18-Year-Old Iva Jovic Slays Her Way into First Major Quarterfinal

Blink and you definitely missed it. That blur powering winners past Yulia Putintseva on Day 8 in Melbourne was 18-year-old Iva Jovic, the youngest player left in the Australian Open draw and perhaps the most ruthless as well.

The Torrance, California native who earned her first Top-10 win in the third round with a takedown of two-time major finalist Jasmine Paolini, needed just 53 minutes to dispatch Putintseva and become the youngest American to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals since Venus Williams in 1998. She’s done it all without dropping a single set.

Jovic kept her foot on the gas as she flew past her opponent with a dizzying array of precision and pace.

The former junior No.2 thumped 17 winners to just four for Putintseva, and she converted six of 12 break points.

“I just wanted to get it done, and it felt like if I let her come back a little bit, it would become a dog fight. So I just tried to keep it as far away as possible, and I’m just so happy to be in the quarterfinals,” she said.

Jovic will face world No.1 and two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the next round. A daunting task, but one she embraces.

“I said it last year. I hope to be able to play her this year, because you definitely want to play the best and see how it goes,” Jovic said. “So I’m just really excited.”