Nick Kyrgios a ‘legitimate force’ at Wimbledon and a ‘semi-final is realistic this year’, says Aussie great

Nick Kyrgios at a post-match press interview

Nick Kyrgios has a chance to finally have a deep run at Wimbledon this year and could possibly reach the semi-final, according to Australian legend Todd Woodbridge.

Kyrgios made his 2022 grass-court singles debut at the Stuttgart Open last week, playing for the first time since the Houston Open in April. He enjoyed an impressive run, beating sixth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili en route to reaching the semi-final where he lost in straight sets against Andy Murray.

The 26-year-old will next be in action at this week’s Halle Open before switching focus to Wimbledon, which gets underway on June 27.

Australian doubles icon Woodbridge feels a fully focused Kyrgios could be a force to be reckoned with at SW19 this year.

“Nick is actually trained and focused on this season, so this is a good start to the grass-court season. If there is any player in the field outside of Novak that can play well enough and beat everyone on grass, it’s Nick,” he told Nine’s Sports Sunday.

“So, it’s about, ‘How does he deal with the expectation as he goes into this one this time?’

“He is a legitimate force and chance to go deep at Wimbledon.”

Djokovic reached the third round of the grass-court Grand Slam last year while his best showing at The Championships is a run to the quarter-final at his debut in 2014.

Kyrgios now back up at No 68 in the ATP Rankings and good run at Halle could see him move further up.

When asked about Kyrgios Wimbledon hopes, Woodbridge replied: “It’ll depend on his draw. That’s significant.

“We don’t want him coming up in a section that Novak might be, which is a possibility.

“But I think a semi is realistic this year.

“And if he gets to the semi and his body’s OK and the head’s still on the shoulders, anything can happen.”

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