Psst... is it safe to come out now?  Is the rumor true?  Did we finally find Jelena somewhere in the high weeds of the WTA season?
   Yes, after six weeks without a win, Jelena managed to take a detour off the road to nowhere.  Better late than never, she unveiled her new game in Miami... or at least the movie trailer-equivalent of it.  Even if it takes until the '03 debut of the EuroJelena Tour in May before we can see the entire final cut, it's safe to say that what happened in Florida has whet everyone's appetite for the real thing.


...A RECOGNIZABLE FACE..

   From start to finish, Miami stood for progress -- progress in Jelena distancing herself from the bad starts/worse finishes pattern that doomed much of her 1st Quarter.  Oh, she DID wobble... but this time she was able to pull herself together to string along three wins for the first time since last August in Montreal (so long ago that it took place just one week after the "semi-tank" against Chanda Rubin in L.A.).
   Against powerful teen Svetlana Kuznetsova, a 2r opponent tailor-made to extend Jelena's losing streak to a career-worst five matches, Jelena predictably got off to a wobbly start by going down an early break at 0-2.  But in her biggest single game so far in 2003, she immediately broke back.  After winning a 1st set tie-break to produce her first burst of confidence in ages, Jelena breezed to a 5-0 lead (and 6-1 finish) in the 2nd set.
   Against Nathalie Dechy, she wobbled and fell down a break once again at 1-2... but abroke back immediately.  Again, she breezed to an easy victory for her first back-to-back wins since September.
   Next up was another power player, Alicia Molik.  The Australian was sporting an 8-1 '03 record (with the only loss coming when she retired in Oz) and riding high after a 2r Miami win over Daniela Hantuchova that included a 6-0 3rd set.  With wobble-less confidence on her side, none of that mattered as Molik was stopped cold and never allowed into the match.  Finally, a recognizable face was able to be discerned on Jelena's side of the net.


...A WORK IN PROGRESS..

   Since Jelena finally managed to put together an on-court record, a sense of what might eventually be her new, Gunthardt-influenced style was able to begin to take shape.  Judging from the collection of match stats, it's a more forwardly-aggressive attack -- centered around a stronger serve and a more insistent volley game -- that she's striving to achieve.
   The Double-A -- Aces & Aggression -- Gameplan was evident throughout Jelena's play in Florida. While her ace totals were up (5 against Dechy, 4 against Molik), so were her double faults (she averaged 6 per match in her four outings in Miami).  Excluding the Molik match, Jelena averaged about a dozen net approaches despite the relatively few games played (never more than 20) in each match.
   Of course, "new" Jelena is still a work in progress at this point... and it showed when she found Kim Clijsters on the other side of the net.  No one could truly expect her to go out and defeat Clijsters right now.  The Belgian, after all, has pretty much been the complete antithesis of Jelena over the last six months.  While Jelena's game has dipped and is only now beginning its upswing, Clijsters' has been soaring to new heights (aside from the Serena Choke) on a weekly basis.
   Jelena had a few opportunities to gain an early advantage, but never was able to do so.  After being broken at 2-2 in the 1st, she went on to lose the final ten games of the match.  She never even managed a break point on Clijsters' serve, and totaled just 8 winners (against 26 unforced errors) for the entire match.  While Jelena led Clijsters in 1st serve percentage (55%-53%), she was woefully behind in 1st serve points won (Clijsters won 83%, Jelena just 50%).


...THE JOY OF CLAY..

   So, where exactly is the level of Jelena's game as the clay court season kicks off next week?  Well, it looked pretty low heading into Miami.  But, after a few high-level glimpses in wins over big-hitters like Kuznetsova and Molik, there was a spark of belief that Jelena was capable of far more than expected.  Of course, those thoughts were shocked back into reality during the 10-game slide against Clijsters.  In hindsight, it's obvious that her current game's true level lies somewhere in the vast expanse between those two points... and her next few tournaments will still maintain a will-she-or-won't-she quality.
   A month ago I said Jelena needed to get SOMETHING out of March so she didn't head into the 2nd Quarter cold.  Well, in Miami, she got that elusive "something"... now we sit back and see what happens next.  The first stop on the detour is Sarasota.

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ALSO THIS WEEK:
The Jelena Awards, version 03.1

ON MONDAY:
2nd Quarter Outlook & Sarasota predictions