Jovic, from the United States, opened the day with a 7-6, 6-4 win over Czech player Sara Bejlek.
The first set was tight, with Bejlek using heavy spin to disrupt Jovic’s timing and rhythm, forcing the American to problem-solve.
"It was great match. I think she brought a good level," Jovic said.
"She was trying to break my rhythm a little bit.
"In the beginning, I was struggling with the spin of her ball, but I’m glad that I was able to find my way into the court and improve my court positioning."
The opening set eventually moved to a tiebreaker after Jovic missed chances to close it out earlier. Rather than retreat, she leaned into aggression at the key moments and won the tiebreaker 7-3.
"I was telling myself to be aggressive, and usually the fortune does favour the brave one way or another," Jovic said.
"So I told myself to go after it, and I was executing. When you go out on your terms, even if you lose at least you didn’t leave anything on the table."
Once she secured the first set, Jovic was able to impose herself more consistently in the second to close out the match in straight sets.
"The second set played out a little more on my terms, which is how I want to play. So I’m glad I was just able to make adjustments."
Despite advancing, Jovic said she remained focused on incremental improvement and not getting carried away by victories.
"I’m pretty good at not getting over the top after I win," she said.
"The losing is the one I need to work on. But I’m definitely going to go out on the practice court after this, so the work doesn’t stop."
That match was followed by a very different contest, with Britain’s Jones recovering from a slow start to defeat Austrian qualifier Sinja Kraus 1-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Jones dropped the opening set heavily and trailed 3-0 in the second before gradually finding her footing.
"I tried to take myself out of the situation a little bit, forget what was happening, and try and start new," Jones said.
"Just make it tougher, use my experience. But the conditions are so different during the day in comparison to the night, and it took me a while, clearly, to get used to it. And with her ball speed, it makes it even harder."
As the match wore on, Jones focused less on momentum and more on making each point competitive.
"When you feel so uncomfortable on the court, you ignore the momentum to an extent.
"I know that I want to keep making her play every point. But honestly, it was very much point by point."
Later, also in the round of 16, Xinyu Wang, of China, beat Mexico’s Renata Zrazua 7-5, 6-4, and in the battle of the qualifiers, Sofia Costoulas, of Belgium, beat Spain’s Kaitlin Quevedo, 6-2, 6-0. — Allied Media
