Maddison Inglis won a battle of the Aussies on John Cain Arena after midnight on Tuesday. The world No. 168 came through qualifying to reach the main draw of her home Grand Slam tournament, but drew one of her good friends, Kimberly Birrell, in the first round.
It was a stressful match for Inglis, but she came through a tight, three-hour contest to win 7-6(6) 6-7(9) 6-4 – her first main-draw win here since 2022 – and then burst into tears after knocking her friend out of the tournament. Inglis held back sobs as she addressed the fans left in the stands, while her fiance and fellow tennis player, Jason Kubler, watched on courtside.
“It feels amazing. It’s really hard to play such a good friend. The last few days have been a bit stressful, and it’s so tough, so it was an amazing match with Kim,” the 28-year-old said through tears.
“I absolutely adore her, so it was really hard to see her on the other side. But yeah, I’m stoked that I could play through those feelings and be in the second round, it means the world.
“It’s tough, she honestly is the queen of comebacks so I knew I was going to have to win it, and I couldn’t get it done in the second [set], but I really did my best to just put it behind me and just remember I was playing some really great tennis.
“Yeah, I’ve just got to trust myself and know that I can deal with it, so yeah, I think I got a bit lucky it went my way today, and I’m really happy.”
It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for tennis power couple Inglis and Kubler. The Aussies got engaged over the off-season and then represented Australia on the same team at the recent United Cup.
Both of them had to go through qualifying in Melbourne Park last week, and they each won three matches to make it to the main draw. Kubler lost his opening match to No. 29 seed Frances Tiafoe and then sat in Inglis’ box for her clash with Birrell.
And the world No. 168 had a touching message for her fiance after he stayed into the early hours to watch her win. “He’s awesome. I’m very lucky to have him in my life and also in my box, so yeah, super grateful to have someone who understands and plays such amazing tennis. He can really see it in a way that maybe I can’t from the side, so yeah, it means the world, so thank you,” Inglis beamed.
The qualifier will now face Laura Siegemund for a place in the third round. Inglis and Kubler will also team up in the mixed doubles here, facing No. 8 seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Tereza Mihalikova in round one.