Iva Jovic saw her best Wimbledon run ended by Jessica Pegula in the fourth round.
Jovic won the first set against Pegula, but was ultimately beaten 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
This was the third time that Jovic had played Pegula this year, having now lost all three matches against her fellow American.
After exiting Wimbledon, Jovic has admitted the areas of her game that she thinks need to improve if she is to break the top 10.
Iva Jovic admits she is ‘disappointed’ with how she served vs Jessica Pegula
Jovic is still only 18 years old and is already a top 20 player, but she is still hoping for more of herself.
Novak Djokovic has previously called Jovic a future number one, but she has stated the improvements she still feels she needs to make.
This started with her serve, which Jovic admitted she was disappointed in after hitting just 55% of her first serves in play, and winning only 48% of those points when her first serve was in.
“Well, I think in general I didn’t serve well in the whole match,” Jovic said in her post-match press conference. “In the first I got away with it because she was also serving a bit lower percentage, so I was able to break her a lot.
“I was kind of just living and dying off of being able to break serve, which she made the adjustment and she started playing with a little more spin on her serve and breaking my rhythm on the returns and making her first-serve percentage go up. Mine stayed low (smiling).
“So yeah, little disappointed in myself that I wasn’t able to make better adjustments with that. Something I really need to work on.”
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When asked a follow-up question about her serve, Jovic suggested that it was a mental issue she was having, as she made a comment about Aryna Sabalenka.
“Honestly, that’s a great question. I would love to see the response of someone like Aryna or something like that who has such a great serve and has such a great weapon,” added Jovic. “I wonder what they do in those moments. I could probably take a page from their books.
“For me, like, you get almost a little anxious if you’re not feeling your serve, because then you feel the pressure of playing behind your second. It just a little bit deteriorates your game when you don’t have the confidence that you can hold. I think that’s what kind of happened.
“Then I got a little bit even more anxious in trying to go for these big serves instead of just trying to go for less and trust from the ground. I think it’s the problem of the panic that it kind of gets into when you feel you’re not serving well.
“Again, like, obviously it’s early in my career, so I think it’s something I can get much better at. But I’m not very patient (smiling). I would love to get it better ASAP.”
Later on in her press conference, Jovic was asked about how she feels her level compares against top players after losing to world number four Pegula.
When responding to this, Jovic admitted that she was most hoping to improve her first two shots in points, which she suggested could be the game changer to help her become a top 10 player.
“I mean, I think my results and everything speak for where I’m at right now,” answered Jovic. “I think every loss I have had in this European swing has been in three sets.
“Obviously I had a good win against Amanda [Anisimova] in Queen’s. So I think I’m where I’m at, you know. I’m somewhere in the top 20. I don’t know where exactly. But in order for me to break the top 10 and consistently get to that level, I just need to keep improving.
“Yeah, the first two shots in the point, once you’re more stable with those, I think you can consistently beat the top players. Getting closer, but need to work a little bit more to get there.”
Jovic has now played nine matches against top 10 players, with her two wins coming over Jasmine Paolini and Amanda Anisimova.
Where will Iva Jovic be ranked after Wimbledon?
Jovic will gain 200 ranking points for reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon, and is currently forecast to climb up to a new career-high of world number 15 in the live rankings.
The American teenager is still some way from breaking the top 10 in terms of points, as she trails current live world number 10 Victoria Mboko by 944 points.
However, Jovic is in a strong position in the live race to the WTA Finals, where she currently sits in 13th spot.
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Jovic will now turn her attention to the North American hard court swing, which she will begin at the Washington Open.
The 18-year-old is also expected to compete at the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open, before Jovic returns to her home Grand Slam at the US Open.
