A shock withdrawal at the last minute by four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka has paved the way for Australian Maddison Inglis to reach the deepest stage of a grand slam in her career.
Minutes before the two were scheduled to compete on Rod Laver Arena, Osaka made the stunning decision to withdraw from the tournament, citing an injury as the reason for her premature exit.
“I've had to make the difficult decision to withdraw to address something my body needs attention for after my last match," she said in an Instagram story.
"I was so excited to keep going and this run meant the most to me, so having to stop here breaks my heart but I can't risk doing any further damage so I can get back on the court."
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"Thanks for all the love and support... I'm so grateful everyone embraced me so much.
"And thank you to my whole team for always having my back and the tournament organisers for being so kind.”
In her polarising second round match against Sorana Cirstea, Osaka required a medical timeout in the match-deciding third set.
The decision sees Inglis through to the final 16 of the tournament, where the 28-year-old qualifier will await number two seed Iga Swiatek.