American teen sensation Iva Jovic, 16, STUNS world No. 42 Magda Linette to win on Grand

Court 15 sits in a quiet corner of Flushing Meadows, hidden on one side by a row of hedges and trees, dwarfed on the other by the towering stands of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

On Monday night, however, the spotlight burned on this slice of hard court, where a remarkable US Open story was unfolding. Hundreds of fans were drawn here – and so were the flies.

Bugs swarmed all around Iva Jovic as she made her Grand Slam debut. Supporters, ball boys and the players were peppered with unwanted guests throughout this first-round match.

Hardly ideal for the American teenager, who is still just 16 and ranked No 389 in the world. Especially when this was also her first main-draw match at WTA level.

No matter. She batted away the flies and she overcame a few other mild inconveniences, too.

Namely age, experience, pedigree, and a pocket of Polish fans determined to dash her dream. They failed and so did world No 42 Magda Linette, who was beaten 6-4 6-3 by the 16-year-old.

Coco Gauff was only 15 when, in 2019, she stunned Venus Williams at Williams and announced herself as a star of future.

Her Grand Slam debut came on Court No 1 and, five years on, she walked out on Arthur Ashe as the defending US Open champion.

A few hours later, Jovic began life in the majors in far less glamorous surrounds. But she headed home on Monday night as one of the early stars of this tournament.