Werribee rising tennis star Masa Jovanovic will feature in her first Grand Slam after earning a wildcard into the Australian Open mixed doubles with playing partner Samuel Thompson.
Jovanovic’s focus on singles was subverted by an out-of-the-blue phone call from Thompson last year.
A long-time friend through tennis, Thompson asked Jovanovic if she was interested in trying her hand at mixed doubles for the first time in her career.
She was hesitant at first before deciding to give it a go.
“We’ve known each other since we were little kids,” Jovanovic said.
“I was in Cairns playing singles challengers and he was like, ‘hey, do you want to play?’ … I got back to him and said, ‘yes’.”
It turned out to be a great decision. The duo immediately clicked on court, taking all before them in qualifying.
They sealed a berth in their home grand slam after upsetting the top-seeded Gavin Van Peperzeel and Ashling Sumner 4-1 in a Fast4 format final.
“Words can’t explain it, it’s pretty awesome,” Jovanovic said. “We’re over the moon.
“I don’t think it’s going to sink in until we get out there on court in our first mixed doubles match.”
Jovanovic (above) said the pair’s playing styles were fairly adaptable.
Her strength is on the backhand, while Thompson has power on the forehand.
The key to their success is communication.
Jovanovic, 20, arrived in Australia as a three-year-old when her parents, Momir and Eva, moved their family from Serbia.
She attended Woodville Primary School and later completed her VCE at MacKillop College.
The family is proud to call Werribee home and honoured to be able to represent the town on a stage as big as the Australian Open.
“We’re proud because we’ve been in Werribee from day one when we arrived from Serbia,” Eva said.
“We like this area … we know how some other people from the other side of the city look at Werribee … that’s why we’re proud that someone like Masa is coming from Werribee.”
Eva knew her daughter only ever wanted one thing in life and that was to become a professional tennis player.
That came as no surprise because Momir was both a physical education teacher and tennis coach back in Serbia.
“We decided to keep her at school to finish high school and after that she could do what she wanted,” Eva said. “She always wanted to be a pro tour tennis player and she’s doing extremely well.”
Momir has had a massive influence on Jovanovic’s career. He is her coach and has sacrificed his own career to be there every step of the way.
He washes dishes for a big hotel in the city at night and trains Jovanovic during the day before catching some sleep and repeating the routine the next day.
“He’s given so much to me it’s ridiculous,” Jovanovic said. “Coach, dad – I mean, he gets on my nerves sometimes because he’s my dad and he’s not just a random coach, but he does so much for me.
“He does night shift and then after the shift he comes home … we head to training in the morning, he comes back home and sleeps it off and then we repeat.
“He’s awesome, I love him for it – hopefully it will pay off one day.”
Jovanovic has a positive feeling about 2015 after last year was ravaged by a rotator cuff injury.
This year has already been memorable. Last week she faced Alicia Molik and Josh Frydenberg in an exhibition game at Melbourne Park for Rafa’s Summer Set charity event.
Jovanovic is confident she and Thompson can go beyond the first round at the open, while later in the week she will represent MCC Tennis Club in the Asia-Pacific Tennis League finals.
