Iva Jovic revealed Novak Djokovic was sending her tips throughout the Australian Open and also admitted that she would love to have "more such moments" with the Serbian tennis giant for the rest of 2026.
Jovic, who was born in the United States, has Balkan roots and grew up looking up to the record 24-time Grand Slam champion.
Before one of her early-round Australian Open matches, Jovic admitted that she would like to get to meet Djokovic during the opening Grand Slam of the year. And after pulling off an upset and recording her first top-10 win over Jasmine Paolini in the third round, the 18-year-old shared that she met and spoke with the 38-year-old Serb a day earlier, who gave her some advice on how to approach the Paolini match.
Jovic then also went on to dismantle Yulia Putintseva 6-0 6-1 in the Australian Open round-of-16 before losing 3-6 0-6 to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinal.
Jovic: Djokovic text me with some more tips throughout the round
“He did text me with some more tips throughout the rounds. I don’t even know what day it is anymore. 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. Hopefully throughout the year I can keep having more moments with him and encouragement. It’s been amazing," the 18-year-old shared.
In the same presser, Jovic also noted that Djokovic's ability to play great offense and defense was one of the most impressive things about the Serb, and added that she would like to be that kind of a player one day.
So far in 2026, the American has been outstanding as she owns an 11-3 record – before reaching the Australian Open quarterfinal, the 18-year-old made the Auckland semifinal and finished as runner-up in Hobart.
On Monday, Jovic will break into the top-20 for the first time in her career and sit at No. 20 in the world.
