When it comes to feedback, there are few more authoritative voices than that of Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
“She definitely has all the tools to be a future champion, a future No. 1, so that’s exactly what I wish for her.”
Those words were spoken on court by the 10-time Australian Open champion after his third-round win over Botic van de Zandschulp, in reference to 18-year-old Iva Jovic.
Such praise can often place unwanted pressure on a player, particularly one who has only just turned 18 and is still finding her feet on the main WTA Tour.
But Jovic appears to be a different proposition altogether, underlining it by reaching her first Grand Slam quarter-final with a devastating 6–0, 6–1 victory over Yulia Putintseva.
It was not just the manner of the victory, impressive in itself, with 17 winners and six breaks of serve in a match lasting under an hour, but the way she stripped away every dangerous element of Yulia Putintseva’s game, closing off the angles that normally allow the Kazakhstani to seize control of rallies.
She also showed no sign of nerves as she approached the finish line, looking increasingly composed as her opponent unravelled. Even when she lost her serve, she brushed it off immediately, breaking back without a hint that she was playing for her first appearance in the last eight of a major.
As composed as the young American has been, what awaits next is the greatest challenge of her career, and perhaps the toughest test in women’s tennis right now, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka has reached the final in each of the past three years, lifting back-to-back titles before falling to Madison Keys in last year’s decider.
Sabalenka will also be bolstered by her victory over another teenage star, Canada’s Victoria Mboko. Mboko looked lost at a set and a double-break down, but she gave Sabalenka an almighty scare, before the Belarusian eventually came through with another impressive tie-break win.
No doubt Sabalenka will be stronger for the challenge, but when speaking after her match, Jovic was just as calm and composed about facing the World No.1 as she had been on court.
“I think I’m just going to try to keep taking care of my side of the net. Obviously she’s number one for a reason and has had so much success at this tournament, but that’s what I want. I said last year that I hoped to be able to play here this year, because you definitely want to play the best and see how it goes. I’m really excited.”
Given what we have already seen in this tournament, and in her fledgling career to date, it is hard not to believe her. Jovic will know that Sabalenka has a tendency to let her emotions get the better of her, even if she has curtailed that far more effectively over the past couple of seasons than earlier in her career.
If the young American can remain calm in the face of the storm Sabalenka will bring, she may yet prove Djokovic right, and far sooner than anyone might expect.
