Days after becoming the pantomime villain of the tournament, Putintseva “collapsed” under the pressure of Jovic’s aggressive forehands, which contributed to 15 unforced errors.
After defeating Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez in front of a hostile crowd on Friday, Putintseva celebrated by putting her ear to the crowd, kissing and performing a dance on the court to jeers from the crowd. But on Sunday, Jovic’s control allowed for no drama, and the biggest cheers came after the fifth game of the second set, when Putintseva finally broke through and hit the score.
“I’m really happy to have done it,” Jovic said. “Obviously the score is favorable, but it doesn’t matter how you do it. I just wanted to do it and I felt like if I let her come back a little bit, it would become a fight. So I tried to keep it as far as possible and [I’m] I’m glad we’re in the final.”
Jovic’s next opponent, Sabalenka, had a tricky but straight sets win over Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko.
Sabalenkova cruised through the first set 6-1 and looked set to wrap up the match within the hour after taking a 4-1 lead in the second set.
But Mboko fired again and saved three match points as Sabalenka served for the match to send the second set into a tie-break.
Victory roar from Aryna Sabalenková.Credit: Eddie Jim
Unfortunately for Mboko, Sabalenka has won 19 consecutive tie-breaks in Grand Slam matches, starting at Roland-Garros in 2023, and stormed home to win the second set 7-6 (7-1).
“What an incredible player for such a young age. It’s incredible to see these kids come on tour,” she said.
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“I can’t believe I’m saying this, I feel like I’m still a kid. Incredible player, she really pushed me a lot today. Super happy to win, in straight sets again, played incredible tennis, pushed me so much and happy she came through.”
Sabalenkova said of her incredible tie-break record – now 20 in a row at Grand Slam level – that the buzz around her record has put pressure on her opponents.
“I go into tie-breaks, I try not to think about it being a tie-break, to play point by point, and I think that’s the key to that consistency.”
Third seed Coco Gauff needed three sets, four match points and almost two hours to overcome 18th seed Karolina Muchova to reach the quarter-finals, celebrating with a fist pump and a shout of victory to the crowd.
After finally sealing a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win on her fourth match point, an emotional Gauff said her fitness was good for three sets.
Winner: Coco Gauff celebrates her victory.Credit: Eddie Jim
“I’m not tired yet. I’m 21. Maybe that’s why,” Gauff said.
The American will face the winner of eighth-seeded Mirra Andreeva of Russia and 12th-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, whose fourth-round clash will conclude on Sunday evening.
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