“Grand Slam semifinalist Nick Kyrgios, been waiting like 8 years to say this" - Tennis fans react to Nick Kyrgios reaching the Wimbledon semifinals

Nick Kyrgios finally broke the quarterfinal barrier to reach his maiden singles semifinal at a Grand Slam. Kyrgios defeated Cristian Garin 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5) to enter the last-four of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, much to the delight of his fans.

The unseeded Australian player registered just his second straight-sets victory of the tournament, converting his first match point at 6-5 in the tiebreaker. He made the semifinals of a Slam years after his maiden Wimbledon and Major quarterfinal in 2014.

Tennis fans flooded social media with reactions to Nick Kyrgios' breakthrough Grand Slam result and many believe he has what it takes to win the title this Sunday.

“Grand Slam Semifinalist Nick Kyrgios. Been waiting like 8 years to say this, let’s go King," a fan wrote on Twitter soon after Nick Kyrgios won the match.

Kyrgios fell on his back in relief and in celebration as soon as Garin's backhand went wide on match point. As is the case with almost all Kyrgios matches, there was no shortage of drama until the very end of this match as well.

The match point in the tiebreaker was replayed after the chair umpire overruled an 'out' call from a linesperson to a Kyrgios shot, much to the Aussie player's anger. However, he converted on the next point.

"Must admit I didn’t think I’d now see Kyrgios ever make a slam semi final! He’s a big game player so who knows what will happen next," another fan expressed.

Kyrgios was not his dominant self behind serve but still managed to produce some strong numbers behind his first serve. He won 73% of the points behind his first serve, saved eight break points and was broken just once throughout the match. Kyrgios hit 35 winners to 29 unforced errors across the three sets.

"I thought my ship had sailed" - Nick Kyrgios after reaching his maiden Grand Slam semifinal

Day Ten: The Championships - Wimbledon 2022

Nick Kyrgios expressed his relief at finally living up to the expectations from him over the years and reaching his first semifinal at a Major. The Australian player admitted that he had lost belief in his ability to produce such a run at a Grand Slam, but is proud to have finally overcome those doubts.

"An amazing atmosphere out here again. I just never thought I'd be at a semifinal of a Grand Slam. Honestly, I thought my ship had sailed," Kyrgios said in his post-match interview on the court.

"I didn't go about things great earlier in my career and may have wasted that little window. I'm just really proud of the way I've come back out here with my team and be able to put on a performance," he added.

Kyrgios will now face Rafael Nadal in Friday's semifinals after the Spaniard overcame an abdominal injury to beat Taylor Fritz in five sets. Kyrgios first made headlines on the biggest stage in tennis by beating Nadal at Wimbledon, back in 2014. The Spaniard won their latest clash in the second round in 2019.