Australian wildcards Chris O'Connell and Maddie Inglis' inspiring runs at the Australian Open have come to an end.
Playing in the third round of a grand slam for the first time in his career after stunning 13th seed Diego Schwartzman to progress, O'Connell pushed big-hitting American Maxime Cressy to the brink in a physical encounter over two hours and 41 minutes.
Playing with a troublesome thigh, O'Connell had the fans behind him on court three as he courageously pushed through pain and adversity to secure the second set in a tiebreaker to level the match.
But victory proved too steep a climb for the local favourite, as Cressy, himself on a career-best run at Melbourne Park, took it up a notch to seal the third and fourth sets to claim the match, 6-2 6(6)-7 6-3 6-2.
O'Connell struggled to contain Cressy's serve, the 70th seed winning 84 per cent of his first serve points and sending an impressive 28 aces, while also hitting 71 winners, which was 28 more than the Aussie qualifier.
It just wasn't to be today, but we're still SUPER proud of Chris O'Connell! 👊🇦🇺#AusOpen - Live on Channel 9 and 9Now pic.twitter.com/pOMKqgKfBH
— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) January 22, 2022
Earlier, 24-year-old Inglis' fairytale was also brought to an end by Estonian Kaia Kanepi.
Inglis got off to a dream start in her afternoon match on centre court, claiming the first set 6-2 inside half an hour after winning 85 per cent of her first service points against her more experienced opponent.
Kanepi, ranked as high as 15th in the world previously, managed to steady herself quickly after that though, claiming the second set 6-2 before racing away with victory after breezing through the third set 6-0.
Magic moments with Maddy ✨
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) January 22, 2022
Aussie wildcard Maddison Inglis reflects on her dream run at #AO2022 🤩#GoAussies • #AO2022 • #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/enKF2UxEZt
While O'Connell and Inglis' inspiring Open campaigns come to a close, the pair will walk away $221,000 richer after reaching the third round for the first time in their careers.
It means Ash Barty and Alex De Minaur are the only Aussies left in the draw to fly the Australian flag.