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Sports · Wimbledon 2026 · Women's Singles · Round of 32
Iva Jovic vs Ekaterina Alexandrova — 6-3 3-6 6-4
 Iva Jovic✓ | 6 | 3 | 6 |
| Ekaterina Alexandrova | 3 | 6 | 4 |
Final · Friday, July 3, 2026 · Round of 32
Result
Jovic beat Alexandrova 6-3 3-6 6-4 in a tight seed-on-seed third round. The winner count finished level at 31-all, but Jovic was sharper on break chances, converting 5 of 9 while Alexandrova went 4 of 18.
Iva JovicStats: Official wimbledon.com match statistics (IBM) · as of 2026-07-09
Rows the source hadn’t published are left off rather than guessed.
At this Stage
Jovic is into the last 16 after the kind of three-set win that makes a seed number feel earned. Alexandrova took the middle set and generated 18 break chances, but Jovic held the match together long enough to win 6-3 3-6 6-4 and book Jessica Pegula next. That is a very different test: less pace, more order, fewer loose games offered for free. Alexandrova exits after beating Udvardy and Tararudee; Jovic adds Cristian and Alexandrova to a run that now has a top-four seed waiting across the net.
Iva Jovic✓Round of 64
Round of 32
What we know now
What I said beforehand
The preview, frozen before the first serve. Clearly dated, never rewritten — that's the deal that makes the pick worth anything.
Alexandrova, narrowly, in the section's best pure ball-striking matchup. The No. 18 seed is one of the tour's most natural grass players — flat, low, first-strike tennis — and she beat Jovic in their only meeting, a three-setter at the 2024 US Open when the American was still a wildcard. But Jovic at 18 is a different proposition: seeded 16th, conceding just nine games through two rounds, and hitting through opponents rather than around them. This is close to a pick-em; the veteran's grass track record is the tiebreaker. Whoever serves better first wins in straight sets.
The case for Iva Jovic
45% to winJovic is the youngest seed in the draw and has been the more dominant player this week — 7-6(1) 6-0, then 6-1 6-2, nine games conceded in total. Their 2024 meeting went three sets when she was a teenage wildcard; two years of improvement later, the power balance may have flipped.
The case for Ekaterina Alexandrova
55% to winAlexandrova's game was built for July: flat drives that stay below the knees, quick points, and no interest in rallies. She has won a grass title-winner's share of matches on the surface over her career, took their only prior meeting, and has been solid if unspectacular through two rounds.
Both cases written 2026-07-02, before the first ball — frozen into the record exactly as written, whatever the result. The percentages are mine, quoted to a decimal because false precision is funnier — and tennis has no draw to hide the rounding in.
My locked pick: Ekaterina Alexandrova to advance ✗ WRONG
“Near a pick-em with the surging teenager; the veteran's grass track record and the 1-0 head-to-head break the tie.”
Locked 2026-07-02 16:05 UTC — rendered verbatim from the pick ledger; never a fresher, hedged version
Tale of the tape
Iva JovicEkaterina AlexandrovaPlayer vitals: ATP Tour player profiles and Wikipedia (career records) · as of 2026-07-09.
Storylines
- Seeds 18 and 16 collide in round three — the draw's tightest pairing by ranking.
- Jovic, 18, has dropped just nine games in two rounds, the most dominant start in this half of the women's draw.
- Alexandrova won their only prior meeting in three sets at the 2024 US Open; they have never played on grass.
Head to head
Alexandrova leads 1-0, from a three-setter at the 2024 US Open; a first meeting on grass.
Source: TennisTemple head-to-head · as of 2026-07-02.
Court & schedule: Court 12 (TennisTemple match stats and ESPN scoreboard, as of 2026-07-03)
Venue: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London — grass.