"I didn't intend to minimise the abuse that was directed to him, what I said was clumsy and wrong"- Journalist apologises for comments on Nick Kyrgios

Australian journalist Lisa Miller has apologised to Nick Kyrgios after she suggested that abuse might be good for the Australian World No. 65. She also said that he should just ignore the abuse he receives.

The comments were made in the wake of Kyrgios' claims of being racially abused during his straight set loss to Andy Murray at the Stuttgart Open. He claimed he had been called 'a little black sheep' and to 'shut up and play'.

"There's no room for racism but I do wonder whether it's good for him. There'll be other people who'll say you've just got to ignore that, you've got to block that out if his main aim is to go there and win," Millar said on her show.

She issued an on-air apology on Tuesday, insisting that the comments were an error of judgement on her part. She expressed regret and said she was a big fan of Kyrgios.

"I didn't intend to minimise the abuse that was directed to him. What I said and the clumsy way I said it, was wrong. I'm human, we mess up, I made a mistake yesterday and I am sorry. No one should have to deal with racist taunts. I don't want anyone to be in any doubt about how strongly I feel about this. I'm a big Kyrgios fan, looking forward to seeing what he has in store for us at Wimbledon,' she said.

Stuttgat Open to investigate Nick Kyrgios's allegations of racial abuse

Nick Kyrgios in action at the Stuttgart Open.

The organisers of the Stuttgart Open promised an investigation into the allegations of racial abuse made by Nick Kyrgios. The organisers insisted that there would be a no tolerance policy towards racial abuse and expressed regret over the allegations made.

"We stand for an inclusive environment for all - discrimination of any kind is not tolerated," the organisers said, adding, "These fundamental values are as important as values like fairness, tolerance and team spirit to us. Thus no discriminating actions by the spectators are accepted.We have expressed our regret towards Nick Kyrgios and his team and assured that any kind of discrimination is unacceptable. The incident is currently under investigation."

Kyrgios, who was fined for smashing his racquet and exchanging words with the spectators, described the situation as "messed up."

"When is this going to stop? Dealing with racist slurs from the crowd? When I retaliate to the crowd I get penalised. This is messed up," Kyrgios wrote on Instagram.