Iva Jovic vs Yulia Putintseva Australian Open Prediction 1/25/2026 Today’s Tennis Picks

Iva Jovic and Yulia Putintseva clash for a spot in the Australian Open quarterfinals. The match is scheduled for Sunday, January 25. Here’s our Iva Jovic vs Yulia Putintseva prediction. This preview will also include an Iva Jovic vs Yulia Putintseva pick

Iva Jovic vs Yulia Putintseva Preview

Iva Jovic is enjoying her career-best run in a Grand Slam at the 2026 Australian Open. The 18-year-old has booked her spot in the last 16 in Melbourne following an incredible performance against No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini. It was Jovic’s biggest win of her young career and her first against a top 10 player. Jovic dominated the diminutive Italian in the first set, breaking her serve three times and racing to a 6-2 lead.

Neither looked comfortable on serve in the second set, which featured six breaks in total, and a tiebreak was needed to determine the outcome. Jovic secured two late mini breaks towards the end to win it 7-3. In the victory, Jovic hit 20 winners and 25 unforced errors. That included 3 aces and 2 double faults. Jovic landed 58% of first serves in play and won 59% of first serve points (20/34). Jovic won 56% of second serve points (14/25) and saved two of six break points. Jovic has not dropped a set in the tournament so far and has beaten Katie Volynets and Priscila Hon earlier in the week.

Yulia Putintseva is back in form and is back in a Grand Slam fourth round for the first time since Wimbledon 2024, when she stunned Iga Swiatek. Putintseva had a terrible 2025 season and entered this year’s Australian Open ranked 94th, just enough to avoid the hurdle of qualifying, having fallen from a career-high No. 20 in the last 12 months.

Putinseva had a great draw and she capitalized on seeds falling. The highest-ranked player she faced was 60th-ranked Elsa Jaquemot, who had little left in the tank after a brutal marathon match against Marta Kostyuk in the opening round. Putintseva then knocked out Zeynep Sonmez in front of a rowdy Turkish crowd before riling them up following the win that secured her spot in the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time.

Iva Jovic vs Yulia Putintseva Head-To-Head

Jovic and Putintseva have never played before, so this will be their first career meeting.

Iva Jovic vs Yulia Putintseva Prediction

Jovic is odds-on to make her first Grand Slam quarterfinal with 10 wins from 12 this season, but this is a matchup where Putintseva will thrive being the underdog. Putintseva brings something completely different here. The Kzakh is a flashy player who has mastered every trick in the book and she won’t play into Jovic’s strike zones. She will look to extend rallies and change patterns with slices and moon balls if need be, and force an extra decision on every ball. That’s where young players can leak errors. And if Putintseva can scrap her way for every hold, she might grind out another unlikely win.

Nur Said's Pick: Putintseva set handicap +1.5