Nick Kyrgios, 27, admits he has positively surprised himself with his Wimbledon run as he revealed he thought his window for making a deep Grand Slam run was closed.
On Wednesday, Kyrgios saw off Cristian Garin 6-4 6-3 7-6 (5) to reach his maiden Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon.
“An amazing atmosphere out here again. I just never thought that I would be in the semi-finals at a Grand Slam. I thought that ship had sailed,” Kyrgios said in his on-court interview, per the ATP website. “I didn’t go about things great earlier in my career and may have missed my window. I am really proud of the way I have come back out here.”
At Wimbledon, Kyrgios is accompanied by his team and girlfriend.
After earning his maiden Grand Slam semifinal spot, Kyrgios took a moment to give credit to members of his team.
“Each and everyone of my teams plays an important role,” Kyrgios said. “No one knows my tennis better than I do. To be in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam, I am pretty happy.”
Kyrgios ousted Garin in straight sets
Kyrgios got off to a slow start to the match as Garin broke him in the opening game of the match.
However, it didn’t take long for Kyrgios to respond as he broke Garin in the sixth and 10th games to overturn the deficit and steal the first set.
After winning the first set, Kyrgios broke Garin in the fourth game of the second set for a 3-1 lead and then held on to his serve the rest of the set to open a two-set lead.
In the third, Garin lifted his level and even had three break points in the sixth game but missed out on them as Kyrgios forced a tie-break.
In the tie-break, Garin had a 5-3 lead before Kyrgios won the next four points and completed a straight-set win.