American teenager tennis player Iva Jovic secured the biggest win of her career at the Australian Open (AO) on Friday, beating seventh seed Jasmine Paolini in straight sets. Jovic won 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) against the Italian, a two-time Grand Slam finalist, to reach the last 16 of a major for the first time. After the match, Jovic revealed that she had received advice from Novak Djokovic shortly before stepping on court.
While giving an interview to ‘Clay Tennis Tales’, she said, “I spoke a little with Novak yesterday. He gave me some very precise advice about my game.” Djokovic was not officially coaching her, Jovic said his words helped her stay focused and confident against an experienced opponent.
The result marked her first victory over a top-10 player and confirmed her rapid rise on the women’s tour.
Calm under pressure
Jovic dominated the match, using her backhand to control rallies and finish points. She appeared on course for a comfortable win when serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set, but a brief lapse allowed Paolini back into the contest.
After exchanging breaks, the match went to a tiebreak where Jovic played with composure, attacking early and limiting errors.
“I just tried to focus on what I was doing earlier in the match, being really aggressive and controlling the play,” she said of her tiebreak tactics. I just told myself to go out swinging,” she said.
A rapid rise
According to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Iva Jovic is ranked at the 27th position in singles with 1671 points.
For the doubles competition, she has been ranked at the 161 position with 492 points.
She will next face Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva for a place in the quarter-finals of AO.
Jovic’s win follows a series of strong performances by teenage players in Melbourne, highlighting a new generation beginning to make its mark on the sport.
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