MELBOURNE, Australia — Iva Jovic tapped the best source possible for tennis advice when she spoke to Novak Djokovic ahead of her third-round match at the Australian Open against No. 7-seeded Jasmine Paolini.
Whatever he told her, it worked Friday for the 18-year-old American in her 6-2, 7-6 (3) upset win.
It reversed her straight-sets loss to Paolini, a two-time major finalist, at last year’s U.S. Open and sent Jovic into the second week of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.
“Actually I spoke to Novak yesterday a little bit. So it was pretty incredible,” Jovic said in her news conference. “He gave me some very attentive tips for my game and something I can try to incorporate into this match that I just played.”
The connection was helped by the fact that her father is Serbian, and Djokovic, the owner of a record 24 Grand Slam titles, is a national icon in his native Serbia. Jovic has regularly visited Belgrade and the southern town of Leskovac, where she has extended family.
Heritage also explains why Monica Seles and Djokovic were huge inspirations for Jovic when she grew up in the U.S. and pursued a tennis career.
Jovic was broken twice while serving the for match, but remained composed and relied on some of that advice from Djokovic before taking it out in a tiebreaker.
“That was one of the things in the forefront of my mind, because I think when Novak gives you some advice, you follow it,” she said, smiling.
Some of it related it to Jovic needing to open up the court more, and not rush into shots all the time.
“So I tried to do that, and it ended well,” she said. “So I’m just going to try to keep listening to Novak.”
Djokovic has won 10 championships at Melbourne Park and, at 38, he’s here trying to win a 25th major that would make him most decorated tennis player of all time.
Jovic was one of three teenagers to advance Friday, with No. 8 Mirra Andreeva reaching the fourth round in Australia for the third straight year and 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko setting up a meeting against top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka.
Jovic will next play Yulia Putintseva, who defied a big crowd that was vocally against her in her 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3 win over Turkish player Zeynep Sonmez.
The 31-year-old Putintseva is playing her 14th consecutive Australian Open, and her 44th consecutive Grand Slam event. She’s been a quarterfinalist twice at the French Open and at the 2020 U.S. Open.
Jovic is the youngest player in the women’s top 100, and coming at the fourth-round match — her first this far in a major — from a vastly different angle. It’s only her fifth major.
After an earlier win in the tournament, Jovic spoke in an on-court TV interview about how much she admired Seles and Djokovic, and how it was “cool to be playing a tournament that he’s playing in as well.”
“You always think about those moments where you’re going to meet your idols a little bit, and I think sometimes for certain people it can be a little bit deflating if they are maybe not as nice or as open as you anticipated,” Jovic said Friday. “I think he’s almost even kinder and even more attentive outside the cameras than what he’s portrayed.
“I mean, he’s so intelligent and smart and really wants to help the younger generation. So I’m really grateful to have that advice.”
