JELENA-DOKIC.com - April 28, 2003

 

JELENA CORNER by Todd Spiker

...::EuroJelena2003! - Stage 1::..
 

"I realy think that Jelena is misunderstood, very misunderstood by the people in Australia.  She was a young girl when things happened and things were said.  Things that happened were not her decisions.  She deserves to be looked at as the person she is now, not as a 17-year old girl... She has been thinking about the Olympics and Australia for a while... It would be good if she was to play in the Australian Open." -- Enrique Bernoldi

   Thanks for the tip-in, Enrique.
   Separating the fact from the fiction floating around the life and times of the fair Miss Dokic his historically been a Herculean task.  I suspect it always will be.
   That being said, one thing we do know is that this week the "EuroJelena! Tour" kicks off as the 20-something Yugoslav-Australian-Floridian-Yugoslav-Serbian and Montenegran-Australian(?) who lives in Monaco heads to Warsaw to participate in her 100th WTA event.
   Coincidentally, this is also the 100th edition of Jelena Corner.  I won't tell you how much money Pierre & I had to slip under the table (or to whom) to get that to work out so perfectly.  But, needless to say, one day the "real" story about Jelena's Australian Absence will be revealed -- resulting in a "record-setting day" for JD.com.
   So, with such synergy apparent as EuroJelena! kicks off, let's take a look at a few of the Summer Tour's particulars:

 

*TENTATIVE TOUR DATES* STAGE 1 (red clay) April 28-May 4...Warsaw May 5-11.........Berlin May 12-18........Rome May 26-June 8....Roland Garros STAGE 2 (grass) June 9-15........Birmingham June 23-July 6...Wimbledon

   No tour of such consequence could take place without an impressive play list.  Here's the list of the tunes you'll be hearing over the next couple months:

1) There'll be old favorites that everyone can sing along with, such as Jelena's return to SW19, where she made her name so well known in 1999 with her upset of then-world #1 Martina Hingis (advancing to the QF, and then to the SF in 2000).

2) There'll be hits that are swiftly moving up the charts.  For example:  Berlin, where Jelena's results went from 2r to 3r in her two previous appearances in 2001-02 and could improve once again this time around.  There's also Roland Garros, when she'll defend her best slam result (QF) from last season.

3) There'll be covers of old favorites that might just be as good as the original.  Jelena's return to Rome, site of her first WTA singles title in 2001, and her defense of her first grasscourt title in Birmingham certainly qualify.

4) And, of course, there'll be some new stuff thrown in for your enjoyment, as well (hey, things have to move forward).  This section of the performance will include Jelena's first trip to Warsaw since she played there as a (barely) 16-year old in 1999.

It should be a good show.  Word of mouth is spreading fast... get your tickets while they last!


 

*2nd Qtr.Points Chart* 2002**************2003 157.....WEEK 14......1 135.....WEEK 15....100 1.......WEEK 16.....33 0.......FED CUP......0 156.....WEEK 18....... 40......WEEK 19....... 61......WEEK 20....... 134.....WEEK 21....... 238.......RG.......... 186.....WEEK 24....... 1.......WEEK 25....... 132......WIMB......... ====================== 2002 2Q Points....1241 2003 2Q Points.....134

--FAMILIAR GROUND--

*TOP 10 SINGLES*
1.Serena Williams.........7055
2.Kim Clijsters...........4585
3.Venus Williams..........4555
4.Justine Henin-Hardenne..3901
5.Lindsay Davenport.......3304
6.Jennifer Capriati.......2883
7.Amelie Mauresmo.........2687
8.Chanda Rubin............2524
9.Daniela Hantuchova......2512
10.JELENA DOKIC...........2279

   While I was away, Jelena became a Top 10 player again despite what happened in Amelia Island, where she continued her early season trend of finding a veteran player who has her number -- and not seeming to be able to escape her in the draw.


*PAST VETERAN THORNS IN JELENA'S SIDE*
2000
Conchita Martinez (IW 2r, Mia 2r, AI 3r)
2001
Amanda Coetzer (0-2 in exhib., AI 3r)
2002
Anne Kremer (TokyoTPP 2r, IW 3r, Mia 3r)
2003
Lisa Raymond (TokyoTPP QF, AI 3r)


   Thankfully, Lisa Raymond won't be in attendance in Poland.
   With this week's 156-point defense of a SF in last year's version of the dear-departed Hamburg event at hand, Jelena's going to have to match that SF (at least) in Poland to maintain her Top 10 ranking next Monday.  Anastasia Myskina stands just 14 points behind.


**2nd Quarter Goals UPDATE**
GOAL==================SO FAR
1 W/RU.....................0
2 SF.......................0
4 QF.......................1
2 1r-4r....................2


 

THIS WEEK

**J&S CUP; April 28-May 4**
Warsaw, Poland
Red Clay, Tier II
#4 seed - 2r: vs. Casanova/De Los Rios
POINTS CHART
W=220, RU=154, SF=99, QF=55, 2r=29, 1r=1

....EuroJelena begins after a week off for Fed Cup, during which I'm sure that Jelena found something "better to do" with her time.  Hopefully, whatever it was helped her to forget that so-so trip to Amelia Island.  Hmmm, did she REALLY play in Amelia Island?  (See, the selective memory trick is working -- and, remember, synergy is alive, so Jelena is none the worse for wear, either.)
   Pardon me for being optimistic, but in this soldout opening performance it's important to look at only the bright side in order to set the appropriate tone for the tour.  I won't even consider a 2r exit in Warsaw -- it's simply not on the playlist.
   I'll even look at a potential QF against the hottest claycourter in the world with a little mix of sweetness and light.  So what if Magui Serna has won eleven straight matches coming into Poland.  The fact is that this will be the Spaniard's fourth consecutive full week of action after two straight titles and Fed Cup last week, so she has to be beginning to get tired.  She's never experienced such a workload before in her career so, in a rare career turnabout, Jelena would go into that matchup NOT being the player who can be accused of playing TOO much.  If that's not a good sign for EuroJelena's prospects, I don't know what is.  (And it's actually the second break, as Conchita Martinez's late withdrawl has removed her as a potential obstacle.)
   So, maybe the season's first SF is finally within conceivable reach.  Of course, that might be one of those ficticious things about Jelena that I was talking about earlier.
   Here's hoping it's not.

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