Fernando González trusts Garin’s awakening to stop Kyrgios at Wimbledon: ‘He’s completely accessible’

In 2005, Fernando González became the last Chilean to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals. The Bomber put in a splendid performance at the Cathedral which was only stopped by the best Roger Federer, who won 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (2), in a fairly tight duel. “I had to work really hard in defence, which doesn’t usually happen,” underlined the Swiss after this victory.

It took a Chilean 17 years to mimic that feat again, with Christian Garin being the chosen one. That is. Gago will play the best eight round of the contest this Wednesday against the controversial Nick Kyrgios, a cautious rival, but not the beast they had to face quality Ricardo Acuña in 1985 (Jimmy Connors) or Fernando González, with the aforementioned Federer.

From London, where he is invited by the organization to play in a tournament of legends, Fernando González delivers his analysis to Jock on Garin’s beautiful gift. “Awesome performances. Obviously it’s still in competition, so it’s not over yet for this week. I arrived just today, when I was 6-5 in the third set. I saw the rest of the game and I saw the best part,” he begins to say.

“Besides playing at a high level – the high level or higher or not so high, it comes and goes – the most important thing is how he led the game. And also who was he against… Regardless of the level of the rival (Alex de Miñaur), he is a player who is a great competitor and, especially in five sets in a difficult match, it is always important to to beat. I think this game is gigantic growth and of course what’s going on in this tournament.” value on this victory of the Chilean.

What he experiences this Wednesday will be totally unprecedented for Garin, who will face a Grand Slam quarter-final for the first time. In this sense, the triple Olympic medalist gives some advice to the best racket in the country. “The important thing is to keep doing the same thing, no matter how things go; it’s playing point by point, not sinking into anxiety, enjoying it, obviously , even if there is suddenly a lot of stress and you do not feel as much pleasure. But when you step into the game, you really appreciate it. Above all, in the instance you are in, the tournament it is and the way you feel,” he argues.

The next hurdle for Garin (43rd ATP) is Australian Nick Kyrgios (40th), a player with enormous tennis conditions, but with serious behavioral problems. In recent months, he has experienced a sustained rise in his game, which has allowed him to reap good results. At Wimbledon, he feels comfortable.

Despite this, González hopes for a victory for his compatriot. “He’s obviously got a tough game, you can’t pretend there’s an easy game now in the quarter-finals, but it is quite accessible to him. So it’s very good”, he argues before making a more in-depth analysis of the ocean.

“Kyrgios, in addition to being a player who hits the ball very well, it’s not a great competitor in the sense that it doesn’t always compete. There are times when he drops points and drops a lot of plays. I don’t think that’s the case now in a Wimbledon quarter-final, but you have to be careful about that; who suddenly takes you out, tries to do things to you…”, he says about the attitude of the 27-year-old tennis player.

Considering this base, the former world number five underlines the importance of taking advantage of these windows that the native of Canberra opens. “On the other hand, it’s also super important to always be at all points as if it were the last, because there’s going to be a downturn at some point and that’s where to go if things don’t go your way,” is holding.

Garin’s enthusiasm is running high and this Wednesday he will be looking to become the Chilean who will go the furthest in one of the most traditional tournaments in world sport.