“I want to be as much like Novak as I can”: Iva Jovic opens up on Djokovic advice and top-20 rise

Iva Jovic spoke in a recent interview with Tennis Channel about her participation at the Australian Open, where she was perhaps the biggest surprise of the tournament after reaching the quarterfinals at just 18 years old. The teenager eventually fell to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, but earned valuable points to reach the best ranking of her career.

It was only Iva Jovic’s second appearance at the Australian Open, and she managed to win over the Australian crowd with victories against players such as Yulia Putintseva and Jasmine Paolini — the latter marking her first top-10 victory.

“It was so much fun. I mean, Melbourne is truly a special place, and the Slam itself is so welcoming and easy to be around,” commented the American. “Everyone's so nice. So it's just a pleasure, a dream to be there. But the matches were obviously amazing. It's a different feel at the Slam, having the days off, it gets quite long, and there's a lot of people that you kind of see around.”

“So a lot of interaction outside the tennis, and it's a lot about trying to stay in your bubble and stay focused. But I mean, it was amazing. Playing all those matches gave me a lot of insight into what I need to work on and what's been going well. And then obviously, you want to play the world number one as well and see what you need to improve on. So much more to come this season. I'm just looking forward to using this to do a lot better as well.”

Jovic had her breakthrough on Tour in 2025, at just 17 years old, when she captured her first professional title at the WTA 500 Guadalajara Open and climbed into the top-35 by the end of the year. During the off-season, Jovic turned 18, and starting this season she is now able to play a full calendar — without tournament limitations.

“Now no more tournament restriction. It's nice to have that feeling of freedom. If I have a bad week or want to play more, I can, and it's just nice mentally,” said Jovic. “And obviously, it's good for the ranking opportunity if you can play more, but I still want to make sure I'm training and getting quality blocks to improve because it's difficult if you're just hopping through tournaments every week.”

The American will now travel full-time with the rest of the Tour and is already working to take another step forward. “One big thing I'm working on right now is the serve. I think a lot of these players at the top hold serve. It's not easy to break them, so you need to be sharp with your serve patterns and hang on to your service games because you're not going to get looks to break every time.”

Jovic was defeated in the quarterfinals by world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, a two-time champion in Melbourne who has reached the last four finals at the tournament. Jovic managed to defend just three games before suffering a tough defeat, with a bagel included, 6-0, 6-3.

For the world No. 20, there is still work to be done to challenge the very best. “I think that's how it always is. Everything I've done in tennis has just been about climbing levels. In the beginning, playing someone in the top 300 WTA was intimidating. Now the intimidating factor is playing the number ones and the top five. It's the same thing; this is a different level. That's what I've had to do through my entire career.

“Through juniors and everything, you have to adapt to the higher level and adjust to it. Now it's about quick-fire points, being sharp at the beginning of the point. There's not a lot of time to get into it. You need to know what you want to do, have a plan, and execute it. I need to get better at those first couple of punches so I can get into the point more often.”

Beyond Jovic’s strong result in Melbourne, with four consecutive victories and reaching her best ranking as a top-20 player, the Serbian-born teenager clarified that the best moment of her Australian Open experience was speaking with 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. “Oh my God, that was the biggest win of the trip. It wasn't results; it was speaking to Novak, hearing what he says, and observing him.”

“He spends so much time in the gym working on himself, yet he finds time to talk to younger players. He gave me specific advice on my game. His sophistication and intelligence are impressive. I want to be as much like Novak as I can. That's the goal.”

“My New Year’s resolution was to stop missing in the net. I’m missing long more now, less in the net. I want to be consistent, make deep runs every week, be a contender, fight mentally, and take care of business. Titles are great, but first, winning matches consistently matters.”

Already settled inside the top-20 and with very few points to defend in the coming months, the American has secured direct entry into all the biggest tournaments, along with guaranteed seeding at upcoming Grand Slams and most of the WTA 1000 events she plays.

Jovic still has the task of consolidating her position and fully feeling like a player with enough consistency to remain in the top-20 before taking the next step forward. “I think focus is one of my strengths. I have a bit of hyper-focus, but honestly, I don't care too much what people think or say. I'm probably my biggest critic anyway. If I'm happy with myself, I know I'm doing pretty well because I raised the bar pretty high.”

Jovic also declared herself a true tennis fan and tries to study not only her rivals, but also some of the sport’s legends. “Honestly, I love watching tennis. I probably watch the most tennis of anyone. I stayed up till 3 a.m. to watch the men's and women's finals, probably not great for daily life, but I had to,” said Jovic. “I consider myself a student of the game. I like to learn how tennis has evolved through the generations.”

“I watched some old-school tennis at the AO because Jelena Dokic and Louise Fleming gave me some insight. I tried to see if I play more like Martina Hingis or Monica Seles. I concluded I play more like Martina Hingis. Tennis will always make you a student of the game.”