This was one for Goliath.
An irrepressible Iga Swiatek brushed aside Australian qualifier Maddison Inglis 6-0 6-3 to book a quarterfinal spot at AO 2026 on Monday night.
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The Pole banished any murmurs of rustiness to advance to the final eight for the third time at Melbourne Park.
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There was to be no fairytale quarterfinal singles appearance for Aussie underdog Inglis, ranked 164 places below her opponent.
But the whirlwind run to the fourth round was a career-best at any major for the 28-year-old, who will take enormous pride in being the only women’s qualifier to reach the last 16.
Rod Laver Arena was jam-packed with fans excited to see an Australian woman in the fourth round for the first time since Ash Barty won the tournament in 2022.
Despite the overwhelmingly partisan crowd cheering Inglis’ every point, the six-time Grand Slam winner was never going to be overawed by the occasion.
Swiatek dictated play from the back of the court from the outset, immediately breaking serve as Inglis struggling to deal with the Pole’s trademark topspin-heavy forehands.
Inglis understood it would be an uphill battle, but could attack the match with little pressure on her.
The Pole, however, refused to let Inglis win any easy points, and swept the first set 6-0 in 32 minutes.
The Australian, for her part, refused to lie down.
She came out firing in the second set and surprised the crowd, and perhaps herself, by breaking Swiatek’s serve in the opening game – unleashing an almighty chorus of cheers across centre court.
Swiatek, however, broke straight back and largely cruised for the remainder of the set, despite Inglis notching two more games to raucous applause.
“From the beginning I felt quite confident,” Swiatek told reporters at Melbourne Park. “I was just playing my game and that’s it.”
The second seed will meet Elena Rybakina, a straight-sets victor over Elise Mertens earlier on Monday, in the quarterfinals.
Swiatek marginally leads the head-to-head record 6-5 over the Kazakhstani, but she doesn’t give much credence to such stats.
“I wouldn't say head-to-head matters,” she said.
"Every match is a different story and like on every match she's been a tough opponent … I need to be 100 per cent ready and go for it.”
If she progresses, the Pole would be one step closer to earning a career Grand Slam – a feat only seven other women have achieved in the Open era.
Swiatek carries significant momentum into the pointy end of the competition, joining Aryna Sabalenka as the only two women to have reached the quarterfinals at each of the last six Slams, going back to Flushing Meadows in 2024.
The second seed’s win also means the top six women’s seeds have reached the AO quarterfinals for the first time since 1991.
For Inglis, the Australian will take a beat before deciding on what’s next.
“I think it's going to take a little bit of time to look back on this AO and be pretty proud of what I've accomplished,” she said.
“From being down match points in the first round to play on Rod Laver [Arena] today, it was a pretty crazy couple of weeks.”