Kyrgios credits impressive return game for win over Carreno Busta - "I applied so much pressure on his serve"

Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios put on a spectacular display as he defeated Pablo Carreno Busta at the Terra Wortmann Open Halle on Friday, advancing to his third tour-level semifinal of 2022.

The former World No.13 raced to a 6-4 6-2 victory over the sixth seed, firing 13 aces and an astounding 37 winners in just an hour and nine minutes.

“I’m feeling so comfortable on the grass," said Kyrgios after the match. "Today was not easy at all. The scoreline suggest that it was, but he’s a dangerous player on all surfaces. He hits the ball quite flat, and he knows how to win matches.

"I knew that today I just had to take care of my serve, and just be locked in from the ground because he’s a tough competitor.”

The win backs up Kyrgios' hard-fought triumph against World No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round. The Australian admitted that he had been keen to avoid falling behind against Carreno Busta as he had against the Greek.

“Against Tsitsipas I wanted to get that first set," he said. "I know how much it means to get on top of those top players early on. Today from the get-go I applied so much pressure on his serve, and I thought I just returned really well today.”

In Saturday’s semifinals, Kyrgios will face Hubert Hurkacz as he aims to reach his first tour-level championship match appearance of the season. The Aussie could rise as high as No. 30 if he can lift a seventh ATP Tour trophy at the ATP 500 event.