A dream in tangerine, the colourfully kitted out Iva Jovic dominated the court at John Cain Arena today.
The 18-year-old rapid riser advanced to her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal after defeating Kazakh Yulia Putintseva 6-0 6-1 in just 53 minutes – the quickest match of Australian Open 2026 so far.
MORE: All the scores from AO 2026
“I'm really glad to get through,” Jovic said. “Obviously, the scoreline is favourable, but it doesn't matter how you get it done. I just wanted to get it done, and I 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 finals.”
The teenager lays claim to being the youngest player to reach the women’s singles quarterfinals at the Australian Open without dropping a set since Venus Williams in 1998. She is also the youngest player since Maria Sharapova in 2005 to reach the quarterfinals at all her first three WTA level tournaments in a single calendar year.
That’s pretty good company to be in.
Jovic funnels incredible power through her forehands, forcing 17 winners to Putintseva’s four, and preventing her opponent from setting up any dangerous drop shots. Her aggressive style of play is inspired by major champions including Jannik Sinner, Monica Seles and Novak Djokovic; the latter took it upon himself to bestow some valuable words of advice for Jovic.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion told Jovic about opening the court up to create more width, allowing her to take her time and not rush the shot. From today’s result, it would seem she took his advice to heart.
Her poise at the baseline has enabled her to elevate her serve; as seen in the third round against No.8 seed Jasmine Paolini. In that match, Jovic won 59 percent of her first serve points and went on to win her third-round battle in straight sets, marking a first career top-10 win. Today, the young American took 67 per cent of first serve points, with three aces adding to her rapidly improving service game.
While Putintseva grew more frustrated as her match looked in danger of becoming a dreaded double-bagel loss, Jovic became more composed, the growing excitement of the crowd only serving to settle her nerves, not jangle them.
“I love playing in front of [the crowd]. The more people there are, the better I feel. So, thank you. Thank you for coming out. It's been amazing,” Jovic said.
“I just try to trust all the work that I've put in. I know that [in] tennis, you really never know what's gonna happen. But I know how hard I've worked, so I'm just trusting that everything's gonna happen how it should. So, win or lose, it's the right path for me.”
As Jovic closed in on the fourth game of the second set, Putintseva went as far as to toss her racket in order to return a forehand winner. Unfortunately for the world No.94, the bold manoeuvre didn’t pay off.
After today’s success, Jovic owns 11 match wins this year alone, the most of any player on the WTA tour. She has come a long way in just one year; ranked world No.191 at Australian Open 2025, the American was defeated in the first round by eventual finalist Elena Rybakina. After months reassessing and rebuilding her game, she won her first career WTA singles title in September in Guadalajara at just 17 years old, propelling her 36 places up the ranks.
This is only her second AO appearance, and the dream run to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal is a stark but celebratory comparison to last year’s tournament.
Jovic now faces No.1 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals, and while some might think the pressure of playing such a high-profile player would be immense, the American chooses to see it as the incredible opportunity that it is.
“I think I'm just gonna try to keep taking care of my side of the net. Obviously, she's number one for a reason and [has] had so much success at this tournament,” said Jovic.
“But that's what I want. I said it last year; I hope to be able to play her this year 'cause you definitely want to play the best and see how it goes.”