'No point to stop now.' 17-year-old Iva Jovic introducing herself at Cincinnati Open

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MASON, OH - How did you spend Aug. 10 at the Cincinnati Open?
Were you following local product Caty McNally's comeback on Court 3? Watching Daniil Medvedev, the 2019 Cincinnati champion, suffer another early exit?
Maybe you stuck with Center Court, where ATP No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and WTA No. 2 Coco Gauff took care of business. It's a good place to start. After all, Gauff became the first teenager to ever win the Cincinnati Open in 2023.
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If you braved the heat on a sun-splashed Mason afternoon, you could've wandered over to Court 9 on the north side of the campus. But you probably didn't. Less than 200 people were in the stands when another teenager notched the biggest win of her young career.
Iva Jovic, the WTA No. 88, has arrived.
At just 17 years old, the California native was given a second chance at the Cincinnati Open as a Lucky Loser and is more than making the most of it.
With the day session coming to an end Aug. 10, Jovic quickly dispatched Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-0. It took just 69 minutes.
Noskova is the No. 23 player in the world. She reached the Round of 16 at Wimbledon last month, went to the Round of 16 in Cincinnati in 2023 (falling to Gauff) and had been bageled (losing a set 6-0) just once in the last 18 months.
'I'm still a little bit in shock right now,' Jovic said. 'It's still a little intimidating to be around these big tournaments.'
Jovic shouldn't be intimidated anymore. She belongs.
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'I'm still super new to all of it.'
Craig Broscow, of California, runs the Iva Jovic fan club.
Well, it's more of a text chain. Technically, it's a WhatsApp Group with just a few members that span from Serbia to Oakland.
Starting a group cheering on Jovic from afar in 2025 might feel like a Bitcoin investor in 2009 when it's all said and done.
Jovic's parents are both from Serbia. Though she grew up in California, learning tennis on the courts atop her family's apartment complex, Serbian was her first language.
'Serbian people are very spirited,' Jovic said. 'I can always hear them whenever they show up and they always talk to me after the match. It's nice to have that with other people. I love it.'
It's easy to hear the cheers and sign autographs with fans on the side courts, and Jovic did plenty of that after her win over Noskova. The rising star signed several oversized, souvenir tennis balls and grabbed multiple selfies with fans before her giant smile ultimately walked to the court's north exit.
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She might not have the luxury for long. As Jovic goes deeper and deeper into big tournaments, the venues will get bigger and so will the applause.
'I'm still super new to all of it. All of these wins and good moments are helping me feel more comfortable and at home at these events,' Jovic said.
From qualifying exit to Round of 32 at the Cincinnati Open
Jovic decided to turn pro rather than attend college, plunging herself into the depths of the tour, with a guarantee of learning experiences through tournaments across the globe.
'I was a little skeptical on what the first year was gonna look like,' she said. 'Everyone was telling me the first year was really tough and you have to find your footing. I was expecting the worst, honestly.'
When you're built for the bright lights, the footing comes naturally. Jovic is standing on solid ground in her first year as a professional, winning main draw matches at two Grand Slam events (Australian Open, Roland Garros) as well as a few WTA 1000 wins, a WTA 125 title in Great Britain and a main draw appearance at Wimbledon. She's moved up over 100 spots in the WTA Rankings over the last year.
'With the results, it just makes more sense to keep playing,' Jovic said about passing on college for the tour. 'I love competing and being out there and there's just no point to stop right now.'
Jovic's chance at a Cincinnati Open run appeared to be stopped earlier this week when she fell to Varvara Gracheva in the final round of qualifying, 6-3, 6-4.
Two days later, Naomi Osaka and Victoria Mboko, who had played in the Canadian Open final the night before, withdrew from the Cincinnati Open, opening up four Lucky Loser spots.
Jovic had new life.
She took advantage of eight double faults, won 62% of first-serve points and 4-of-6 break points in a first-round win over Solana Sierra, 6-3, 7-6 (4), then was polished as ever in eliminating Noskova.
'I didn't know what to expect, especially having lost the last round of qualifying and finding out the morning of my match that I was going to be in the tournament,' Jovic said. 'I really wasn't happy with how I played in the last round of qualifying. It was one of those gut-wrenching feelings to have to end a tournament like that. I didn't believe I was gonna get in as the Lucky Loser. I found out and felt like I was on a cloud.'
Jovic is now on the doorstep of history in Mason. With a win in the next round, she'd become just the second Lucky Loser to ever reach the Round of 16. Jovic faces 29-year-old Barbora Krejcikova, the WTA No. 80 who upset No. 10 seed Elina Svitolina, in the Round of 32.
'It's exciting because I still feel like I can grow from this and play even better,' Jovic said. 'If anything, it makes me feel even more confident.'
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Future WTA superstar? Iva Jovic introducing herself at Cincinnati Open