Melbourne, Jan 18 : Twenty-four-year-old wildcard entry Maddison Inglis on Tuesday knocked out 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez.
Ranked 133rd Inglis scripted an enormous upset on the second day of the grand slam underway at the Melbourne Park.
The Australian beat the 23rd seed Canadian 6-4, 6-2 in the match that lasted an hour and 23 minutes.
Inglis shrieked with excitement as one last Fernandez forehand overshot the baseline to deliver her maiden grand slam main draw win on her fifth attempt.
Inglis held her head in disbelief and smiled after completing the resounding win at the Park’s second court, 1573 Arena.
Next she locks horns with American world No.147 Hailey Baptiste.
With this win, she is guaranteed $154,000 in prize money even if she goes out in the second round.
“Honestly prize money is something that I do think about but I haven’t thought about at all,” she told reporters in post-match press conference.
Inglis best scalp before Fernandez was Alison Uytvanck three years ago when the Belgian was the world No. 63.
The Australian attacked the lines, which not only saw her hit more winners than Fernandez (14-8), but also forced numerous errors. Her serve proved one of her most dangerous weapons in her armory.
Inglis has been on the fringes of the top 100 for the past couple of years, without being able to make a significant breakthrough.
In her on-court interview, Inglis controlled her tears while speaking to Nine’s Clint Stanaway. She said she is “super stoled” with how she played and thought she executed the game plan really well by keeping her nerve.
“I am so happy to win my first round. It is incredible. I have had a few goes at it and I kind of joked around saying, ‘Third time lucky’, and it turns out it was. I am really looking forward to keeping it going. I am going to cry. I had a couple of really close friends here supporting me,” Inglis said.
