An emotional Madison Inglis has wiped away tears after defeating close friend Kimberly Birrell in a three-set thriller.
The pair, who have been best friends since they were children, shared a long embrace at the net.
After taking a moment to compose herself, Inglish admitted that the win feels amazing but comes at the difficult expense of a friend.
“It’s really hard to play such a good friend, you know,” she said during her on-court interview.
“The last few days have been a bit stressful.
“It’s so tough. It was an amazing match with Kim.
“I absolutely adore her, so it was really hard to see her on the other side, but I’m stoked that I could play through those feelings and be in the second round.
“It means the world.”
Maddison Inglis overcomes both a three-hour marathon and the heartbreak of facing her best friend to secure a career-defining win over Kimberly Birrell. Nine
Inglis reflected on the mental battle of the three-hour marathon.
“She’s honestly the queen of comebacks, so I knew I was gonna have to win it, and I couldn’t get it done in the second,” she said of Birrell’s reputation for never giving up.
“I really did my best to just put it behind me and just remember that I was playing some really great tennis, and that I just had to trust myself and know that I can do it.
“I got a bit lucky, it went my way today, and I’m really happy.”