Garin is the first Chilean to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam since 2009. AP Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth
Christian Garin and Nick Kyrgios have had two long losing streaks and progressed to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, where they will meet for a place in the semi-finals. The Chilean was the protagonist of an epic comeback against the Australian Alessio De Minauro, seeded 19, who defeated 2-6, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 and 7-6 (10-6), and became the first player from his country to arrive in the top eight of a Grand Slam in nearly 13 years. The Aussie, meanwhile, has put an end to a personal drought as he secured a spot in that group for the first time since 2014 by beating 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), 3. -6 and 6-2 American style Brandon Nakashima.
“I’ve worked all my life to get to this place. Wimbledon is my favorite tournament.”commented Garín, who suffered a lot to overcome De Miñaur, born in Australia, to a Uruguayan father and a Spanish mother.
It is that the Oceanic started much better and the Chilean not only had to reverse a two-set disadvantage, but also had to raise two match points against in the ninth game and a 3-5 in the tie break of a tiring fifth set, before signing the victory, after four hours and 34 minutes of play.
“I’m exhausted. It was a very hard game, a battle. Alex is an incredible player, one of the best on this surface. I gave it my all. In the tie break we could have been for both of us,” he said, visibly tired, that will play for the first time the quarter-finals of a “great”. “I’ve always believed in the process. We have just started working with this new team (Editor’s note: He hired Spaniard Pepe Vendrell as a coach), but from the very first meeting the idea was to work and get a prize “.
Garín, holder of five titles (all on clay), not only broke a barrier on a personal level, as his best performance in a Major to date has been in the round of 16 at Roland Garros and this tournament, last year. He also made the history of the country of him. Because Chile hasn’t had a player in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam since the 2009 edition of the US Open, in which Fernando Gonzalez In that case he fell against Rafael Nadal.
Fena he was also the last to reach that round in All of Englandin 2005, when he said goodbye in front of Roger Federer.
“Reaching the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam is making a dream come true,” signed Garín. Photo REUTERS / Toby Melville
“This win is very special for Chile and for me. Reaching the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam is a dream come true,” said Garín, who had only lost twice (to Halle and Eastbourne) in his preparation for the tournament and is one of the great surprises of male painting. “Now I need to rest and prepare for the next match, in which I will try to give my all again.”
His rival’s post-match plans were very different. “I’ll need a large glass of wine tonight, that’s for sure,” Kyrgios commented, with the self-confidence that always characterizes him.
The Aussie, 40th in the standings, took three hours and 11 minutes to sack Nakashima, 56th, in a game in which he suffered a sore right shoulder, which he attributed to the large number of games played in the past month. half (he was semifinalist in Stuttgart and Halle).
With the win, he returned to the Wimbledon quarterfinals from that unforgettable 2014 performance, making his debut on the London lawn. In that edition, at only 19 years old and in 144th place in the world, he scored against Nadal, then number one, in the round of 16, and qualified for the first time in the quarter-finals of a tournament of this category, in which later fell to milos raonico.
After that performance, many began to point to him as a future number one and one of the great promises of world tennis. But Kyrgios never met those predictions and was more news for his controversial attitudes on the pitch, his adventures off the pitch and his “spicy” statements. And, although he also reached that stage in Australia in 2015, he has never been able to repeat that performance at All England. Until this 2022.
“There was a time in my career when I was forced to leave a pub at four in the morning to play the second round against Rafael Nadal at Center Court. But I’ve come a long way in recent years. I’ve changed a” I have good ones. daily habits, an amazing support team. And I’m back in the quarter-finals. I’m happy, “reflected Kyrgios, who had just beaten fourth-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in a controversial game.” I’m not thinking about the title or the final. I think about giving my best every time I go out on the pitch. “
Source: Clarin
