Maddison Inglis pulls off an impressive first round win at 2022 Australian Open

For the second straight day an Australian tennis player pulled off a significant upset. Just one day after Aleksandar Vukic, the 144th ranked player in the world, upset the 30th seed Lloyd Harris of South Africa, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6, we saw the 133rd ranked Maddison Inglis beat the 23rd ranked Canadian and U.S. Open finalist Leylah Annie Fernandez, 6-4, 6-2.

This match was not close from start to finish. Inglis was in complete control and was very effective at the net, where she won all six of her net point attempts.

Fernandez meanwhile looked very timid on the court and was a fraction of the player that we saw at the U.S. Open, where she delivered magnificent upsets over Naomi Osaka of Japan, Angelique Kerber of Germany, Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. The fact that Fernandez did not play for Canada at the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup in Prague was questioned at the time, and one needs to wonder if Fernandez’s lack of play since Flushing Meadows cost her in Australia.

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One needs to realize that Fernandez only played effective tennis in only two tournaments in 2021. That came in Mexico, where she beat Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland, 6-1, 6-4 in the final, and the U.S. Open. In her other 18 matches, Fernandez was only at .500 with a record of 14 wins and 14 losses. The one thing that is lacking in her game is consistency.

For Inglis, who is 24 years old and from Perth, this was her first grand slam singles win of her career. A year ago she beat 2011 U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur of Australia, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4, in the first round of Adelaide.

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