Maddison Inglis and Jason Kubler defeat former world No.1s Kristina Mladenovic and Juan Sebastian Cabal to set an all-Australian mixed doubles quarterfinal.
Melbourne, Australia, 22 January 2023 | Vivienne Christie
An all-Australian quarterfinal is guaranteed in the Australian Open 2023 mixed doubles tournament, thanks to an impressive victory from Maddison Inglis and Jason Kubler.
Inglis and Kubler combined to defeat French-Columbian duo Kristina Mladenovic and Juan Sebastian Cabal 6-4 7-5 in the second round.
It sets a meeting with either Kimberly Birrell and Rinky Hijikata or Oliva Gadecki and Marc Polmans, who meet in the second round tomorrow.
For Inglis and Kubler, victory over Mladenovic and Cabal – who have each held the world No.1 doubles ranking – followed a first-round win against No.7 seeds Alicja Rosolska and Jean-Julien Rojer, in which they saved two match points.
The Australian duo required an hour and 28 minutes to progress against Mladenovic and Cabal in an all-round comprehensive performance today.
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Kubler returns to the Australian Open mixed doubles after his runner-up performance with Jaimee Fourlis last year.
Inglis is providing an equally accomplished playing partner, with the West Australian all composure against the Australians’ fiercely competitive opponents.
After gaining a break of the Mladenovic serve in the seventh game of the first set, Inglis and Kubler maintained their advantage to take a 6-4 lead after 32 minutes.
They struck another blow with another break of the Frenchwoman’s serve in the fourth game of the second set. While Inglis and Kubler didn’t consolidate – with Inglis dropping her own service game – they remained positive throughout the Court 7 encounter.
Confidence grew as Mladenovic again faltered on serve, with an ace from Inglis providing a trio of match points. The Columbian-French duo saved two before the Australians forced an error, booking their place in the quarterfinals.
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Lizette Cabrera and John-Patrick Smith also progressed to the quarterfinals, with the all-Australian duo recording a comeback victory over Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and fellow Australian Max Purcell.
The Queenslanders recorded their 2-6 7-5 [10-7] victory in an hour and 16 minutes.
“It’s so special playing with J.P,” said Cabrera,…
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