ROLAND GARROS

May 26, 2026

Iva Jovic

Press Conference

I. JOVIC/A. Eala

6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Iva, congratulations. Into the second round here at Roland Garros. Can you just give us your overall takeaways for your performance and the match in general.

IVA JOVIC: I think it was a tough one. Alex is a great player. One of the, I think toughest first rounds, especially as a seed, that I could have gotten. But I hung tough when I needed to, and happy to get it done in straights.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You had 34 winners today, so you went out and hit big. Coming in here, how do you keep up maybe the aggressive green-light approach on a surface that oftentimes will reward more patience?

IVA JOVIC: I think it's about just being a little bit smarter with the way you're playing offense. I would say that's more so when it's night and it's raining and it's cold. The conditions are quite lively, especially when you play during the day, and it's so hot.

The clay is pretty thin here, so almost it rewards regression in a little bit than some other clay courts, like Rome or some other slower surfaces. So I think I can get away with being aggressive and playing that type of tennis.

Just a little bit smarter with playing to the corners a little bit more. Not just rushing the near.

Q. Where do you think your biggest areas of growth have been over the last -- over the first half of this year?

IVA JOVIC: Good question.

Q. Thank you.

IVA JOVIC: I think I'm playing with better shape. My shots, both forehand and backhand, have more weight on them, so just the overall ball quality is higher, and they're not able to attack me as easily.

I think my defense has gotten better, and the serve is a work in progress, but I think that's making strides as well. So those couple of things.

Q. I actually wanted to ask about that defense. How do you go about getting better at defense? Is it more of a mental thing or something in footwork that you've been working with?

IVA JOVIC: I think getting better in defense is one of those things where it's just the good old, boring work. You have to be on the court, and you have to someone feed you side to side, and you have to run, and you have to run, and then you have to run again until you drop.

I did a lot of running. I dug out a lot of balls. I got a lot of clay all over myself in practice. That's how you practice defense I think.

Then there's also the mental part of being willing. I think in the beginning you're not even willing -- it's almost like an ego thing. It's like, what, they attacked me? What are you talking about? So you have to be willing to play defense, and then you just have to freaking run a lot in practice.

Q. Do you feel this is a surface where you can have as much fun as hard court the more you play on it, or do you feel is it going to be the one where you have to pay a special effort to enjoy it?

IVA JOVIC: I think it's not about the enjoyment. I love playing tennis on every surface. I love playing tennis.

But it's just a little bit more some tactical adjustments that I need to make, because it's not the surface I grew up playing on. From an enjoyment level, I love it.

I think it also makes tennis a little bit more interesting in ways, because it's a bit slower, and there's more comebacks and momentum shifts, because it's not as much first strike.

Sometimes on the hard court if you go down a break or two breaks, that set's probably done, right? But here you can come back at any moment.

Q. Obviously you're coming up against a good friend of yours. I know you guys are all professionals, and you kind of have to do that a lot of the time, but I wonder, was there anything strange about coming up against Alex today, and did anything about her game surprise you?

IVA JOVIC: I think there is no secrets there. We've practiced together a ton. We've played doubles together a ton. So I think we both know our tendencies, and everyone was ready for the other one.

It was just about who was going to play their game a bit better that day. She's definitely one of my closest friends on tour. I have so much respect for her as a person and a player. You know, we had a big hug before the match, a big hug after. No bad blood there. I'm sure there will be many more matches, and she'll get me a couple of times too, so that's tennis.

Q. What are your thoughts on your next match?

IVA JOVIC: Yeah, I think the French Open handed me a tricky draw here, honestly, but it's really tough. I think Emma is obviously -- I played her last week, so that's going to be a little bit of a rematch. She's playing I think kind of prime Navarro right now and on a little bit of a tear.

So I'm expecting her to play at the very highest level, and it's just going to be about me making some adjustments from last week and being able to sustain that high level throughout one, two, three sets, no matter how long it takes and not having any dips, because you know, when someone is playing well like that and on a tear, if you give them a little bit, then they'll take it.

Q. Do you have any thoughts on Emma's journey, because she struggled a little bit in the past?

IVA JOVIC: I think what she's done for herself is amazing. I don't know all the personal things she's dealt with, but coming from college and then transitioning herself onto the pro tour, she had an incredibly fast, rapid rise onto the pros. Breaking into the top 10.

Then a little bit of a slower start to the year, but I think she's very grounded, keeps a cool head, even when she's winning or losing. I think that's kind of what has helped her get back on track this year.

Now she's definitely back playing at the top of the game. So good for her, and yeah, she's a nice girl.