Article sent by Todd Spiker

JELENA-DOKIC.com - June 15, 2003
 

TO REKINDLE A ROMANCE
 

   No, something strange isn't going on here.  Pierre didn't decide to make a wholesale change in the content offered by this site.   I was just thinking what it would be like if Jelena were to return to the arms of her most ardent admirer of years past.  The object of desire to which she first expressed her love.   The lover who brought out the best in her, and helped make the reflection she saw in the mirror the brilliant visage it then was, one that she sometimes neglects to see quite as often these days.  You know who I'm talking about, right?  Of course... it's the grass.
   Some in the past have looked with scorn on the earth's natural cover.  Ivan Lendl hated grass so much that he said he couldn't play tennis on it because he was allergic to the blades.  His two-timing nature was exposed when he was caught playing a round of 18 holes with a bag full of clubs and an ever-present caddy.  The couple never got over their differences.
   These days, the controversial nature of a relationship with the green stuff is often less shrouded in mystery... as the Spanish men (and, sometimes, a popular Brazilian) race home to play in their red dirt sandboxes rather than brave the harsh elements of something that actually grows beneath their feet, while Monica Seles has never shown such cowardice.  Of course, she's also never been able to figure out how to quite make green a useful accessory in her tennis wardrobe, either.
   But some DO understand.  Some have realized the importance of being able to withstand the difficulties that nature's surface provides them, maybe even seeing a successful relationship with it as being akin to traversing the twists and turns of life.  They had unlikely names such of Steffi, Boris, Martina (the original one-and-only, not her spoiled namesake), Stefan, Bjorn and even Venus.  They knew that their profession's true test came on a playing field where the unexpected was expected, and the bad bounce was something that had to be overcome rather than whined about.  They extolled the virtues of the challenge of the grass, and the grass returned the praise in kind.
   Jelena has always been one of the latter types.
   Now, with the Gunthardt Experiment rolling along looking for a friendly face, Jelena and her small travelling band of head-scratchers turn west to catch up with an old friend, the aforementioned grass of jolly ol' England.  Tally-ho, throw a shrimp on the barbie and all that jazz.
   Okay, so I got the English-speaking cultures a little mixed up there, but the point remains true:  Jelena is looking for something to smile about, and here comes the grass like a beam of sunlight on a cloudless day.  She first introduced herself to her longtime companion on that wonderful June afternoon in 1999, reacquainted herself during an even longer visit in 2000 and then walked home with a trophy for her amicable efforts to maintain the relationship last year in Birmingham.
   Right now, there's a certain 20-year woman who needs  her good friend more than ever.  Jelena needs to smile right now.  For the moment, it's the job of the grass to allow the rest of the world to view that encouraging sight once again.
   Come on, friend.  Make her feel better.

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*VIENNA (#1 seed) points breakdown*
1961...June 9 points
30.....QF
8......2r: Grande (#55) - 6-2,5-7,6-2
0......QF: Suarez (#51) - 6-7,2-6
38.....Vienna total (non-qualifying)
-186...2002 (Birmingham W)
+40....new 17th best total (2003 RG)
-146...RANKING POINTS FOR WEEK
1815...June 16 points
D......JD.com Vienna singles grade


**LOOK OUT BELOW!, Part I**
--JELENA'S FALLING RANKING POINTS--
January 1.........2506
February 10.......2353
April 7...........2314
April 14..........2279
May 5.............2242
May 19............2238
June 9............1961
June 16...........1815


**LOOK OUT BELOW!, Part II**
--JELENA in 3-SETTERS - 1999-03--
1999......9-9
2000.....13-6
2001.....12-11
2002.....17-8
2003......3-7