The fairytale run of Aussie wildcard Maddison Inglis has continued in unfortunate circumstances at the Australian Open after Naomi Osaka announced her withdrawal before their third-round match. Osaka, a two-time champion at the Australian Open, revealed the sad news on Saturday night that she was out with an abdominal injury.
“I’ve had to make the difficult decision to withdraw to address something my body needs attention for after my last match,” the 28-year-old wrote on social media. “I was so excited to keep going and this run meant the most to me, so having to stop here breaks my heart but I can’t risk doing any further damage so I can get back on the court.
“Thanks for all the love and support…I’m so grateful everyone embraced me so much. And thank you to my whole team for always having my back and the tournament organisers for being so kind.”
Maddison Inglis (R) is into the fourth round after Naomi Osaka (L) withdrew from the Australian Open. Image: Getty
Osaka had flagged that she wasn’t 100 per cent after the fiery end to her second-round match against Sorana Cirstea. The Romanian was furious at Osaka saying “c’mon” between Cirstea’s first and second serves, which many thought went against tennis etiquette.
“It’s kind of a recurring thing,” said the four-time grand slam champ. “I guess if you look at my medical history, you can maybe do like a little guessing game (as to the ailment). For me, I’m just really glad that I pushed through it and also played really good tennis in the third set.”
Naomi Osaka speaks to the media at the Australian Open. (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)
(Getty Images)Maddison Inglis wins $152,000 without having to play
As for Inglis, the Aussie outsider wins an extra $152,000 without having to step on court. She’d already won $328,000 by making the third round, and that now goes up to $480,000 for advancing to the fourth.
Playing her first grand slam in four years, Inglis is into the Round of 16 for the first time in her career – joining compatriot Alex de Minaur as the only two Aussies remaining in the singles draw. The 28-year-old had to win three matches in qualifying just to reach the main draw of the Australian Open, and has spent a gruelling 13 hours and 24 minutes on court so far.
But she’ll now be fresh and ready for the match of her life – against World No.2 Iga Swiatek. The Polish star dropped the second set against 31st seed Anna Kalinskaya on Saturday night, before righting the ship in the third to prevail 6-1 1-6 6-1.
Inglis had said on Thursday after her win in the second round: “I really want to enjoy these moments. I will enjoy it with my family but the job’s not done yet.”