Gauff, who turned pro at 14 years of age, has long been the youthful foil to more experienced opponents, but at 22 was the veteran to Jovic’s challenger on Monday and appeared unsettled by the dynamic early in the match.
“The way people ask the questions make it seem like I’m way older than them, and I have been around longer, obviously,” Gauff conceded back in January. “But I’m, like, ‘You guys, these are, like, my peers. We are the same. We are hanging out! We’re in the same age group.’”
Jovic capitalized on forehand errors from Gauff to capture the opening set and was on course for a straight-sets victory when she broke the two-time major champion for a 5-3 lead in the second. But the teenager visibly tightened from there and Gauff reeled off the next five games to level the match and open up a break lead in the decider.
Though Jovic kept things close early in the third, Gauff was ultimately able to pull away and secure her spot in the quarterfinals in just under three hours.
Awaiting her there will be either No. 21 seed Elise Mertens or No. 8 seed Mirra Andreeva, who is coming off a runner-up finish at last week’s Mutua Madrid Open.
