Jovic Beats Eala to Reach US Open R16

Iva Jovic needed more than three hours to finish Alexandra Eala on Arthur Ashe Stadium, winning 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 on Saturday night and punching her ticket to a US Open Round of 16 date with Coco Gauff, per ESPN and AFP.

The 14th-seeded American fell to the court when it ended. Flushing already knew her as a teen who keeps hanging around Week 2. Now she has Gauff waiting on Monday.

Sanity check on Ashe

"That felt like a marathon, and I felt like I lost my sanity five times over to win that match," Jovic said, per ESPN. "But it's really worth it for this feeling." Friends and sometime doubles partners off court, Jovic and Eala traded 17 service breaks across 33 games. Seven of those breaks came in the first 11 games alone, per AFP.

Jovic, 18, took the opener with four breaks, then dropped the second after Eala broke her three times. In the decider she trailed 4-2, broke back to 4-4 with a backhand return winner, and closed it with another forehand winner for match point when Eala netted. The Ashe crowd, loud for the Philippine star all night, still gave Jovic a roar when she finally stood up.

She has now reached a Grand Slam fourth round for the third time this year after Wimbledon and Roland Garros, plus an Australian Open quarterfinal. The next test is the biggest home draw of the week.

Gauff next, Americans still breathing

Fourth seed Gauff beat Cristina Bucsa 6-3, 6-4 earlier Saturday and is four wins from a second US Open title. An all-American Round of 16 means at least one U.S. player reaches the quarters. Jovic, Pegula, Townsend, and Navarro are still alive on the women's side with Gauff.

"I'm going to be more than happy to just bring this fight and this energy, and whatever happens, then I can leave with my head high," Jovic said. She already knows what Ashe feels like when the building chooses a side. Monday she gets the building and the defending French Open champion across the net.

Saturday belonged to the kid who refused to blink after three hours. Gauff gets the sequel.