‘Just really proud’: Nick Kyrgios powers into the semi-finals at Wimbledon

Nick Kyrgios has advanced to the Wimbledon semi-finals following his victory over Chile’s Cristian Garin, making him the first Australian male player to advance to a Wimbledon singles semifinal since Lleyton Hewitt in 2005.

Despite his 6-4 6-3 7-6(5) triumph over Garin, Kyrgios admitted he had doubts he would ever make it to a semi-final, believing his “ship had sailed”.

“I just never thought I would be at a semi-final of a Grand Slam,” he said in his post-match interview.

“Obviously, I didn’t go about things great earlier in my career and I may have wasted that little window but really proud of the way I have just come back out here with my team and been able to put on a performance.”

“I never thought I’d be at a semi-final of a Grand Slam”@NickKyrgios thought his ship had sailed but he’s through to the last four#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/56fHc7Qqve

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2022

Although World No.43 Garin applied pressure on Kyrgios in the third set, he was no match for Kyrgios who was able to hold his nerve during crucial moments of the match.

Kyrgios applauded Garin’s efforts during the match, claiming “he is a hell of a player”.

“He is obviously feeling very confident – hell of a tournament for him to make the quarter-finals. But I felt like I was on the back foot. Got lucky on a couple of points here and there. Could have easily been him standing here. I will just take that and prepare for my next match,” Kyrgios said.

On top of his semi-final spot, Kyrgios also secured a few laughs from the crowd when questioned about his decision to not have a coach.

“Definitely. I don’t have a coach. I would never put that burden on someone,” he joked.

“But each and every one of my team plays a very important role. I feel like no one knows my tennis better than I do. I have been playing this sport since I was seven. To reach a semi-final of a Grand Slam, I’m pretty happy.”

Kyrgios’ win comes less than 24 hours after allegations of assault were made against him.

“ACT Policing can confirm a 27-year-old Watson man is scheduled to face the ACT Magistrates court on the 2nd of August in relation to one charge of common assault following an incident in December 2021,” police said in a statement.

During his post-match press conference, Kyrgios admitted that the past 24 hours had been difficult.

“I’m only human,” he told reporters.

“Obviously I read about it and obviously everyone else was asking questions. It was hard. It was hard to kind of just focus on the mission at hand.

“Obviously I have a lot of thoughts, a lot of things I want to say, kind of my side about it. Obviously I’ve been advised by my lawyers that I’m unable to say anything at this time.”

Kyrgios will face off against World No.4 Rafael Nadal on Friday, July 8.