Iva Jovic had to win this one the hard way.
The 18-year-old American beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon, surviving a match that kept swinging between clean ball-striking, missed openings and pressure points that shaped the entire contest.
Alexandrova had the bigger ace count. Both players finished with 31 winners. The unforced errors were almost level too, with Alexandrova at 35 and Jovic at 36.
The difference came in the biggest moments.
Jovic won 19 of the 27 pressure points. Alexandrova won only eight. Jovic saved 14 of 18 break points and converted five of her nine chances.
That is how a match this close became hers.
Now comes Jessica Pegula.
Jovic Strikes First After a Tense Opening
The first set was tight before the scoreboard finally opened.
Alexandrova had repeated break chances early, including a long first game and more looks at 1-1. Jovic kept escaping, and that became one of the stories of the match.
At 1-1, Jovic survived a marathon service game and then broke for 2-1. That gave her the space she needed in the opening set.
From there, she protected the lead well. Alexandrova held for 2-4 and 3-5, but Jovic kept the set on her racquet and closed it 6-3.
Alexandrova vs Jovic – Set 1 Stats
| Statistic | Alexandrova | Jovic |
|---|---|---|
| Dominance Ratio | 0.96 | 1.04 |
| Winners | 8 | 10 |
| Unforced Errors | 13 | 14 |
| Serve Rating | 265 | 290 |
| Aces | 3 | 0 |
| Double Faults | 1 | 0 |
| 1st Serve % | 60% (15/25) | 68% (32/47) |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 73% (11/15) | 59% (19/32) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 60% (6/10) | 63% (10/16) |
| Break Points Saved | 50% (1/2) | 100% (9/9) |
| Service Games | 75% (3/4) | 100% (5/5) |
| Ace % | 12% | 0% |
| Double Fault % | 4% | 0% |
| Return Rating | 79 | 142 |
| 1st Return Points Won | 41% (13/32) | 27% (4/15) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 38% (6/16) | 40% (4/10) |
| Break Points Won | 0% (0/9) | 50% (1/2) |
| Return Games | 0% (0/5) | 25% (1/4) |
| Pressure Points | 38% (8/21) | 62% (13/21) |
| Service Points | 60% (15/25) | 62% (29/47) |
| Return Points | 38% (18/47) | 40% (10/25) |
| Net Points | 50% (2/4) | 67% (2/3) |
| Total Points | 46% (33/72) | 54% (39/72) |
| Set 1 Duration | 0h53m | |
It was not a set full of separation.
It was a set full of Jovic refusing to give Alexandrova the break points she wanted.
Alexandrova Punches Back in the Second Set
Alexandrova’s response was immediate.
She held to start the second set, broke Jovic for 2-0, and pushed ahead 3-0. For a player who hits as flat and clean as Alexandrova, that kind of lead can change the whole feel of a match.
Jovic did break back for 3-1, but Alexandrova broke again for 4-2 and then held to love for 5-2.
This time, Jovic could not turn the set around.
Alexandrova served it out 6-3, forcing a decider and pulling the match into exactly the kind of high-risk territory that suited both players.
Alexandrova vs Jovic – Set 2 Stats
| Statistic | Alexandrova | Jovic |
|---|---|---|
| Dominance Ratio | 1.21 | 0.83 |
| Winners | 9 | 7 |
| Unforced Errors | 9 | 13 |
| Serve Rating | 280 | 224 |
| Aces | 2 | 0 |
| Double Faults | 1 | 1 |
| 1st Serve % | 68% (26/38) | 67% (14/21) |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 62% (16/26) | 64% (9/14) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 69% (9/13) | 44% (4/9) |
| Break Points Saved | 50% (1/2) | 0% (0/2) |
| Service Games | 80% (4/5) | 50% (2/4) |
| Ace % | 5.3% | 0% |
| Double Fault % | 2.6% | 4.8% |
| Return Rating | 242 | 139 |
| 1st Return Points Won | 36% (5/14) | 38% (10/26) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 56% (5/9) | 31% (4/13) |
| Break Points Won | 100% (2/2) | 50% (1/2) |
| Return Games | 50% (2/4) | 20% (1/5) |
| Pressure Points | 78% (7/9) | 22% (2/9) |
| Service Points | 61% (23/38) | 52% (11/21) |
| Return Points | 48% (10/21) | 39% (15/38) |
| Total Points | 56% (33/59) | 44% (26/59) |
| Set 2 Duration | 0h40m | |
Jovic Survives the Third-Set Roller Coaster
The final set was a mess of momentum, and Jovic somehow found the cleanest ending.
She broke immediately for 1-0 after Alexandrova had more chances to hold. Then came a long Jovic service game at 1-0, where Alexandrova again pushed hard for the break back. Jovic escaped for 2-0, then held the lead to 3-0.
Alexandrova did not go away.
She held for 1-3, broke for 2-3, held for 3-3, then broke again for 4-3. Suddenly, Jovic had lost four straight games and the match looked as if it had turned fully toward Alexandrova.
Instead, Jovic broke back for 4-4.
Then came the critical game.
At 4-4, Alexandrova had multiple chances to hold and move within a game of victory. Jovic stayed in the return game long enough to force the opening, then broke for 5-4.
From there, the American served it out.
A 3-0 lead had become 3-4. Then it became a 6-4 win.
That is not easy to do against a player with Alexandrova’s pace.
Alexandrova vs Jovic – Set 3 Stats
| Statistic | Alexandrova | Jovic |
|---|---|---|
| Dominance Ratio | 0.85 | 1.17 |
| Winners | 14 | 14 |
| Unforced Errors | 13 | 9 |
| Serve Rating | 199 | 224 |
| Aces | 1 | 2 |
| Double Faults | 0 | 1 |
| 1st Serve % | 70% (26/37) | 54% (21/39) |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 50% (13/26) | 52% (11/21) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 38% (5/13) | 57% (12/21) |
| Break Points Saved | 40% (2/5) | 71% (5/7) |
| Service Games | 40% (2/5) | 60% (3/5) |
| Ace % | 2.7% | 5.1% |
| Double Fault % | 0% | 2.6% |
| Return Rating | 160 | 232 |
| 1st Return Points Won | 48% (10/21) | 50% (13/26) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 43% (9/21) | 62% (8/13) |
| Break Points Won | 29% (2/7) | 60% (3/5) |
| Return Games | 40% (2/5) | 60% (3/5) |
| Pressure Points | 43% (10/23) | 57% (13/23) |
| Service Points | 46% (17/37) | 54% (21/39) |
| Return Points | 46% (18/39) | 54% (20/37) |
| Net Points | 78% (7/9) | 50% (2/4) |
| Total Points | 46% (35/76) | 54% (41/76) |
| Set 3Duration | 0h58m | |
The Pressure Points Tell the Match
The match stats were almost even everywhere except the moments that hurt most.
Winners: 31 each.
Unforced errors: 35 for Alexandrova, 36 for Jovic.
Dominance ratio: 0.96 for Alexandrova, 1.05 for Jovic.
Total points: 101 for Alexandrova, 106 for Jovic.
But on pressure points, Jovic crushed the category 19-8. That is the number that explains the result better than anything else.
She also saved 14 of 18 break points, a remarkable figure in a match where Alexandrova kept creating chances. Alexandrova converted only four of 18 break points. Jovic converted five of nine.
Five points across three sets. That was the margin.
A Young American With a Bigger Story Behind Her
Jovic is one of the youngest major names in American women’s tennis, and her rise has already moved quickly.
She was born in Torrance, California, lives in Los Angeles, and began playing tennis at five. Her family story is part of her tennis identity too: her father, Bojan, is from Leskovac, Serbia, and her mother, Jelena, is from Split, Croatia. Her older sister, Mia, also plays tennis at UCLA.
That background has helped make Jovic one of the more interesting young players on tour: American by flag, with Balkan roots, and already comfortable in matches where the emotional temperature rises.
Her junior career also prepared her for pressure. Jovic reached major junior stages and won Grand Slam girls’ doubles titles with Tyra Caterina Grant, including at Wimbledon in 2024.
Now she is making her own singles mark at the same tournament.
Pegula Is Next, and That Is a Different Test
Jovic’s reward is a fourth-round match against Jessica Pegula.
That is a major test for a different reason.
Alexandrova gave Jovic pace, risk and heavy first-strike tennis. Pegula will give her something more controlled: clean returns, early timing, court position and very little panic. Pegula just beat Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-1, 6-3 in a match built on return pressure and tidy service games.
Jovic will not get many cheap openings.
She will need the same nerve she showed against Alexandrova, but with less chaos to feed from. Pegula is one of the best players in the draw at making opponents feel as if every loose decision gets punished.
For Jovic, that makes the next match fascinating.
She has the power to hurt Pegula.
But she will have to earn every opening.