Khaberni - Australian Madison Inglis described the situation as "like a dream", after the withdrawal of Japanese Naomi Osaka led to her reaching the Round of 16 in the Australian Open, the first of the four grand slam tennis tournaments, in addition to winning a life-changing monetary prize.
The Australian, ranked 168th in the world, will play the most important match of her career on Monday against Polish Iga Świątek, who has won six Grand Slam titles, at Melbourne Park.
Although Inglis, aged 28, will be the underdog against the world number two, regardless of the result, she will leave the best tournament of her life with no less than $330,000 US dollars.
Inglis stated in an interview with Australia's Channel Nine: The points in the rankings, the money, the experience, the fans, and the courts I play on... It's honestly unbelievable, it's like a dream. This amount of money is life-changing. I couldn't be happier or more excited about such a start to the year.
Inglis reached the second week in Melbourne after Osaka, who won the title twice in 2019 and 2021, withdrew from their third-round match on Saturday evening just hours before it was due to start due to an abdominal injury.
Inglis, who has competed in three qualifying matches to reach the final draw in Melbourne, said "I'm still in shock. I hope she is ok and recovers quickly".
