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Inglis out to continue Wimbledon odyssey

Darren WaltonAAP
Maddison Inglis had to find new accommodation after surprising herself by qualifying at Wimbledon.
Camera IconMaddison Inglis had to find new accommodation after surprising herself by qualifying at Wimbledon. Credit: AP

Now that she's secured somewhere to stay, Maddison Inglis will set about continuing her Wimbledon odyssey with a fourth win in eight days on London's grass courts.

So modest were her expectations ahead of Wimbledon qualifying that Inglis was booked on a flight home to WA last Saturday.

But three surprise sudden-death victories at Roehampton turned Inglis's travel plans upside down.

"I booked for a week, had my flight to Perth. Cancelled that and, then yeah, just had to find other accommodation," the 24-year-old said.

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"Can't believe it."

Inglis's first-round tussle on Monday with Hungary's Dalma Galfi will mark her first match at the All England Club since contesting the juniors in 2014.

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"It's the only slam I've never played. So I'm so excited and just excited to play again. It will be an exciting match," she told AAP.

Inglis was among six Australians to qualify at Roehampton and said she probably wouldn't have made it without the incredible courtside support of her peers.

"There was about 20 or 25 Aussies out there watching, which was nice. Who knows if I would have got through it without all that," she said.

"Everyone coming to get around each other, it was really, really special."

Ranked seven spots below Inglis at No.136 in the world, fellow West Australian Astra Sharma is making her third Wimbledon main-draw appearance after also qualifying.

Sharma plays Germany's Tatjana Maria chasing her maiden win at SW19.

"It's a good draw for both of us," Sharma told AAP.

"She's obviously a very crafty, wily player. Grass will actually suit her game quite well.

"But at the same time I feel like I've come in with some good matches under my belt."

Already guaranteed at least 50,000 pounds ($A88,000) for making the main draw, anything from here on is a bonus for Sharma.

"I didn't actually think I was going to do that well at the start of the week. I didn't really do so well in the grass-court lead-up events so confidence was a bit low," she said.

"Traditionally I'm a bit more of a hard-courter or a clay-courter. Nothing to lose, just play.

"You've got to change a little bit on grass, like being a bit more aggressive, which is really helpful for my game.

"So we'll just see how it goes. I feel like anyone's got a shot."

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