For American teenager Iva Jovic – the youngest player in this year’s field at just 16 – her run at the US Open ended with a hard-fought match that showed a maturity unusual for her age.
No. 29 Ekaterina Alexandrova advanced with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 win over Jovic in the second round, but it was more of an escape than a victory.
Jovic, by far the more composed of the two, fended off six match points before finally losing on the seventh.
She still plays doubles, junior singles and junior doubles, but her singles performance has been impressive.
The young American wildcard grew up in California and played tennis with her big sister Mia on the roof of their apartment.
Jovic was only ranked 389th in the world, playing in the main draw of a tour for the first time and competing against a top 50 player for the first time.
She didn’t let the pressure or the oppressive heat of 34 degrees get her down.
Jovic was simply missing one or two shots.
Trailing 4:5 and with three match points, she fought her way back to deuce.
A double fault from Alexandrova kept her in the match and a forehand winner down the line gave Jovic a break point. When she won it, she rewarded the crowd on Court 12 with chants of “Iva! Iva! Iva!”
Jovic survived several break points when Alexandrova hit her shot too wide and started slamming her racket into the court.
However, the latter recovered and finally ended the game with his serve.
