I’m happy to be in the final. I’ve played well this week and I’ve got a great opportunity against Matteo tomorrow.”
Whatever happens against Berrettini, Murray will be inside the top 50 for the first time in four years when the next rankings list is published. Should he avenge his defeat to the Italian at Queen’s Club last summer, he would break the top 40 and be virtually guaranteed a seeded position at Wimbledon.
“It has been a long time since the last [grass-court] final,” said Murray. “A lot of ups and downs, but I kept going and kept working and finally managed to get to another one. I am happy and proud of the effort I have put in.”