Rising stars keep emerging! Young American advances to quarterfinals without dropping a set

The seeded players in both men’s and women’s singles at this year’s Australian Open have performed quite solidly overall. Among the 16 players advancing to the round of 16, only three women—Putintseva, Wang Xinyu, and Engelis—are unseeded, while the men’s draw is even more consistent, with all 16 players being seeded, the lowest ranked being the 25th seed, Lenar Chan.

All of the top eight men’s seeds have reached the round of 16, and well-known players like Bublik, Medvedev, Fritz, and Ruud have also maintained steady performances.

Today, our focus is on the absolute new generation in tennis—the post-2005 players. Among them, the American born in 2007, Jovic, stands out as a major rising star at this Australian Open.

In the recently concluded third round of the women’s singles, she overwhelmed Putintseva with a 6-0, 6-1 victory, making history by reaching the quarterfinals in only her sixth Grand Slam appearance, all while not dropping a single set throughout her progression.

Earlier, Jovic caused the biggest upset of this Australian Open by defeating the tournament’s 7th seed, Paolini, 6-2, 7-6, marking her first career win over a top-10 player.

“I just tried to open up the court better, avoiding rushed shots, and looked for more lateral attacking angles. I attempted this approach and it worked really well, so I will continue to follow Novak’s advice.”

It turns out this young American player has long been a fan of Djokovic. After beating Paolini, she said in an interview that her idol Djokovic had given her a lot of advice, which she actively applied during the match, clearly with great success.

According to the tournament draw, Jovic will next face the world No. 1 and top seed at this Australian Open, Sabalenka, who defeated another rising star, Mboko, in the fourth round.

A two-time champion of this event, Sabalenka has yet to lose a set this season and is currently on a nine-match winning streak in 2026. Having reached the Australian Open quarterfinals four years in a row, she has also made it to at least the quarterfinals in each of the last 13 Grand Slams she has played.

Undoubtedly, Jovic will face a formidable challenge in the quarterfinals, but as a young player, she still has many opportunities to achieve great results. She is also one of the under-20 players currently ranked inside the women’s singles top 100.

From highest to lowest ranking, the others include Andreyeva born in 2007, Mboko born in 2006, Jovic born in 2007, Joint born in 2006, Valentova born in 2007, and Belek born in 2006.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)