Iva Jovic remains on course to defend her Guadalajara title. The 18-year-old American defeated Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-1 in 90 minutes on Thursday, September 17, to reach the semifinals of the Mexican WTA 500 event. She will face Cristina Bucsa on Friday, September 18.
The quarterfinal brought together the tournament’s two most recent champions: Frech won in 2024, and Jovic lifted the trophy in 2025. This time, the second seed came through demanding service games to produce a comfortable-looking scoreline.
Eight break points, eight saves
Frech earned eight break points but could not convert any of them. Jovic took four of her ten opportunities and held all eight of her service games. She won 28 of 38 points behind her first serve, a 73.7% success rate.
A key passage came in the third game of the second set. Jovic faced three break points, held serve and then broke in the next game to move 3-1 ahead. From 1-1, she won five consecutive games to close out the match.
In her post-match interview published by the tournament, Jovic said the score did not fully reflect the difficulty of the contest. She highlighted her response on the important points and her ability to stop Frech building momentum when the Pole threatened her serve.
First meeting with Bucsa awaits
Sixth seed Bucsa defeated third seed Sara Bejlek 6-0, 6-4 in 65 minutes. The Spaniard, who won both the singles and doubles titles in Mérida earlier this season, will meet Jovic for the first time.
The official WTA highlights show the quarterfinal victory that kept the American’s bid for a second successive Guadalajara title alive.
