Iva Jovic became the youngest American woman to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open since Venus Williams in 1998 by beating Kazakhstani veteran Yulia Putintseva 6-0, 6-1 on Sunday.
At the age of 18, Jovic arrived in Melbourne as the youngest player in the top 100 and the 27th seed dominated all opposition, playing her four matches without dropping a set. Jovic’s third-round victory against No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini was the first top 20 victory of her career. Still, Jovic rejected the idea that she is swinging freely and has nothing to lose.
“I don’t really feel like I have a lot of house money or an underdog mentality because I don’t feel like I’ve played anything outside my comfort zone or outside my normal level,” Jovic said.
“I’m coming from two other tournaments where I played every day and won a lot of matches as well. So this week and the level I’m showing now doesn’t really feel any different. So it’s just another week where I’m winning more matches, which is nice to see.”
Jovic’s stellar performances have earned her the biggest match of her young career, as she will face Aryna Sabalenka, the No. 1 seed and two-time champion, in the quarterfinals. Sabalenka produced one of her most impressive performances of the tournament, raising her level after a late surge against the immensely talented 19-year-old Victoria Mboko to win 6-1, 7-6 (1) and advance to her 13th consecutive grand slam quarter-final.
Shortly after their matches on Sunday, Jovic returned to the court in the doubles alongside Mboko, where the pair battled for 2 hours and 39 minutes against fourth seeds Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai before narrowly losing 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10). “Vicky and I signed up for this doubles match just for fun. We went to the first match and we weren’t sure if there was [advantages]. So we asked the referee, ‘Are we playing ads? What’s going on here?’ Then we realized there were ads, and I didn’t realize until today there was a third set. So I was like, ‘Oh, my God, what? This will be three times as long as my singles match.’ Then it was six in the third.
“But at that moment I thought, OK. One of the most incredible doubles matches I’ve ever played. It was outrageous. The crowd went crazy. There were so many long points. It was a lot of fun. My soul hurts a little bit that we lost that one, because it was so close, and I wanted that win.”
Coco Gauff and Elina Svitolina will face off in the other top half quarter-final after third seed Gauff outlasted 19th seed Karolina Muchova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 and 12th seed Svitolina upset eighth seed Mirra Andreeva 6-2, 6-4.
In the men’s game, top seed Carlos Alcaraz will face sixth seed Alex de Minaur after the Australian rolled past 10th seed Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. 25th seed Learner Tien, meanwhile, was responsible for the day’s most eye-catching result as he defeated 11th seed and three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-0, 6-3.
“He played great,” Medvedev said. “He played great. Super aggressive. Even when I made good shots, he shot back better. I didn’t find many solutions on the court today, which is rare, and I haven’t felt like this so many times in my life. But these things can happen.”
Tien will face Alexander Zverev after the third seed cruised past 18th seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.
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