Iva Jovic Reaches US Open Round of 16, Faces Coco Gauff
The American of Serbian descent survived three hours against Aleksandra Eala at Arthur Ashe, then had a message for the crowd that wasn't cheering for her.
The clock had long passed midnight at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the crowd was dressed almost entirely in Filipino colors, and the player on court fighting off a match point was not the American the stands were cheering for. Iva Jovic knew that from the first game, and after nearly three and a half hours, she still raised her arms.
The eighteen year old, an American of Serbian descent, beat Aleksandra Eala of the Philippines 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 to reach the round of 16 at the US Open for the first time in her career. We reported a few days ago that she had made it to that third round without dropping a set. That streak ended in New York, but she came through anyway.
The match was played on Arthur Ashe, the biggest court on the grounds, and that was no accident. The Jovic-Eala matchup had already been billed as one of the most watched of the tournament, just not for the reason you would expect from two players outside the top 20.
Why the crowd was rooting against the home player
Eala has become one of the most popular names in Asian tennis in a short span of time, and the Filipino community in New York turned out for her match in force. Jovic played through pressure that few American players her age ever feel in their own country, and she brought it up herself afterward, addressing the crowd on court.
“I know you guys weren’t cheering for me, but you gave me that extra push and you pushed me forward, so thank you for that.”
It wasn’t a jab. It read more like an honest admission from a player who had just gone through one of the toughest matches of her season. She took the first set 7-5, Eala answered by taking the second 6-3, and Jovic closed out the third by the same margin as the first, 7-5.
The cost of victory: earrings, a knee and a mental breakthrough
The match didn’t end without scars. Jovic said afterward that she lost her earrings during the fight, fell on court and hurt her knee, and that the level of tennis on both sides was, in her own words, absolutely incredible. By her account, she had lost several tough Grand Slam duels this season in exactly this kind of match, and this time she managed the closing stages differently, which by her own assessment made the difference.
It was the third meeting between the two players, and the third time Jovic came out on top. What makes the story more interesting is that despite the rivalry on court, Jovic and Eala are close friends off it, which didn’t stop either of them from fighting for every last point.
Next up: Coco Gauff, and a father from Leskovac
In the round of 16, Jovic will face her fellow American Coco Gauff, the tournament’s fourth seed. Unlike the match against Eala, this time the Arthur Ashe crowd will have no doubt about who to cheer for, since both players are American, but given the quality of the opponent, the pressure will be similar if not greater.
The surname Jovic sounds familiar in Serbia for a reason. Iva’s father, Bojan, was born in Leskovac, which is part of why this player, even though she competes for the United States, is followed back home as well.
The match against Gauff comes in the days ahead, and it will be a chance for Jovic to show that three hours of fighting through an atmosphere like the one she faced against Eala wasn’t a one off, but a real step forward in a season in which she has now reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the third time.
