By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, January 24, 2026Photo credit: Australian Open Facebook
Novak Djokovic knows what it takes to climb to the top of the tennis mountain.
The Grand Slam king is convinced Iva Jovic has all the skills to scale the sport’s summit.
In the aftermath of Djokovic’s 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) Australian Open third-round win over Botic van de Zandschulp on Saturday night, he made a bold claim: 18-year-old Jovic is a future world No. 1.
Djokovic, who is friendly with Jovic and her parents, Serbian immigrants to California, gave the 29th-seeded American shrewd tactical advice that she applied in her 6-2, 7-3(3) upset of seventh-seeded Jasmine Paolini on Friday.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion said Jovic has the key qualities to rise to the top and win Grand Slam titles.
“I got to know Iva last year for the first time. She’s so young and she’s already making great strides in the rankings and making some great results—she’s in the last 16. So we ran into each other yesterday in the press area and I got to share some observations of her game,” Djokovic told Hall of Famer Jim Courier in his on-court interview. “I guess [what I told her] stays between us. I saw that she did give away in her press conference what I told her. That’s fine. It’s up to her if she wants to share.
“Obviously, I really like her. She’s a great girl and really nice family. Obviously, I feel more emotionally connected to her because of her Serbian background. So I try even more. She has all the tools to be a future champion—to be a future No. 1—and that’s exactly what I wish for her.”
World No. 27 Jovic has dropped just 16 games in three tournament victories setting up a fourth-round showdown with agent provocateur Yulia Putintseva. The winner of that Sunday meeting will play either world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka or 17th-seeded Victoria Mboko in the AO quarterfinals.
Jovic credited the advice from 10-time AO champion Djokovic delivered as a key to her upset of former Wimbledon finalist Paolini.
“Yeah, actually I spoke to Novak yesterday a little bit. So it was pretty incredible,” Jovic said. “He gave me some very attentive tips for my game and something I can try to incorporate into this match that I just played.
“So that was one of the things in the forefront of my mind, because I think when Novak gives you some advice, you follow it.”
One piece of advice Djokovic shared was work the width of the court in addition to driving the ball deep and try to construct points with a bit more patience.
“Yeah, it was just to open up the court a little bit better, to not rush into the shots all the time, find somemore width,” Jovic said. “So I tried to do that, and it ended well. So I’m just going to try to keep listening to Novak.”
