Nick Kyrgios downs Cristian Garin to reach Wimbledon semi-finals and continue incredible run
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Updated 06/07/2022 at 18:37 GMT
Australia's Nick Kyrgios continued his remarkable charge at Wimbledon with a straight-sets victory over Cristian Garin of Chile on Wednesday evening. The unseeded star, who has had a hugely dramatic campaign already at the All England Club, held his composure throughout on Court 1 to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam singles event for the first time in his career.
'Be prepared for controlled chaos' - Wilander on how to play Kyrgios at Wimbledon
The semi-finals await for Nick Kyrgios after he overcame Cristian Garin to continue his stunning run at Wimbledon.
The unseeded 27-year-old roared back after losing his serve in the opening game to storm past the Chilean in straight sets, 6-4 6-3 7-6, and reach the last four at the All England Club.
Kyrgios has now surpassed his previous best performance at a Grand Slam singles event as his hugely eventful campaign at SW19 took another step forward.
The Australian will now await Rafael Nadal after the legendary Spaniard overcame Taylor Fritz in five sets, despite having had to contend with an abdominal injury.
Kyrgios' matches at Wimbledon this year have often been laced with controversy, but this encounter on No. 1 Court was not one of those, with the Australian chuntering to himself - and occasionally the officials - but largely keeping his outbursts in check.
And his reaction after the match - sitting in his chair appearing to take in his achievement of making his first Grand Slam semi-final - showed how seriously he has taken his tennis at this tournament.
It wasn't all plain sailing for the 27-year-old however as Garin, one of the surprises of this year's Wimbledon, came flying out of the blocks to take the early break in the opener.
But Kyrgios, so famed for his serve, was constantly challenging the Chilean in his return games and got the break back in game six at the third time of asking.
Garin then survived at 4-5 down and facing two break points, but Kyrgios took his chance on his own serve to take the game to love, and with it the set, 6-4.
The second was more straightforward for the Australian, racing into a 4-1 lead as he controlled proceedings with his typically varied shot selection keeping Garin at arms length in the score.
Kyrgios, showing no sign of his shoulder complaint from the previous round, took the set 6-3 to leave himself on the precipice of the last four.
Garin though was certainly not going away, and it was even-stevens all the way in a tense third set. Just one game saw break points - three on Garin's serve - but they came and went, and a tie-break seemed the right way for the set to be decided.
Remarkably, Garin forged into a 5-3 lead to look the likelier, but Kyrgios - despite having to replay match point at 6-5 up after an erroneous line call - took four points in a row to seal a momentous victory.
"An amazing atmosphere here again," Kyrgios said in his on-court interview. "I just never thought I’d be in a semi-final of a Grand Slam. I honestly thought my ship had sailed.
"I didn’t go about things great earlier in my career, I may have wasted that little window. Just really proud of the way I have come out here and really proud of my team just to be able to put on a performance.
"I have been playing this sport since I was seven, so to make the semi-final of a Grand Slam, I am pretty happy. I got lucky on a couple of break points and it could have easily been him standing here."
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Watch daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm on Eurosport 2 and discovery+ from June 27, as well as the two singles finals live on July 9 and 10.
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