Court 15 sits in a quiet corner of Flushing Meadows, hidden on one side by a row of hedges and trees, dwarfed on the other by the towering stands of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
On Monday night, however, the spotlight illuminated this unspectacular slice of hard court, where a remarkable US Open story was unfolding. Hundreds of fans were drawn here – and so were the flies.
Bugs swarmed all around as Iva Jovic, the youngest player in the women’s singles draw, made her Grand Slam debut. Supporters, ball boys and players were peppered with unwanted guests throughout this first-round match.
Hardly ideal for the American teenager, who is still just 16 and ranked No 389 in the world. Especially when this was also her first main-draw match at WTA level.
No matter. The California native – born to Serbian immigrant parents – batted away the flies and she overcame a few other mild inconveniences, too.
Namely: age, experience, pedigree, and a pocket of Polish fans determined to dash her dream.
They failed and so did world No 42 Magda Linette, a former Grand Slam semifinalist, who was beaten 6-4 6-3 by the 16-year-old.
Coco Gauff was only 15 when, in 2019, she stunned Venus Williams at Williams and announced herself as a star of future.
Her Grand Slam debut came on Court No 1 and, five years on, she walked out on Arthur Ashe as the defending US Open champion.
A few hours later, Jovic began life in the majors in far less glamorous surrounds. By the time she headed home on Monday night, however, the teen had established herself as one of the early stars of this tournament.
Linette’s Grand Slam career began nearly a decade ago and reached its peak at last year’s Australian Open, when she reached the last four.
Her hopes of going any further here ended on night one. Unfortunately for the 32-year-old, she had no answer for Jovic’s gritty defense.
