JELENA-DOKIC.com - July 27, 2003

JELENA CORNER by Todd Spiker


**STANFORD POINTS BREAKDOWN**
1759..July 21 total
49....Stanford QF
15....2r: Stevenson (#28) 6-3,6-2
0.....QF: Vento-Kabchi (#132) 4-6,3-6
64....Stanford 2003 (JD.com grade: D)
-65...Stanford 2002 off
-1....TOTAL FOR WEEK
1758..July 28 total


 

A VACANT CORNER

A cold wind blows.


A tumbleweed bounces past.


The Corner is empty.


Wait... there's a moving shadow.  Could it be Jel-?


No.  Apparently, it was only an illusion.


 

LISTS

**WORST LOSSES - 2000-present**
#163 Karolina Sprem....Strasbourg 2003
#132 Maria Vento-Kabchi..Stanford 2003
#131 Petra Mandula..Roland Garros 2001


**JD vs. PLAYERS #87-#163 in 2003**
(3 wins)
#89 Alicia Molik........March/Miami
#90 Angelika Roesch.....May/RG
#149 Elena Baltacha.....June/Wimb.
(5 losses)
#163 Karolina Sprem.....May/Stras.
#132 Maria Vento-K......July/Stanford
#91 Maria Sharapova.....June/Wimb.
#89 Saori Obata.........June/E'bourne
#87 Barbara Rittner.....March/IW


**JELENA 2003 STATISTICS**
down a set............1-16
up a set..............15-2
vs.lesser-ranked.....16-15
....in previous 101...80-21
vs. #1-#20.............0-4
vs. #21-50.............6-7
vs. #51-80.............7-2
vs. #81-163............3-5

 

THIS WEEK

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
Acura Classic; Week of July 28
Hardcourt, Tier II
2002: RU vs. Venus Williams (267 pts)
2003: 2r vs. Granville/Serna
============================
W=220, RU=154, SF=99, QF=55, 3r=29, 2r=15, 1r=1

   Of course, I have to say SOMETHING  about Stanford, the latest chapter in "the slide of 2003."
   It really says it all about Jelena's season that a Stanford QF BEFORE Serena Williams' withdrawal would have been looked upon as a good, encouraging result.  But after everything seemingly fell her way, by the end of the week that same QF can be viewed as one of her worst results in an already confidence-crushing year.
   When the world #132 is all that stands between Jelena and a SF, then she gets swept out rather easily in straight sets by player who's NEVER made a WTA SF in her 9-year career... well, then maybe Wimbledon was just a mirage.  The loss drops Jelena to a remarkable 3-5 against players ranked #80 or worse this season.  She's only 16-15 against all opponents with lesser rankings than her, following an 80-21 sprint against such players going back to 2001 before this year.  What good can be said about a stat like that?  Hence, the vacant Corner in the middle of downtown JD.com this week.
   As a result of such seeming abandonment of hope, it's hard to have much faith in Jelena going into San Diego to defend a RU result that she's clearly in no condition to even come close to contesting.  And now the rankings repercussions begin.
   Once play starts in San Diego, Jelena's #12 ranking and 1758 points will immediately fall to #15 and 1531.  She'll have to nibble away for at least a few rounds to even begin to get some of the 227 points lost.  When that likely doesn't happen, she'll lose another 75-plus points unless she can defend a SF in Los Angeles next week.  A failure there and she'll be #17-#18 with around 1450 points.  Oh, and did I neglect to mention the even bigger 192-point defense of a SF in Canada the week after that?  And it's after that event that the US Open seedings will become official.  Not good.  Not good at all.
   On that note, what's to be realistically expected at San Diego, one year after defeating Jennifer Capriati there, then winning that brilliant SF match against Anna Kournikova to appear in what's now the only singles final she's earned in the past year?  Well, she's about as far from being a "great" player right now than she's even been in her career. It doesn't mean something good can't happen, but if it does it'll be coming from a place that Jelena simply hasn't given any evidence of existing inside her heart, mind or body over the past 11 months.
   She gets a bye again in the 1r, so the chance of building momentum is kaput.  Her 2r match will be against either Laura Granville or Magui Serna, two players far better than the likes of Maria Vento-Kabchi (though Serna is more comfortable on clay).  Jelena will likely face Granville, who prefers the faster surfaces.  After that, bowing out to Chanda Rubin in the 3r would seem a certainty.  That is, if Jelena gets that far.
   I'd like to think that she has enough in her to at least get to that Rubin match with a little dignity left in her game.  After Stanford, that belief is dwindling.