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JELENA-DOKIC.com - April 14, 2003

JELENA CORNER ------------- by Todd Spiker

*CHARLESTON (#6) BREAKDOWN* 2314....April 7 points 69......QF 8.......2r: Matevzic (#55) - 6-1,6-4 23......3r: Dementieva (#21) - 4-6,6-4,7-5 0.......QF: S.Williams (#1) - 2-6,2-6 100.....CHARLESTON TOTAL -135....2002 Points Off (A.Island '02 SF) -35.....POINTS FOR WEEK 2279....April 14 points #11.....SINGLES RANK #27.....2003 POINTS RACE RANK B.......JD.com CHARLESTON SINGLES GRADE --------------------------------------- #15.....DOUBLES RANK #13.....2003 TEAM POINTS RACE (w/ Petrova) F.......JD.com CHARLESTON GRADE (Hantuchova) DEAR ELENA... (The following is the text of a letter intercepted outside the hotel room door of Elena Dementieva. It's possible that it was obtained by one of Gerhard's squad of sneaky Dokicite operatives... but, for my own safety and yours, I suggest none of us contemplate the true story behind the mission.)

"Dear Elena, I want to commend you on the fine workout you provided me on the court last Thursday afternoon. I really needed it. I was starting to wonder if I'd ever win a three-set match again. No offense, but I know I can always count on you to find a way to help me prove to myself that I'm still one of the best fighters on tour. Good luck in Amelia Island. Your Pal, Jelena D. P.S.--You know, if you hadn't beaten me in the Olympic semis back in 2000, maybe our tennis relationship would be a bit different. (6-0 in my favor...and counting.)"

PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE Okay, so the letter's a fake, but that Jelena's win over Dementieva in Charleston is the first sure sign that the "good ol'" Dokic fight has returned is genuine. It's not surprising that the re-emergence came when the player on the opposite side of the net was Dementieva, the Russian who's always been at Jelena's service since that loss the then-Aussie felt at her hands in the Olympic SF in 2000. Ever since, Jelena has seemingly been on a secret mission to avenge that defeat. So far, she's never failed no matter how odd the matches have played out. Jelena always tries to find a way, and Elena has always seemed to let it happen. **JELENA vs. ELENA** --before Sydney-- 98 RG Jr. SF - Dokic 6-1,5-7,6-3 00 New Haven 1r - Dementieva 6-4,6-3 00 Olympic SF - Dementieva 2-6,6-4,6-4 --after Sydney-- 01 Hong Kong Ex. SF - Dokic 3-6,6-4,6-4 01 New Haven 1r - Dokic 4-6,7-5,6-4 01 Moscow Final - Dokic 6-3,6-3 02 Paris QF - Dokic 5-7,6-1,6-2 02 A.Island QF - Dokic 0-6,7-6,6-1 03 Charleston 3r - Dokic 4-6,6-4,7-5 Bon Jovi sang about "Bad Medicine," but Dementieva's been anything but for Jelena -- she's chicken soup for the soul. Jelena's now defeated her six straight times, with five of the wins coming after losing the 1st set. For her career, Jelena is 22-76 when she drops the opening set... but she's 5-1 when she loses it to Dementieva. The Charleston match ended Jelena's streaks of six straight losses in three-setters and fifteen -- yes, fifteen! -- consecutive defeats after falling down a set. In the "Backspin" column on Tennisrulz, I've come to refer to Dementieva as "Punch-Drunk Elena." Her history with Jelena is the perfect example of why -- once the Russian gets hit with one good punch by a player, she seems to lose her senses for good whenever she meets that player again (she seems to expect to lose -- even after she gets an early lead -- and usually does). Thank goodness for her. Now, of course, Dementieva's peculiar psychological roadblocks do not in any way diminish what Jelena did here. The best thing about the result was that Jelena didn't lose. If she had, it would have been a continuation of the history-be-damned tour that has followed Jelena around so far this season. Beating Dementieva under such familiar circumstances means the fire inside Jelena hasn't changed... it's just redirected and redistributed. Hopefully, over the course of this season, more effectively than ever before. How Jelena left Charleston (going out in straight sets to Serena), though, is the gauge that shows that, while parts of Jelena's game are rounding into shape, the wait for the arrival of "New Jelena" continues. It was at least somewhat encouraging that she didn't cause eyebrows to raise with another 0-6 set to end a match against Williams (it's happened twice before). Maybe the win over Dementieva the previous round provided enough confidence for her to not sleepwalk to the finish line, as is sometimes the case with the fair Miss Dokic. If that's so, then another round of applause in is order for Dementieva. In fact, maybe a REAL letter is in order. Let me see. Dear Elena...

2nd Qtr.Points Chart 2002************2003 157.....WK.14......1 135.....WK.15....100 1.......WK.16....... -------------------- 2002 2Q Points--1241 2003 2Q Points---101

ABERRATION & IDENTIFICATION? So, can we now say that Sarasota was an aberration, the result of a tricky veteran opponent in the first clay match of the season? Sandwiched by Tier I's in Miami (3-1, QF, wins over Molik, Dechy and Kuznetsova) and Charleston (2-1, QF, wins over Matevzic and Dementieva), Jelena has shown herself to be holding true to her plan to focus on the year's bigger events. She's already well ahead of 2002's pace as far as Tier I's are concerned. *JELENA IN TIER I's* 2002: 8-9 2003: 6-4 ------------------- 2003 TIER I's Tokyo TPP........QF Indian Wells.....2r Miami............QF Charleston.......QF The anticipated "Wonder Doubles" (thanks to "jakij" for that) with Daniela Hantuchova never really materialized last week, destroyed in the woodchipper that was Ashley Harkleroad's breakthrough week in Charleston (the American took out Wonder Girl herself, Hantuchova, in the singles QF). Meanwhile, this week it's veteran Rennae Stubbs who'll team up with Jelena in Amelia Island (she Jelena's's first Aussie partner since the two played together in the Olympics). And, one more thing, did you check out this week's new doubles rankings? #14...Nadia Petrova....1611 #15...Jelena Dokic.....1610 Et tu, Nadia? That little blip aside, The Plan merrily moves forward to Florida this week, seemingly back on schedule. Jelena will find better things to do during Fed Cup week, then it'll be time to kick off this year's version of The EuroJelena! Tour. With her 2003 face finally becoming recognizable, it's time to tentatively debut... The Rebound Chart (hopefully, that nasty Slide Chart can now begin to collect dust in Pierre's attic... psst, don't tell him about that):

*******REBOUND CHART******* Last 8 Matches..........5-3 Last 3-setters..........1-0 Last 2 down a set.......1-1 Last 6 up a set.........6-0 Last 6 TB/extended set..5-1

Hopefully, the numbers will get a little more meat on their bones in Amelia Island. ========================================== *2003 AT A GLANCE* Tokyo TPP (I)..........QF/Raymond Paris (II).............QF/Daniilidou Antwerp (II)...........1r/Sugiyama Scottsdale (II)........2r/Shaughnessy Indian Wells (I).......2r/Rittner Miami (I)..............QF/Clijsters Sarasota (IV)..........1r/Suarez Charleston (I).........QF/S.Williams *JELENA SINCE SYDNEY OLYMPIC SF LOSS* vs.Russians......................22-4 vs.Elena Dementieva...............6-0 *JELENA BY SURFACE IN 2003* Hard Outdoor............3-3 Green Clay..............2-2 Carpet..................1-1 Greenset Hard Indoor....1-2 *JELENA BY CONDITIONS IN 2003* OUTDOOR....................5-5 INDOOR.....................2-3 ==========================================

THIS WEEK:

Bausch & Lomb Championships April 14-20 Amelia Island, Florida Tier II - Green Clay #5 seed - 2r: Pisnik/Hopkins 2002 result: SF-retired vs. Henin (135) POINTS CHART W=195; RU=137; SF-88; QF=49; 3r=25; 2r=14; 1r=1 I guess we'll find out whether Sarasota really was an aberration this week when Jelena returns to Florida for her final event before "EuroJelena!" begins. Though it's been said before this season, she may have gotten a break with her draw. If her Charleston/Dementieva form holds, Jelena shouldn't have trouble winning her 2r match, would have the advantage against Lisa "I'm Not a Clay-Courter, So Don't Expect Too Much" Raymond in the 3r match that would be Jelena's first chance to avenge one of her 2003 losses, and might not even have to face Jennifer Capriati in the QF. Maybe, just maybe, Capriati's first clay event of the season will leave her susceptible to an upset by Paola Suarez the round before she would meet Jelena. Maybe, Jelena will build on her past success against Capriati (a win in San Diego, a three-setter at Roland Garros) to put forth a good match if she does face her... and maybe even win. It's possible, but I won't bet on it just yet. "New Jelena" might be able to pull it off, but she might not be ready to make her long-awaited arrival in Amelia Island. So, I'll pick another solid QF result... and wait on the curb with everyone else, hoping for a glimpse of a "new" star. ------------------------------------------ This week on Tennisrulz Backspin: Serena loses! Is it a ray of hope?