At the 2026 Australian Open, youngsters Iva Jovic and Victoria Mboko teamed up for the women’s doubles event.
The pair, aged 18 and 19, contested a marathon match against Elise Mertens and Shuai Zhang, eventually losing the contest 5-7, 6-4, 6-7.
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Jovic and Mboko were remarkably close to upsetting the fourth seeds, but ultimately fell 10-12 in the final set tiebreak.
Jovic has since reflected on the contest, saying the match was the most ‘outrageous’ of her life.
Iva Jovic reacts to the most ‘outrageous’ match of her life with Victoria Mboko
Speaking to Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula on the Player’s Box Podcast, Jovic said: “We played [Elise] Mertens and [Shuai] Zhang and this was the most outrageous, not just doubles match, but tennis match in my life.
“I think it was three hours long. I had played singles earlier that day. We had three match points and we lost, but the quality of tennis was a joke. We were everywhere, changing sides, everything.
“I literally told Mertens and Zheng after they beat us in that match that they have to win the tournament, because it was crazy.
“And then they went and won the tournament! So we have like a running joke now, and I am just telling them go and win now.
“At 8-8 in the tiebreak I had the most tight moment ever, but it was good.”
As for their singles performances, Mboko reached the fourth round, while Jovic defeated Jasmine Paolini on her way to the last eight.
As for Mertens and Zhang, they went on to win the Australian Open Women’s Doubles title, defeating Anna Dalinina and Aleksandra Krunic in the final.
Recapping Jovic and Mboko’s titanic battle against Mertens and Zhang
Jovic and Mboko came ever so close to upsetting the odds against Mertens and Zhang.
After splitting the first two sets, the North American pairing were in full control of the match, leading 4-1 in the final set.
However, Mertens and Zhang quickly demonstrated their title-winning credentials by winning the next three games before forcing a tiebreak.
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In the tiebreak, Mboko and Jovic had a match point at 10-9. However, they lost the next three points, and the match.
After the contest, Jovic told reporters in Melbourne: “Yeah, I mean, me and Vicky signed up for this doubles for fun. We went to the first match, and we were not sure if there was ads. So we were asking the ref, Do we play ads? What’s going on here?
“Then we realised there were ads, and I didn’t realise until today that there was a third set. So I was, like, Oh, my God, what? This is going to be three times longer than my singles match. Then it went 6 in the third.
“But at that point, I was like, all right. I don’t know if you guys saw it, but one of the most unbelievable doubles matches I’ve ever played. It was outrageous. The crowd was going crazy. There were so many long points.
“It was a lot of fun. My soul is a little hurt that we lost that one, because it got so close, and I wanted that win.
“So it’s weird to be talking about singles right now. After playing that, my mind is on doubles, but it was fun. I’m glad to be in the singles, and me and Vicky had a lot of fun.”
