Inspired qualifier Maddison Inglis rode an emotional rollercoaster to earn a spot in the third round of the Australian Open in her first Grand Slam appearance in four years.
Inglis joined Alex de Minaur in the round of 32 after beating German veteran Laura Siegemund 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-7) in a tense, grueling and at times fiery match that lasted three hours and 20 minutes at the ANZ Arena.
After failing to serve out the match in the second set, the 28-year-old’s hopes of progress seemed to be over.
But following up on her first round win over close friend Kim Birrell when she failed to convert a golden opportunity, Inglis turned it around by breaking back when Siegemund served for the match at 5-4 in the third set.
Despite injuring herself late on while stretching for a ball, the Perth product recovered and overcame some nervous moments to win the first-to-ten tiebreak.
Inglis fell to the ground after winning the final point in a thrilling rally to become the only Australian woman to reach the third round.
“I didn’t come in with high expectations. I can give it to anyone on any given day, but I didn’t dream of this,” Inglis said.
“In the third set, the crowd gave me the energy I didn’t think I had. When I started this, I hadn’t played a match in six weeks.”
She has spent six hours and 21 minutes on the court in her two main draw singles matches this season, plus a doubles match and three qualifying wins.
Having not played in the main draw of a grand slam since 2022, Inglis is guaranteed to pocket $327,750 if he reaches the third round.
Currently she is ranked 168th, but she will definitely reach the top 100. Inglis equals her best result during a major, which took place in Melbourne Park four years ago.
After eleven Australians qualified for the second round, de Minaur and Inglis will likely be the only ones left.
Rinky Hijikata and Dane Sweeny bowed out early on Thursday and went to their higher-ranked opponents.
Two days after winning his first match at a major, Sweeny was blown away by American eighth seed Ben Shelton in just an hour and 42 minutes.
Hijikata was bullied early on by 30th seed Valentin Vacherot before briefly fighting back in the first match of the day at the Kia Arena.
By taking the third set, the 24-year-old made the Monaco player – playing at Melbourne Park for the first time – work harder for his victory than he previously expected.
But Vacherot closed out the match 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-2 in two hours and 28 minutes.
It comes after Jordan Thompson, Ajla Tomljanovic, Talia Gibson, Storm Hunter and Priscilla Hon were all casualties during a wipeout on Wednesday.
World No. 6 de Minaur was the only Australian to advance, eventually beating Serbian Hamad Medjedovic after being outplayed in the first set.
Wildcard Taylah Preston managed to get the better of 13th seed Linda Noskova, but the 20-year-old lost to the Czech star 6-2 4-6 6-2.
Veteran wildcard James Duckworth faces the biggest mountain to climb of them all, ready for a prime-time Rod Laver Arena clash against two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner.
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