American teenager Iva Jovic, who turned 18 in December, breezed past Yulia Putintseva 6-0 6-1 to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open. The 29th seed had already claimed her first top-10 win against Jasmine Paolini earlier in the tournament.
Jovic said she is “really excited” to test herself against Sabalenka, the world number one, adding: “I think I'm just going to try to keep taking care of my side of the net… obviously she's number one for a reason.”
Two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka defeated 17th seed Victoria Mboko 6-1 7-6 (7-1), extending her streak to 13 consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals and 20 straight set wins in Slams—a new record surpassing Novak Djokovic.
Jovic credited advice from Novak Djokovic, who said she has the tools to be a future champion and world number one, while Sabalenka remains undefeated in the tournament so far.
