Wimbledon, England – Give Nick Kyrgios credit for his honesty: he didn’t even think this day would ever come. The talented and troubled Australian reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon.
Kyrgios became the first unranked and lowest-ranked man to reach the fourth round at the All England Club since 2008 by playing what, for him, is a restricted and effective brand of tennis in a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory over Christian Running in the first field.
“I thought my ship had set sail,” said the 27-year-old. “Obviously, I didn’t do great things early on in my career and might miss that little window. But just proud of the way I just got back here.”
Kyrgios, ranked 40, gets more attention for his demeanor on and off the court than his skills with a racket in hand. His match against unranked Garen, 26, of Chile, came a day after police in Canberra, Australia, said Kyrgios was due to appear in court next month to face allegations of joint assault stemming from something that happened in December.
After winning the first round at Wimbledon last week, Kyrgios was fined $10,000 for spitting in the direction of a harassing spectator. His third-round victory over No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was as controversial as possible, and Kyrgios was fined another $4,000 for audible indecency; After that, Tsitsipas described him as a “bully” and “evil”.
It is also worth noting how well Kyrgios plays. His serve, in particular, is among the best in the game, regularly topping 130mph, firing 17 aces against Garin while only being broken once – in the first match, in love.
His big forehands are great too, but little else is traditional for Kyrgios. One example: “I don’t have a coach,” Kyrgios said with a smile. “I will never place this burden on anyone.”
In the semi-finals, Kyrgios will face either second seed Rafael Nadal or 11th seed Taylor Fritz, who were both playing on Center Court. The other semi-final will be top seed Novak Djokovic against 9th seed Kam Nuri.
The women’s semi-final will be 2019 champion Simona Halep against 17th seed Elena Rybakina, and No. 3 Anas Jabeur against unseeded Tatiana Maria.
Halep advanced by eliminating the 20th-seeded United States, Amanda Anisimova, 6-2, 6-4, and Rybakina returned to defeat Agla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.