Aryna Sabalenka defeated young pretender Iva Jovic in imperious fashion in Melbourne on Tuesday afternoon in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, with her eyes firmly on the ultimate prize – the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup – on Saturday.
I knew I had to step in and show the level and class. I think it really helped me [to] just go for my shots and trust my game. Aryna Sabalenka
The world number 1 took everything the 18-year-old could throw at her in a thrilling opener, but the two-time AO champion fought her way through that set and then pulled away in the second to win 6-3 6-0 in just under 90 minutes at Rod Laver Arena to reach her 4th consecutive semi-final Down Under.
With this, the top seed has reached the Last 4 of a Major for the 14th time.
“These teenagers are testing me in the last few rounds,” Sabalenka said, referring to both Jovic and the American’s doubles partner, 19-year-old Victoria Mboko of Canada, who was the Belarusian opponent in the fourth round. “[Jovic is an] Incredible player, it was a tough match. Don’t look at the score, it wasn’t easy at all.
“She played incredible tennis and pushed me to a better level. I’m super happy with the win. It was a tough battle.”
For a place in the final, the Belarusian will face another American, No. 3 seed Coco Gauff, or Elina Svitolina, the 12th seed from Ukraine, who were scheduled to meet on Tuesday evening.
But first Sabalenka had to deal with Jovic, who arrived in a confident mood after scoring her first Top 10 victory over seventh-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini in the third round, which she followed with a dominant performance against the tricky Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan in the Last 16.
“She is a young, great player,” Sabalenka said at the start of her post-match press conference. “Super happy to get this win in straight sets, happy with the level I played today, and yes, a great player.”
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In their first career meeting, Sabalenka underlined her authority by using Jovic’s second serve to break, quickly consolidating a 3–0 lead, but Jovic dug in and avoided falling into an even bigger hole by saving a break point with an impeccable backhand, putting herself on the scoreboard in the 23rd minute of the match.
At 18, Jovic is the youngest player to reach the Last 8 at Melbourne Park without dropping a set since Venus Williams in 1998, and after establishing herself she showed serious intentions.
However, the world No. 1 held on for 98 seconds and applied pressure with her return match, setting up winners by using both slice and topspin to earn 3 break points, but the Californian, 1 of 4 Americans in the women’s quarterfinals, saved them all, thanks to her increasing success in moving her 27-year-old opponent from left to right and out of reach of the ball with her flat, fast groundstrokes.
The 9-minute match featured four deuces but kept Jovic within reach at 4-2 as her stunning ball strike continued to hamper Sabalenka.
The top seed raced through her own service games as she once again secured a routine 5-2 lead.
When Jovic finally found her own way, the 9th and final game of the set gave the fans something to cheer about despite the oppressive Melbourne heat.
Serving for the set at 5-3, Sabalenka had to save a break point with a 107mph ace off the tee before the American fended off a first set point with a sublime cross-court forehand.
That match, which lasted 11 minutes, featured 5 deuce points, 3 set points and 3 break points, and resulted in a difficult Sabalenka hold to capture the opening set in exactly 1 hour, punctuated by a backhand winner, which was her 21st of the set.
Aryna Sabalenka passed Iva Jovic in 90 minutes in the heat of Melbourne on Tuesday afternoon
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In the second, Sabalenka surged to an early lead and fired another backhand winner to break in the 29th seed’s opening service game.
For Jovic, chasing a second Top 10 victory of her career, her task looked increasingly insurmountable as Sabalenka suffered an insurance break and a 3-0 lead before holding on at love to put the match within two games of the finish.
Although her young opponent continued to show some of the brilliance that propelled her to the Last 8, confidently trying to score points at the net, Sabalenka set her sights on the line, trying to get there as quickly as possible, and she broke for a 5-0 lead, thanks to an inopportune double fault from Jovic.
Urged on by fans chanting ‘Let’s go Iva, let’s go’, the young American took advantage of a double fault gifted by Sabalenka, producing winners from both wings to earn a pair of break points as the world No. 1 served for the match.
Sabalenka defiantly dealt with the first with a 173 km/h serve and tapped the second with a 179 km/h ace, before claiming victory and an AO place in the semi-final seconds later with a 179 km/h ace wide on match point, giving Jovic a second set bagel.
“In the second set I felt like I had to intervene and put even more pressure on her,” Sabalenka said. “Because I can tell she’s young, she’s hungry, and I could see during the game that no matter the score, she’s still going to be there to try.”
Aryna Sabalenka (R) shakes hands with Iva Jovic (L) after her victory in the AO quarter-finals on Day 10 at Melbourne Park
© Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
It all took an hour and 29 minutes as temperatures in Melbourne reached 38 degrees Celsius, leaving the Belarusian the only player left in the women’s field, having previously lifted the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.
Sabalenka is also the third-best seed in the past decade to reach the AO women’s singles semifinals without dropping a set. She joined Serena Williams in 2016 and Ash Barty in 2022.
In a dominant display, the top seed hit 31 winners to Jovic’s 12, winning a significant 61% of points on the 29th seed’s second serve.
Sabalenka said she couldn’t remember many matches where her tennis was as flawless as she was during the second set.
“I knew I had to step in and show the level and class,” she said. “I think it really helped me [to] just go for my shots and trust my game.
She finished with just 17 unforced errors, while her 143 total winners are the most of any woman at this year’s Australian Open so far.
The roof of Rod Laver Arena was closed as Sabalenka conducted her post-match interview, with the tournament’s heat stress scale reaching the five-mark shortly before 1.30pm.
“At the end of the match it was very hot there,” said the 27-year-old. “I’m glad they closed the roof almost halfway so we had a lot of shade in the back.
“I think as women we are stronger than the boys, so they had to close the roof on the boys so they wouldn’t suffer,” she added with a smile. “Going into this game, I knew they weren’t going to let us play in crazy heat. If it reached five, they would definitely close the roof, so I knew they were protecting us and our health. It’s okay. I’m glad I did it.”
The last 8 match between Aryna Sabalenka and Iva Jovic was played in sweltering heat with the roof of the Rod Laver Arena partially closed to provide some shade
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As for Jovic, her future looks bright, and although her impressive run at the Australian Open came to an end, it was boosted by tips from Novak Djokovic.
Despite the loss, Jovic expressed immense gratitude for the guidance she received from the Serbian, who has 24 Grand Slam titles to his name, 10 of which came in Australia.
“Hopefully I can have more moments with him throughout the year because it was amazing,” Jovic noted, highlighting the invaluable mentorship.
Born in California, Jovic is the daughter of a Serbian father and a Croatian mother, who emigrated to the United States.
She made her debut in a Grand Slam quarter-final with remarkable composure.
“I think in a way I went into the match obviously not knowing too much about what it would look like personally because I hadn’t really hit with her in the past,” Jovic explained, noting that it was her first meeting with Sabalenka. “I’ve actually tried to bring that middle ground, and I think I have to be able to adapt to the game and what’s required for different playing styles. I haven’t been able to do that.”
Looking ahead, Jovic remains optimistic about her future Grand Slam prospects.
“It’s the quarter-finals, but you know, ultimately I hope to be in a lot of quarter-finals,” she said. “So I don’t think this win, or loss today, is going to make or break my career.”
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