Sam Querrey recently shared his admiration for rising American talent Iva Jovic, comparing her to the elite Coco Gauff. The former world No. 11 expressed his admiration for Jovic, praising her calm confidence and maturity and noting that she reminds him of Gauff’s poise in her teenage years.
Why Sam Querrey Compares Iva Jovic to a Young Coco Gauff
After concluding her campaigns at the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open, Jovic entered the WTA 500 tournament, the Charleston Open, sponsored by Credit One. She competed at the LTP Daniel Island Tennis Center as the fourth seed, alongside top talent.
In her tournament run, the 18-year-old defeated talents including Alycia Parks in the round of 32, Sofia Kenin in the round of 16, and Anna Kalinskaya in the quarterfinals, before falling to eventual champion Jessica Pegula in the semifinals. She finished her run impressively and also competed notably at the Australian Open, Hobart International, and ASB Classic.
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Her confidence and maturity, despite her young age, earned her admiration from Querrey, the winner of 10 ATP singles and five doubles titles.
During a recent episode of the “Nothing Major Show” alongside former professionals John Isner and Steve Johnson, the San Francisco native shared that Jovic reminds him of young Gauff, noting their similar traits of a calm mentality, confidence on and off the court, and competence.
He said, “The way she speaks and talks reminds me of, like, Coco Gauff a little bit. The way Coco handled herself at 16-17 years old. Iva, kind of like I feel like there’s some comparisons, the way they conduct themselves off the court.”
In her Sunshine Double, Gauff exited the Indian Wells Open in the round of 32 against Alexandra Eala due to an injury to her left arm. At the Miami Open’s Hard Rock Stadium, the American star reached the title match after defeating Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Alycia Parks, Sorana Cîrstea, Belinda Bencic, and KarolÃna Muchová.
However, she lost the title to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who also won the Indian Wells Open title, successfully completing her Sunshine Double. Meanwhile, after the Charleston Open, Jovic is set to make her debut at the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers by Gainbridge alongside top-notch players Hailey Baptiste, McCartney Kessler, Caty McNally, and Nicole Melichar.
Team USA, which has won 18 Billie Jean King Cup titles, will be coached by Lindsay Davenport and will face Team Belgium from April 10-11 at the Coretec Dome in Ostend, Belgium.
