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Inglis raised her arms in mock triumph, and the crowd erupted, when a miscued Swiatek backhand ballooned long to award the Australian her first game at the start of the second set – and about half an hour into the contest.
She even had a game point for a 2-0 lead, but her second game for the match did not come until she was already 4-1 down, which she celebrated with a fist pump, then a cheeky peace sign while saying “two”.
“[Swiatek]’s done it to a few people where she doesn’t let them have a game,” Inglis said. “It’s just a natural thought going out there.”
Facing Swiatek’s mighty forehand, which generates enormous topspin and averages about 3200 revolutions per minute – Rafael Nadal-like levels – was an experience in itself for Inglis.
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“She’s a next-level player. You feel that pressure from every ball from her,” she said of Swiatek.
“I did say to Jason [Kubler, her fiancee and fellow player] after, he maybe should have spun it a bit more because I was hitting with him the last couple of days to get used to that. The first couple of balls in the warm-up; I was hitting them up here [gesturing above her shoulder].
“I was, like, ‘Whoa, that wasn’t what we had practised’.”
Swiatek’s victory sealed a 34-year first for the Australian Open women’s draw, and ensured a thrilling climax to the title race.
The world No.2 and the rest of the top six seeds – Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula – have reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the first time since 1991. It has not happened at any major since the 1998 US Open.
Pegula sent her close friend and defending champion Madison Keys packing from the tournament in a 6-3, 6-4 result in the fourth round.
Iga Swiatek has made six grand slam quarter-finals in a row. Credit: Getty Images
Swiatek, 24, is the youngest woman to reach the last eight at six grand slams in a row since Serena Williams in 2003. Up next for her is 2023 finalist Rybakina, who blitzed 21st seed Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-3.
Swiatek has won six of her 11 matches against the Kazakh.
“I wouldn’t say head-to-head matters because even when one of us was winning, it was always a tight match, or she beat me easily,” Swiatek said.
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“It doesn’t make sense to over-analyse who won the last ones, or how it has been looking. Every match is a different story. In every match, she’s been a tough opponent, and her tennis, for sure, is great. I need to be 100 per cent ready, and go for it, and use my experience and also the knowledge from previous matches.”
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