Living in a teenage dream: 18-year-old Iva Jovic storms past Aussie favourite Priscilla Hon as she breaks new ground

Iva Jovic's Australian Open continues without slip with the 18-year-old again rising to the occasion on the big stage to breeze past Australian wildcard Priscilla Hon.

Already a WTA title winner at 17, Jovic is continuing to live the dream of a young tennis prospect. She looked imperious out on court against Katie Volynets, unveiling after the match that she was almost too relaxed.

This looked to have continued into her second round tie, with her not fazed by the challenge of facing an Aussie on Rod Laver Arena, showing what incredible mentality and composure she bears.

She has started 2025 like a rocket, storming all the way to the semi-finals of the ASB Classic before losing to the eventual winner Elina Svitolina. She made it one step further in the Hobart International but was unable to get the better of qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto in a surprising upset.

While it looks unlikely Jovic can go this deep at the Australian Open, she is showing all the credentials needed to be a top tennis player.

The first set was as one sided as you can get, with Jovic steamrolling her opponent. She breezed to a hold to love to kick off proceedings before nicking a break moments later, with Hon’s resistance already crumbling in these early stages.

The Aussie managed to get a first game on the board to spot the ongoing Jovic rampage, but the 18-year-old continued to edge further away out of sight, holding to make it 4-1 before breaking to love to set up a serve-winning opportunity. This was taken with no hiccups, wit 27 minutes all the time needed to grab a set advantage which put her halfway to a maiden major third round appearance.

It looked likely that a familiar scenario would once again show itself, but Jovic was unable to break as Hon got herself slightly ahead as the second set commenced. She then flipped the script and broke the Jovic serve, and had looked like she was set to race into a 3-0 lead when going 40-0 up. Despite this, Jovic came fighting back and got the set all square. As the clock struck midnight in Melbourne, Jovic won five points in a row to secure a crucial break.

Jovic had been pretty clinical with her break opportunities, and this trend prolonged with the upmost of fortune as the ball clips the net and to the groans of the crowd harmlessly bobbles over. The match would soon be all over. On the day, Hon was not able to match the immense quality of Jovic, but it was still a very positive tournament, reaching the second round for the first time since 2020. For Jovic, a third round tie against two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini is her next test in a repeat of their clash in the 2025 US Open.