After losing to Iga Swiatek, Maddison Inglis has surprising plans to spend her $480,000 Australian Open pay cheque
Inglis raised his arms in mock victory and the crowd erupted when a misdirected Swiatek backhand ballooned long to reward the Australian with her first game at the start of the second set and nearly half an hour into the contest.
He even had a game point to take a 2-0 lead, but his second for the game didn’t come until he was 4-1 down, which he celebrated by first throwing a punch and then saying “two” with a cheeky peace sign.
“[Swiatek]”He did this to a few people and didn’t let them play,” Inglis said. “It’s just a natural thought.”
Facing Swiatek’s powerful forehand, which produces tremendous topspin and averages 3,200 revolutions per minute – at Rafael Nadal-like levels – was an experience in itself for Inglis.
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“He is a player at the next level. You feel the pressure with every ball he throws,” he said of Swiatek.
“I told Jason [Kubler, her fiancee and fellow player] Then maybe he should have turned it a little bit more because I’ve been hitting it with it the last few days to get used to it. The first few balls in the warm-up; I was hitting them here. [gesturing above her shoulder].
“And I said, ‘Wow, that’s not what we practiced.’”
Swiatek’s victory marked a first in the Australian Open women’s draw in 34 years and brought the title race to a thrilling climax.
The world No. 2 and the rest of the top six seeds – Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula – reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the first time since 1991. This hasn’t happened at a major since the 1998 US Open.
Pegula eliminated her close friend and reigning champion Madison Keys from the tournament in the fourth round with scores of 6-3, 6-4.
Iga Swiatek has reached six consecutive grand slam quarter-finals. Credit: Getty Images
Swiatek, 24, became the youngest woman to reach the last eight of six consecutive Grand Slams since Serena Williams in 2003. Next up is 2023 finalist Rybakina, who defeated 21st seed Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-3.
Swiatek won six of 11 matches against the Kazakhs.
“I wouldn’t call it one-on-one stuff because even when one of us won, it was always a tight match or he beat me easily,” Swiatek said.
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“There is no point in overanalyzing who won the last matches or what the situation was like. Every match is a different story. He is a tough opponent in every match and his tennis is absolutely great. I need to be 100 percent ready and go for it, use my experience and the knowledge I have gained from previous matches.”
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