Aussie Jones shrugs off Djokovic distraction to emulate 2011 Barty
When considering players who have made sizeable impressions within junior tennis over the last few months then Australia’s Emerson Jones would be towards the top of the list.
Jones, who turned 16 last week, is currently ranked No. 3 in the ITF World Tennis Tour girls' rankings following a season in which she has seen her on-court development accelerate.
In May, she became the youngest player – boy or girl – in history to win multiple J500s – an ITF tournament effectively one rung below a Junior Grand Slam – after conquering all before her in Milan.
That took her tally of singles titles at J300 level or above to five, while she is now in the hunt for a Junior Grand Slam crown after defeating Poland’s Monika Stankiewicz in the quarter-finals here at Wimbledon.
Her 6-2 6-3 triumph means that Jones is the first Australian girl to reach the semi-finals at the Junior Championships since eventual champion Ashleigh Barty in 2011.
“It feels pretty great to be in the semi-finals,” Jones told itftennis.com. “I probably wasn’t expecting to get to the semis. I was honestly just focusing on whoever was in front of me.
“But it is a great feeling to be in the semi-finals and follow in the footsteps of someone like Ash Barty, who is a huge inspiration. It is great to follow in her footsteps, or at least try to.
“She is a great inspiration for everyone and it is so exciting that I have made the semis as she did when she won the Junior Championships. Hopefully I can emulate her further. We’ll see.”
Queenslander Jones comes from exceptionally good sporting stock. Her mother, Loretta, is a former triathlete who won an Olympic silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, while her father, Brad, is a former Australian rules footballer.
Factor in her brother, Hayden, also being a prominent junior tennis player – he reached the second round here before losing to Mees Rottgering of Netherlands – and that represents significant sporting pedigree.
The teenager cannot seem to move this week without some sort of connection to esteemed sportsmen or women. As she locked horns with Stankiewicz, there was a very familiar and famous sporting figure on the adjacent court.
World No. 2 and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic was preparing for his mouthwatering semi-final showdown with Lorenzo Musetti by having a practice session within touching distance of Jones.
“I did notice Novak, but I just tried to concentrate on my game as sometimes – actually a lot of time – I lose concentration and that doesn’t go so well for me,” said Jones. “On this occasion, I just tried to focus on me.”
Jones was a whisker away from sealing a maiden Junior Grand Slam title at the Australian Open Junior Championships in January before falling at the final hurdle. She lost to Slovakia’s Renata Jamrichova in the final.
Standing in the way of a second Junior Grand Slam final appearance is Iva Jovic of the United States, who 12 months ago was on crutches watching Wimbledon on ESPN+ as she recovered from a foot injury.
It promises to be quite the battle.