Iva Jovic has seen her breakthrough run at the Australian Open officially come to an end.
Jovic won her first WTA title last year, and was able to climb nearly 160 places in the rankings into the top 40.
The American teenager has continued this form into 2026, with Jovic even receiving advice from Novak Djokovic en route to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Andy Roddick had also given Jovic some tips ahead of her match with Aryna Sabalenka, but the world number one had just too much for the 18-year-old.
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Jovic was beaten convincingly by an impressive Sabalenka, 6-3 6-0, to bring her impressive run in Melbourne to an end.
When reflecting on her Australian Open campaign in her post-match press conference, Jovic, whose father is from Serbia, was also asked about Djokovic.
Jovic has spoken about idolizing Djokovic before, and she has now revealed that they have built a relationship at the Australian Open this year.
“Yes, he did text me with some more tips throughout the rounds,” Jovic said about Djokovic. “I don’t even know what day it is anymore.
“So we’ve been in communication, and I feel like we’ve built a little bit of a relationship now, which is amazing, and I wish him all the best for the rest of the tournament, and hopefully throughout the year I can keep having more moments with him and encouragement, because it’s been amazing.
I forgot the next part of the question.”
When further questioned on the 24-time Grand Slam champion, Jovic was asked if there are any specific areas of his game she tries to emulate.
While Jovic did not actually confirm if she tries to replicate this, she did praise Djokovic’s relentless game style.
“Yeah, I think that the way that Novak is able to almost suffocate his opponents with playing, playing the moments differently, playing all the big points, showing them that, hey, I can play defense, I can play offense, I’m going to be here every single point,” added Jovic. “So I think that the way he goes about the game is very impressive.
“I really like, I think it was Andre Agassi who made the comparison of Novak to a boxer and the way that he’s going in for punches and then faking them out a little bit. I think that the way that he approaches the match is very impressive, and hopefully one day I can emulate that.”
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Jovic’s run in Melbourne is now officially over, but she is confirmed to make huge strides up the rankings after reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
The American began the Australian Open as the world number 27, and following the tournament Jovic is confirmed to make her top 20 debut.
Becoming the world number 20 is hugely significant for Jovic, who was ranked outside the top 170 this time last year.
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Jovic also has few ranking points to defend at the start of the year, therefore giving her an opportunity to continue climbing the ranks.
The next tournament on Jovic’s schedule will see her make her debut at WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha and Dubai.
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