Iva Jovic still smarting from doubles loss despite reaching Australian Open quarterfinal

MELBOURNE, Australia—Typically players come to press straight after a win, but little did Iva Jovic know that a long day was still in front of her despite a lightning-quick win over Yulia Putintseva to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the 2026 Australian Open.

Signed up for doubles with fellow teen phenom Victoria Mboko, the duo took the court for a second-round that went the distance but the pair ultimately fell just short against No. 4 seeds Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10).

Though the 18-year-old still had plenty of reasons to be happy, Jovic teased she was feeling a little bummed to be coming to press fresh after a loss:

Q. You played a long doubles match today. How are you feeling? How much was playing a two-and-a-half hour match part of the plan?

IVA JOVIC: Yeah, I mean, me and Vicky signed up for this doubles for fun. We went to the first match, and we were not sure if there was ads. So we were asking the ref, Do we play ads? What's going on here?

Then we realized there were ads, and I didn't realize until today that there was a third set. So I was, like, Oh, my God, what? This is going to be three times longer than my singles match. Then it went 6 in the third.

But at that point, I was like, all right. I don't know if you guys saw it, but one of the most unbelievable doubles matches I've ever played. It was outrageous. The crowd was going crazy. There were so many long points.

It was a lot of fun. My soul is a little hurt that we lost that one, because it got so close, and I wanted that win.

So it's weird to be talking about singles right now. After playing that, my mind is on doubles, but it was fun. I'm glad to be in the singles, and me and Vicky had a lot of fun.

Jovic will have time to celebrate the milestone result before she returns to the singles court Tuesday to take on world No. 1 and two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka for the chance to make a Grand Slam semifinal—an opportunity the American believes is by no means above her.

“I don't really feel like there is a lot of house money or underdog mentality that I'm feeling, because I don't feel like I have been playing anything outside of my comfort zone or outside of my normal level,” Jovic said.

“I have come from two other tournaments where I was playing every day and winning a lot of matches, as well. So, this week and the level that I'm showing right now doesn't really feel much different than that. So, it's just another week that I'm winning more matches, which is nice to see.”

Without doubles on her mind, just how far can she take another week of winning?