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Novak Djokovic is busy competing at the Australian Open, where he's still chasing an elusive 25th Grand Slam title. But the No. 4 seed has also gotten involved in another player's campaign Down Under, helping out rising teenage star Iva Jovic. The 18-year-old is through to the second week of a Major for the first time in her career, earning a maiden top-10 win over Jasmine Paolini on Friday.

After booking her spot in the last 16, Jovic told the John Cain Arena crowd that Djokovic had been helping her out. The American star, of Serbian descent, has long idolised the 10-time Australian Open champion, and later explained that meeting Djokovic exceeded her expectations.

"It's pretty insane," Jovic said after receiving guidance from her tennis idol. "You always think about those moments where you're going to meet your idols a little bit, and I think sometimes for certain people it can be a little bit deflating if they are maybe not as nice or as open as you anticipated.

"I think that happens a lot of times where you kind of see, oh, wow, that's definitely not how it looks like on TV. I think he's almost even kinder and even more attentive outside the cameras than what he's portrayed.

"It was amazing. I mean, he's so intelligent and smart and really wants to help the younger generation. So I'm really grateful to have that advice. Hopefully, I'll speak with him more and listen to his advice."

Jovic has stayed in touch with the ATP No. 4 during her time in Melbourne, and revealed that Djokovic even helped her out a day before her third-round clash with Paolini. She added: "Yeah, actually I spoke to Novak yesterday a little bit. So it was pretty incredible.

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"He gave me some very attentive tips for my game and something I can try to incorporate into this match that I just played. So that was one of the things in the forefront of my mind, because I think when Novak gives you some advice, you follow it.

"It was just to open up the court a little bit better, to not rush into the shots all the time, find some more width. So I tried to do that, and it ended well. So I'm just going to try to keep listening to Novak."

Jovic can now turn to the Serbian superstar for some advice ahead of her next match, as she faces tricky Kazakh Yulia Puntintseva for a place in the quarter-finals. Puntintseva has played in some hostile environments this week, riling up the Brazilian and Turkish fans after beating Beatriz Haddad Maia and Zeynep Sonmez. But the teenager is ready for the challenge.

"Hopefully I can keep it simple and not let the crowd and all that stuff get too much into the effect. Hopefully I can just play the better tennis out there," she said. "But first time, first meeting. So I have seen her play a bit. I'll definitely look at some more video now that I know I'll be playing her. I mean, she's been around for a while. She has a lot of experience and she's definitely in this stage of the tournament for a reason."