Iva Jovic caused a big upset on the first day of the US Open by defeating former top 20 player Magda Linette in straight sets on her Grand Slam debut.
Despite her inexperience, the 16-year-old produced a solid 6-4, 6-3, win over the Polish world No.42 to claim her maiden victory on the WTA Tour. During the match, Jovic hit 14 winners and capitalized on her opponent’s unforced error count of 29.
“Surprised, but not surprised,” the Associated Press quoted Jovic as saying about her win.
“I just had a plan about what I was going to do before we started, and there weren’t that many needs for crazy adjustments, because it was going well. So just kind of sticking to that.”
Jovic has been making waves on the Junior Tour this season after claiming the girl’s doubles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, as well as reaching the final at the French Open. In singles, she reached the semi-finals of the junior event at Wimbledon.
“I want to be the best that I can be,” Jovic said. “Just get better every day, honestly. Just keep working. I’m on a good path, but there’s a lot more to do.”
Currently ranked outside the top 300, Jovic was awarded a wild card for the US Open after winning the USTA’s U18 National Championships. She also won the doubles trophy at the same event.
As for her sporting heroes, Novak Djokovic is among them. Jovic is the daughter of Serbian immigrants. Her father Bojan and her mother Jelena are both pharmacists. Another idol of hers is a former Olympic champion.
“Djokovic, I mean, do I need to say? We all know how great he is,” she told reporters whilst speaking Serbian. “And then Belinda, she just takes the ball so early and her footwork is very cutting the angle, so she just makes her opponents feel kind of suffocated. That’s what I would like to try to do.”
Jovic is the youngest American female player to win a match at the US Open since 2000. In the next round, she will play 29th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
