London, Great Britain, 14 July 2024 | Leigh Rogers

When Emerson Jones celebrated her 16th birthday at Wimbledon earlier this week, it proved quite forgettable.

“Waiting around the courts all day because it was raining, that was all I did,” she said.

Thankfully, it has turned into a more memorable birthday week for the Gold Coast teen.

Jones continued her impressive progression in the Wimbledon 2024 girls’ singles competition today, scoring a 7-5 6-1 victory against American Iva Jovic in the semifinals.

“It was a really, really exciting day,” said an elated Jones, after surviving a spirited challenge from the sixth seed to triumph in 85 minutes.

A tight first set was full of momentum swings. Jones won the first three games, then the 16-year-old Jovic claimed the next four.

“I played pretty solid at the start and she definitely upped her game,” Jones noted.

At five-all, Jones reeled off eight consecutive points to secure the opening set.

She maintained her momentum by holding in a marathon opening game in the second set, where she saved five break points.

“That was such a long game and I was thinking ‘I probably need to get this game, because whoever wins this game is probably going to be better mentally’,” Jones related.

After building a comfortable second-set lead, Jones admitted her nerves were high as she tried to close out the match.

“I just thought ‘I’ve got to keep my head, I can’t think too far ahead’,” she said after failing to convert her first three match points. “(I was trying to) just focus on where I was going to hit the ball.”

She eventually clinched victory with a backhand winner, her 31st winner of the match.

With this effort, Jones becomes just the seventh Australian to progress to a Wimbledon girls’ singles final in the Open era and the first to reach this stage in 13 years.

Only two Australians – Debbie Freeman (1980) and Ash Barty (2011) – have gone on to win the title.

Jones will be looking to add her name to that exclusive list when she meets top seed Renata Jamrichova in a rematch of this year’s Australian Open girls’ singles final.

Although the big-hitting Slovak won their Australian Open encounter in straight sets, Jones is excited for the chance to redeem that result.

“I’m pretty excited just to be even playing a final of junior Wimby,” said Jones, who believes she is better prepared to face 17-year-old Jamrichova this time.

“I know how she plays and what she does a bit better now. Obviously she’s a really great player, so we’ll just see how I go.”

The third-seeded Jones can take confidence from her impeccable performances this week, which includes reaching the singles final without conceding a set and also advancing to the doubles semifinals.

“My game does suit grass, hitting the ball hard and flat,” she said. “But I’ve also been really good mentally here. I have had tough matches against pretty good girls and I’ve been pretty good with handling myself under the pressure.”

This has helped Jones become the first Australian to reach two Grand Slam girls’ singles finals in a single season in 26 years. Jelena Dokic was the last to achieve this feat, when she won the US Open and was a Roland Garros finalist in 1998.

Three years earlier Annabel Ellwood, who is now the wife of Jones’ coach David Taylor, also contested two major girls’ singles finals in a season (Australian Open and US Open in 1995).

While Jones’ birthday week could still become even more memorable if she secures her first Grand Slam title, she’s not rushing to make any celebration plans yet.

“I don’t even want to think about that to be honest,” she said. “I’ve just got to think about how I’m going to play tomorrow and hopefully the result comes.”

Aussies in action – Wimbledon

RESULTS
Girls’ singles, semifinals
[3] Emerson Jones (AUS) d [6] Iva Jovic (USA) 7-5 6-1

Girls’ doubles, semifinals
[2] Iva Jovic (USA)/Tyra Caterina Grant (USA) d [6] Emerson Jones (AUS)/Vittoria Paganetti (ITA) 7-5 7-6(5)

COMING UP
Girls’ singles, final
[3] Emerson Jones (AUS) v [1] Renata Jamrichova (SVK)

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