There’s a lot going on in tennis: practice, training, diet, and all the things that go into playing a match. But for Serbian young gun Bojana Jovanovski, arriving at the right time and in the right city is more than enough.
It was August last year when Jovanovski, scheduled to play at a tournament in Carlsbad, California mistakenly arrived at a nearly empty airport in Carlsbad, New Mexico—1500 km short.
She ended up playing her first-round match half an hour after landing in the right Carlsbad—amazingly managing to win the opening set before eventually losing in three—in one of the ultimate travel mishap stories.
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“Now it’s funny, but at the time, not really,” she laughed. “I can’t believe it happened to me, because I’m travelling a lot, but it wasn’t my mistake because Serbian agencies are always doing the tickets for me, so I didn’t check.”
Jovanovski, currently ranked 72, comes into 2012 as the second youngest player inside the top 80, ringing in the new year with a convincing first-round win over Australia’s Casey Dellacqua, 6-4 6-2 on Sunday.
Last year proved groundbreaking for the Serbian, reaching her first WTA semifinal in Sydney before breaking into the top 50 for the first time in May as one of the youngest players—she celebrated her twentieth birthday on New Year’s Eve last Saturday.
“I was here in some Serbian Club, so it was so nice. There were a lot of Serbian people there and I feel like I’m home,” she said.
Jovanovski is just like a normal young 20-year-old, listing her favourite actor as Ashton Kutcher and her favourite singer Justin Timberlake. But now, no longer a teenager on the tour, does she feel any wiser?
“I feel the same,” she laughed. “I don’t think something changed in my life so we will see.”
But, the highlight of 2011 for Jovanovski—nicknamed Bojo on the tour—was winning the Fed Cup heart award in Serbia, a true testament to her attitude.
“It’s the best feeling. I played against Canada almost alone without Ana and Jelena, so it was big pressure on me and because it was the first time I feel that way. I play a lot of tournaments, but it’s not the same,” she said.
“Everybody in Serbia was like I have to win two matches because we don’t have a good second player and that was a really big experience for me. After that I really improved my game and I changed my thinking about some things.”
With Serbian tennis surging in recent years, Jovanovski said being on tour with the likes of men’s world No.1 Novak Djokovic and former No.1 women Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic has been a cornerstone in her success at such a young age.
“It’s good experience. They help me a lot in my career from the beginning, because I always was the third in the team. So I learn from them, they help me, they give me some advice and they’re so nice with me really,” she said.
Now in her second round, Jovanovski faces a centre court challenge against one of the greats of women’s tennis, Serena Williams, who has won an incredible 39 singles titles and more than 350 more matches than the young Serbian.
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At the US Open last August, Williams cruised passed Jovanovski 6-1 6-1 in the opening round, and when Bojo saw the draw her reaction was an honest one.
“It’s always like, ‘Oh my God’ why so difficult,” she laughed. “I played her in the US Open first round, so I’m never lucky in the draw.”
But Jovanovski is looking forward to a much better match today. She loves playing in front of big crowds and looks at this match as a chance to improve her game by playing such an accomplished player.
“At the US Open I got to the match so afraid, scared. It was the night match, a lot of people watching,” she said.
“For 15 minutes I didn’t put any ball in the court, but I will try to just to be myself, to go from the first point, to play the best I can.”
“It’s also very good experience to play against the big players like Serena, because that way you can improve your game and play much better. So I’m looking forward to playing my best and of course try to win.”
Jovanovski will take on Williams third on at Pat Rafter Arena today, with the winner set to play Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, who won in three sets against qualifier Vania King on Tuesday.