Jelena has brushed aside her second round opponent, Emanuelle Gagliardi, in straight sets, in what was, with all due respect, a complete mismatch of talent.  Jelena took the match in her stride from the very start, and never looked back.  It was an extremely impressive performance which must be close to her best performance of 2003 thus far.

 

Jelena stepped on the court with a confident presence which was relieving to say the least.  From the opening pre-match warm up, Jelena looked at ease and was hitting the ball cleanly.  Jelena won the toss and elected to serve.  Just as she did in her 1st Round match against Elena Baltacha.  A strong opening service game from Jelena was just what the doctor ordered.  It immediately settled any nerves that may have been there.  Jelena's first and second serves were as reliable as they ever have been, and she certaintly confirmed her status as the player with the quickest second serve, even quicker than Serena and Venus Williams.  Gagliardi's serve however faced some difficulties from the very start.  Her first serve looked potentially dangerous, however, her second serve was nothing short of shameful as Jelena hammered every loose shot straight past Miss Gagliardi who must have felt embarrassed to have even considered that she could have toppled Dokic today.  Jelena's groundstrokes were also suberb, still hitting the ball extremely flat and deep from both sides, and Jelena even excecuted some fine drop shots and exquisite volleys.  It really was refreshing to see a merciless Jelena completely wipe the floor with the confused Gagliardi and take the first set 6-1.

 

The second set was a little tighter.  As per usual, Jelena's focus dropped ever so slightly and Gagliardi had prepared well to come out of the blocks for the second set and play with a little more aggression.  It was however, Jelena who broke first.  Jelena looked less intense on court now, and even managed a few smiles after some long points where she was running everything down.  Jelena was always going to win after being 3-1 up in the second set and hitting the ball so sweetly.  Gagliardi, to her credit, did just enough to stay in the match, and began serving with a lot more consistency.  Fortunately for Jelena though, she had already achieved that crucial break, and serving the way she was, it was as much as over.  Jelena saved a break point to take a 5-3 lead, and wasn't intending on sticking around much later.  Jelena took a couple of match points before wrapping things up, but a forced error by Gagliardi presented our Yugoslav starlet with the game, set and match.

 

Next, Jelena faces Maria Sharapova in what should be an enthralling match.  Both are hitting the ball hard and flat, but Maria has had a tendancy to drop the first set when it comes to the big matches, so one shouldn't be forgiven for having some confidence in Jelena.  She is playing well again, and is thoroughly enjoying her tennis.

 

Stay tuned for the next eye-witness report from Wimbledon on Saturday.

 

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comments: glyn_james@jelena-dokic.com

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