16-year-old American Iva Jovic wins the opening match of the US Open

NEW YORK – Iva Jovic, a 16-year-old from California, eliminated 2023 Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette of Poland 6-4, 6-3 on Monday.

“Surprised, but not surprised,” said Jovic about the result against a player ranked in the top 20.

“I just had a plan of what I was going to do before we started and it didn’t require that many crazy adjustments because it was going well,” Jovic said. “So I just stuck to it.”

American Katrina Scott was 16 when she won a match at the US Open four years ago. Last year, Russian Mirra Andreeva was 16 when she did the same.

One clue to Jovic’s youth: She still plans to play in the junior event later in the tournament. And another: Jovic is still in school and is taking online courses as part of a program she describes as “convenient and … very forgiving.”

Jovic grew up playing a variety of sports, including soccer, gymnastics and swimming, but her main attraction was tennis, which she began learning with her older sister on the courts at the apartment complex where they lived in Torrance, California.

“I want to be as good as I can be,” said Jovic. “Honestly, get better every day. Just keep working. I’m on the right track, but there’s still a lot to do.”

She earned a wildcard entry into the main draw at the final Grand Slam tournament of the year by winning the US Tennis Association girls 18 national championship, where she also won the doubles title with Tyra Grant, earning them a wildcard into the women’s doubles at Flushing Meadows; the USTA also granted Jovic and another American teenager, Kaylan Bigun, a spot in the mixed doubles.

Jovic and Grant won the junior doubles titles together at the Australian Open in January and at Wimbledon in July, and also finished runners-up at the French Open in June.

Jovic’s favourite players are 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic – he is Serbian, as are her roots; after the English-language part of her press conference on Monday ended, she answered questions in Serbian – and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic.

Why?

“Djokovic, I mean, do I need to say that? We all know how great he is,” Jovic replied. “And then Belinda, she takes the ball so early and her footwork is very tight, so she kind of smothers her opponents. That’s what I’d like to try.”

Jovic would welcome the opportunity to talk to Djokovic, but their only interaction so far has been when she asked him if he would mind posing for a photo.

“I have a selfie,” she said, smiling. “It doesn’t look great, but it’s there.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article.