Maddison Inglis says greater mental strength has been the key to her career-best form as she drew on her fighting spirit to win through to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open Wildcard Play-Off.
Fellow Emageo Group star Storm Sanders also progressed to the quarterfinals of the Play-Off at Melbourne Park with an impressive 6-3 6-1 victory over Ellen Perez as she continues her strong return to singles.
Inglis, who won the same event as a teenager four years ago, is desperate to claim the Wildcard and an all-important place in the Australian Open main draw at the same venue in January.
But the 21-year-old was made to earn her first round win against 15-year-old wildcard Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz in the 2-6 6-3 6-4 result. After losing the first set, Inglis again fought back from service breaks in both the second and third sets to claim the victory.
“That was really tough,” Inglis said. “I’m really proud of myself for finding a way to get the win.
“I started pretty nervous – first match back in a while against a young girl who I don’t really know how she plays, and she didn’t have much pressure, so I knew she was going to come out swinging.
“I just had to stick in there, just keep chasing balls and trying to get her serve back and I thought eventually I’d get my chance and I did. I always like those matches. That’s kind of how I win a lot of matches. I don’t hit girls off the court so I just have to stick around and wait for my opportunities so I think it was a really good match and hopefully it builds a bit of momentum for the rest of the week.”
Inglis hit court 7 today as the No.1 seed in the women’s draw having not played a match in about five weeks after strong finish to her season.
“I guess, on paper, I’m expected to win and on ranking,” she said. “But I think these days rankings don’t mean too much. It’s kind of about the match up. I know I have to beat a lot of really good players and I have to play some really good tennis. I’m just going to take it day-by-day.
“It’s a pretty big prize, one that I’ve had before, which is really good, having that opportunity. I feel like I’m a better player for it and I really really hope this week goes my way. To play here at the home grand slam is definitely a goal for me.”
Inglis said she had developed a lot since she last won the Play-Off in the lead up to the 2016 Australian Open.
“Probably my biggest change is mental,” she said. “I love the battle. I loved being out there today and I loved having to come back. I think I was a set and 2-1 down and I thought: ‘You’re going to have change something or do something’. I like being in that situation where you have to work it out.
“I never used to like that. (I’m) Just training really hard and just wanting it a bit more, now that I’ve had a bit of success. I’ve definitely changed a lot and it’s for the good, I think.”
Inglis will take on No.7 seed Belinda Woolcock on Thursday for a place in the semis.
Sanders recovered from an early break in the first set, winning nine of the next 10 games for the dominant win.
The 25-year-old West Australian is set for a blockbuster clash with No.3 seed Destanee Aiava on Thursday.
“It was good,” Sanders said. “I think when you haven’t played a few matches for a few weeks … you always come out a little bit unsure and you just want to play solid and start solid, which I think I did really well.
“The conditions are so blustery. It was tough, and it was a good fight. I started getting some freebies from Ellen, who started hitting a few unforced errors.
“I felt like I just really put the pressure on her and tried to be super positive and tried to use the conditions to my advantage.”
Yesterday, Andrew Harris went down to Tristan Schoolkate in a tough 4-6 7-6 (2) 6-2 3-6 6-2 result.