JELENA-DOKIC.com - March 18, 2003

JELENA CORNER

*INDIAN WELLS (seed #6) BREAKDOWN*
2353....3/3 points total
1.......1r bye
0.......2r: Rittner (#87) - 1-6,7-5,3-6
1.......EVENT TOTAL (nonqualifying)
0.......POINTS FOR WEEK

SINGLES STANDING
2353....3/17 points total (#9)
137.....2003 WTA points race (#61)
D-......JD.com Indian Wells singles grade
DOUBLES STANDING
1673....3/17 points total (#13)
254.....Dokic/Petrova (#12 in points race)
B+......JD.com Indian Wells doubles grade


 

   Forget the search for the elusive Waldo, the biggest question around The Corner these days has concerned the location of the fair Miss Dokic... or at least a version of her that's a little more recognizable than the one that's been in evidence so far in 2003.
   She remained unwell in Indian Wells last time out, a tournament that turned out to be much ado about nothing despite the spark of hope that her early birthday present of a draw produced last time we spoke.  The spark was just a dud, as even the Square One prerequisite of a single, solitary win proved to be too much for Jelena to attain.


 

   The one California bright spot, predictably, came on the doubles courts as Jelena teamed with Nadia Petrova (23-8 together) for a nice SF run to at least produce a small reminder of better days. But, even there, the Indian Wells SF defeat went down as the only SF match (they were 5-0 going in) that the Dokic-Petrova team has ever lost.


BAD STARTS, WORSE FINISHES

   As everyone wonders whether Jelena will get her one-for-the-thumb fifth straight loss in Miami, the up-to-date shopping list for the coming tournament is remarkably short:

1.A good start.
2.A good close.
3.And, of course, a single win.

   In this current slide, it has been the small, elemental basics that lead to victories that have been hard to come by for Jelena.  The first, maybe most important, thing that's been plaguing her game so far this season has been the horrendous 1st sets that have set her up for failure.
   Remember, the difference between a fast-starting Jelena and a slow-starting Jelena's won-lost record has been striking over the years:

 

   In her seven matches in 2003, Jelena's game has lagged behind in the lockerroom six times (even in one of her wins, she fell behind 0-5 to Angelique Widjaja).  Only a 6-3 1st set against Emilie Loit -- the Frenchwoman who nearly ended the search for the Serena Slam in Melbourne -- has been anything resembling routine.  Not surprisingly, that match is the only one she's comfortably won so far this season.
   The inability to close out matches has been a thorn in her side in 2003, as well.  She lost 12 of the last 15 points against Lisa Raymond, the last 4 games after fighting back from a set and a break down against Ai Sugiyama to finally gain a 3-2 3rd set lead, and the final 3 games last time out against Barbara Rittner after again coming from behind to get to 3-3 in the 3rd.
   Put her bad starts and worse finishes together and you get the atrocious 0-13 run after losing the 1st set, and 0-6 slump in three-set matches.  The pattern has been fairly consistent in 2003 -- Jelena digs herself a huge hole, puts her head down in that disconsolate manner that she sometimes frustratingly does, and races for the finish.  Matchpoint can't come quickly enough.
   Even when the fight bubbles up inside her, she can't maintain it to the end.  Hence the coulda-shoulda-woulda, near-kickstarting wins that got away against Sugiyama and Rittner.  Winning either of those matches might have broken her out of this rut, but she walked away a loser both times.
   All of this can at least partially be listed under the category of "match toughness."  It's run the gamut from spotty to nonexistent throughout this opening to Jelena's season.  The one way to change that is by getting more matches under her belt, an area where she finds herself at a decided disadvantage.  These are the match totals for the Top 20 players (including exhibitions) in 2003:

27...Kim Clijsters
21...Amanda Coetzer
21...Eleni Daniilidou
20...Lindsay Davenport
19...Chanda Rubin
18...Daniela Hantuchova
18...Ai Sugiyama
16...Justine Henin-Hardenne
16...Patty Schnyder
15...Maggie Maleeva
15...Anastasia Myskina
15...Elena Bovina
13...Serena Williams
14...Meghannn Shaughnessy
14...Elena Dementieva
11...Venus Williams
11...Amelie Mauresmo
10...Jennifer Capriati
10...Anna Pistolesi
7....JELENA

   How ironic that a player who's often criticized for playing too many matches is now suffering because of her lack of matchplay.  Of course, the best way to change this is to actually win a few matches and, so far, Jelena has made things difficult for herself with her bad starts and worse finishes.  She's not giving herself the best opportunity to work out her game's flaws, or work off its thick rust.  Her Aussie boycott let everyone get ahead of her, and now she's caught in the vicious cycle of her own making.
   So, as she attempts to fight her way back, wins are nice... but maybe she should first focus on getting out of the gate quicker.  Eventually, the rest will fall into place over time.


BUT, AT LEAST...

   Jelena DOES seem to have a plan, maybe for the first time in her career.  With Heinz Gunthardt aboard and her own public comments about her current troubles not worrying her, there's some sense that she's finally decided that to get where she wants to go on the tennis court she can no longer just wing it and only do what comes naturally in her game.
   She's never been the best thinker on court.  She's a pounder and a grinder, and she's always either found a way to hit herself out of poor play or flamed out in a way that made you want to cover your eyes (remember that 0-6 set against Hingis at the US Open a while back?).  Whichever it was depended on the day, hour or her minute-by-minute mood.  That she's trying to give her game a Plan B is a good thing, even if it means going through the growing pains of trying to change a lifetime thought process...and, yes, even if it means a fifth, sixth or seventh straight loss (well, maybe not a seventh).
   She can't suddenly alter her decided course now, and throw out the proverbial baby with the bathwater after just seven matches this season.  The "new" Jelena hasn't even gotten a true opportunity to rise or fall.  At the moment, she seems to be showing faith that things will work out and that her results will eventually start to steadily build themselves back up to the level of her previous seasons.  If she holds true, no matter how difficult the road might be, the place where her game ultimately lands (maybe sometime this summer, maybe even this spring) could very well be worth it.  To do battle with the likes of the Williams sisters, the reinvigorated Davenport and even longtime opponent Clijsters, this process is essential.  To turn back so soon would be to give up and settle, and one has to think the competitor that's always resided inside Jelena Dokic won't allow her to do that.  Hopefully.
   Credit her for not being content to stand pat and just accept her current situation, but to instead reach for something more.  She's at least trying to find a better way.
   That's about as good a spin as I can think of to put on this continuing Road to Nowhere-that-will-hopefully-soon-detour-to-somewhere that Jelena's travelling down right now.  If she can just remain strong and stay on her intended course, in short time there might be no one asking "Where's Jelena?"  She'll be right where she wants to be, or closer to it than ever before.


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...::JELENA DOESN'T NEED BINOCULARS TO SEE WONDER GIRL ANYMORE..::

#5 Capriati........leads by 557
#6 Davenport.......leads by 501
#7 Mauresmo........leads by 272
#8 Hantuchova......leads by 126
#9 JELENA...2353
#10 Rubin..........trails by 83
#11 Myskina.......trails by 137
#12 Seles.........trails by 278

....Hantuchova felt the pressure of defending her first (and only) career singles title in Indian Wells, falling in the 4r to Amanda Coetzer.  As a result, Jelena now finds herself just 126 behind her.

....Meanwhile, Rubin is breathing down Jelena's neck and could pass her soon unless The Slide starts to turn upward.  Myskina is closing in, too, but her inconsistency (out in the 2r in Indian Wells) resembles Jelena's enough that the Russian might not be able to take advantage of her opportunity to regain the Top 10 ranking she held for one week last month.


**JELENA IN TIER I's**
2001......20-5, two titles, three finals
2002-03...9-11, nine losses in 2r/3r