Elena Rybakina knocks out American teen Jovic to head into Australian Open third round

MELBOURNE: Elena Rybakina sent another teenager packing from the Australian Open on Thursday after the sixth seed overcame a second-set wobble to beat American wildcard Iva Jovic 6-0 6-3 and move into the third round.

Aged 17, Jovic was the youngest woman in the second round of the draw but looked well out of her depth in the opening set against the former Wimbledon champion, who is 184 rungs above her in the WTA rankings and a head taller. “She’s super young still,” Rybakina said.

“She plays already really good tennis, so (I’m) looking forward to playing another match against her,” she said.

Rybakina, who had dispatched 16-year-old Australian wildcard and junior world number one Emerson Jones in the first round, raced through the first set in just 27 minutes, firing 18 winners past the overwhelmed Jovic.

But with nothing to lose, the teen elevated her game in the second set to finally get on the board when she broke Rybakina after a marathon second game that went to deuce nine times, giving the American confidence to play her shots.

Jovic went 3-1 up as the crowd at John Cain Arena roared for the underdog, but Rybakina composed herself and quickly restored order by winning the next five games. She sealed her 50th Grand Slam match win on her second match point when a service return went long.

“I started really well and I think she needed a bit more time also to get used to the speed,” said Rybakina, a 2023 finalist at Melbourne Park.

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“Then I struggled a little bit in the second set but I’m pretty happy to get to another round.”

After cruising through the first two rounds, Rybakina’s biggest test will come in the third when she plays Ukrainian 32nd seed Dayana Yastremska, who reached the semi-finals last year as a qualifier.