Ningbo Open: Iva Jovic beats two-time Major finalist Paolini on debut

Ningbo: American teenager Iva Jovic made a strong start to her Ningbo Open debut as she defeated two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini in the round of 16 at the Centre Court here on Thursday.

Jovic, seeded fourth, received a bye in the first round and recovered from 1-3 down in the first set to oust Paolini 6-4, 6-3 to march into the quarterfinals.

The 18-year-old Jovic was broken earlier and was trailing 1-3 in the opening set. However, she recovered after a slow start to break Paolini in the fifth and the ninth game to win the opening set.

The Italian struggled with her serves in the second set too, as Jovic broke her four times. The American 18-year-old also lost her serve twice, but managed to bag the second set as well in a straight-sets win.

The win puts Jovic level with Paolini at 2-2, and this was the second straight win over the Italian, as she had also defeated her at the Australian Open earlier this year.

The American has now reached her seventh quarterfinal this season, and in five of her previous last-eight appearances, she has made it to the semifinals

Jovic has now marked her 20th win over a Top 50 opponent in the world, as Paolini was No. 35. This is also her 42nd tour-level win of the year, which is now Jovic's most prolific season yet.

She will now be facing either Alexandra Eala or French Open semifinalist Diana Shnaider. Jovic has an unbeaten record against both of them. She has a 3-0 head-to-head record against Eala and a 1-0 record against Shnaider.

Jovic is in good touch this season. She recently defended her Guadalajara Open title last month, having won it in 2025 too. Jovic had a breakthrough US Open, where she reached the fourth round for the first time.

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