Rocky.
That was the one word that Nick Kyrgios used to describe his road to a maiden grand slam semi-final, following a straight-sets victory over Cristian Garin at Wimbledon.
The 27-year-old has had a rollercoaster week, including a heated battle with Stefanos Tsitsipas and news of a looming court battle breaking just hours before his quarter-final.
Kyrgios will become the first Australian male player to reach a single's grand slam final in 17 years, with Lleyton Hewitt the last man to do so.
Speaking to the media after the match with Garin, Kyrgios opened up on his road thus far and admitted he thought his chance at grand slam glory had passed him by.
"The ship, I thought, was gone – especially where I was a couple of years ago," he said.
"Everything I have overcome, I’m feeling really proud of myself. Today was not easy at all, he was extremely good.
"There was a point where I was almost done with the sport. I posted this year about the kind of mental state I was in at the Australian Open 2019, with self-harm and suicidal thoughts, and sitting there today after the match and to be a semi-finalist at Wimbledon, it’s a special accomplishment for anyone.
"Especially for me – I don’t think if you asked anyone if I was able to do that in the past couple of years, everyone would have probably said no.
"I’ve obviously had thoughts the last couple of years whether or not I wanted to play anymore. I lost the love, I lost the spark and then some things just changed in my life and I rediscovered that I have a lot of people that want me to play and that I play for.
"I’ve got a lot left in the tank and I feel like I’m playing some of my best tennis and mentally I’m feeling great. It’s been a long road – it was a seven or eight year gap to make a quarter-final here from my first one.
"I almost started doubting myself, with all that traffic coming in and out of my mind, so I just sat there today and soaked it all in.
"At the same time, I don’t want to stop here either."
Kyrgios will now take on the legendary Rafael Nadal in an attempt to book a spot in the Wimbledon final, in a match that will have millions of fans around the world tuning in.
The pair have had some classic matches over the years, including Kyrgios' breakout performance in 2014, and the Aussie believes he has what it takes to defeat the 22-time grand slam champion.
“It would be pretty special to play Rafa here...we have had some absolute battles on that centre court," Kyrgios said.
"He was won one against me and I have won one against him. We are two completely different personalities, but we respect the hell out of each other.
"I feel like that would be a mouth-watering kind of encounter for everyone around the world. That will probably be the most watched match of all-time, I would probably argue that.
"I don’t care who I play – there’s a lot of work that needs to go in from now and tomorrow.
"When I step out onto that centre court again, I need to make sure my body is right."
And while the Australian was unable to comment too much on the upcoming court case, he did shake off claims it would impact him on the court.
“Obviously I have a lot of thoughts and a lot of things I want to say and my side about it," he said.
"I’ve been advised by my lawyers that I’m unable to say anything at this time. I understand everyone kind of wants to ask about it, but I can’t give you too much on that right now.
“It didn’t really effect me at all. I’m only human, obviously I read about it and everyone else was asking questions. It was hard to focus on the mission at hand.
"I know deep down that’s what I was prepared for and it didn’t really effect my preparation at all."