Grigor Dimitrov reaches first Aussie Open semi with straight-sets win

— -- MELBOURNE, Australia -- Widely viewed as an underachiever, Grigor Dimitrov advanced to the second major semifinal of his career on Wednesday, defeating No. 11 seed David Goffin?6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

The 25-year-old Bulgarian will play the winner of Wednesday night's match between No. 3 Milos Raonic and 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.

"I knew it was not going to be easy," the fifteenth-seeded Dimitrov said in his on-court interview. "The first set was absolutely nerve-racking. But with each game and each point, I was feeling a little bit better."

Known early in his career as "Baby Fed," Dimitrov broke through in 2014 at Wimbledon, where he beat Andy Murray before falling to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

This is Dimitrov's best effort in Melbourne; he lost to Nadal in the Australian Open quarterfinals, also in 2014.

Dimitrov saved eight of 10 break points against Goffin, who was trying to become the first Belgian man to reach a major semifinal.

Dimitrov -- 10-0 for the season, the best of any player -- equaled the longest winning streak of his career. He won the title three weeks ago in Brisbane, Australia.

A title in Melbourne would help fulfill the great expectations created when Dimitrov broke into the top 100 six years ago at the age of 20. Winning this championship would vault his ranking to a career-high No. 6.

"It's been a tremendous roller coaster, but I'm happy, in a way, the way it's gone," said Dimitrov. "I'm appreciating things much better.

"I'm going to lay down and watch the [later quarterfinal] match and see what's going on. Either way, it's not an easy match."