Jelena-dokic.com

JELENA-DOKIC.com - Oct.5, 2003 JELENA CORNER by Todd Spiker

ASHE TO ASHES, IT'S GONE TO DUST

Well, so much for that. Two matches in Moscow, two non-competitive losses... and another plane ticket out of town. Seriously, a 3-6,1-6 1st Round loss to Alexandra Stevenson? Somehow, Jelena found someone who's had an even more wayward season than The Fair One... and got blown out by her. **JELENA IN TIER I's** 1999...............1-1 2000...............9-7 2001..............20-5 2002...............8-9 2003...............8-8 There's no way to sugarcoat this one, folks. There's no realistic way to tilt your head far enough to either side to find an angle that makes another loss appear less damaging, discouraging and embarrassing than it otherwise might at first glance. Finding a way to find a bright spot in winning a measly seven games against Kim Clijsters in Leipzig was about as far as that ability could be stretched. From this vantage point, it appears that it might be time for Jelena to close up shop for 2003. Sometimes you have to cut your losses and know when to head home to regroup. If this isn't that moment, then it's standing behind Jelena and about to tap her on the shoulder. She won't likely heed the call to stop the madness, and things could still get worse (as impossible as that seems) before they finally get better. The calendar has turned over to October and Jelena is playing out the string... and, boy, do her results reflect it. Any hope of a real turnaround in 2003 essentially ended when Jelena blew that 5-1 3rd set lead to Mary Pierce at Arthur Ashe Stadium. She's been 2-4 since, with both victories of the skin-of-her-teeth variety over one injured #124-ranked Jelena (Jankovic) and another #83-ranked one (Kostanic). What we're left with right now are the dusty remnants of the implosion at Ashe... a collapse that itself was nearly a year in the making. Time will tell when and if Jelena's various scattered and shattered parts will come back together, ala the liquidy guy in "T2," but her showing in Moscow is enough evidence to convince just about anyone that it won't be happening in any way, shape or form this season. The numbers signifying Jelena's fall this season continue to be staggering: --the Stevenson loss was Jelena's 27th of 2003, the same number as in 2002... only this year it's coupled with 31 fewer victories --she's just 21-20 against players ranked BELOW her (1-7 vs. those ranked higher) --she's collected zero titles, after two singles and three doubles crowns in 2002... has been to zero singles finals compared to five a year ago... one SF to eleven last season... and has just two QF in her last seventeen events --after averaging $1,044,174 in earnings the past two seasons, she's just slightly over $415,000 this year... one just hopes that that discrepancy isn't playing a disproportionate role in Jelena's ceaseless inability (unwillingness?) to take a step back to rest and mentally/physically collect herself Jelena's 2003 is effectively over. Recording the official "expiration date" is just a matter of bookkeeping... and it'll only come when Jelena actually stops playing. When that'll happen is anyone's guess. **REMAINING WTA SCHEDULE** Week 41...Filderstadt & Tashkent Week 42...Zurich & Bratislava Week 43...Linz & Luxembourg Week 44...Philadelphia & Quebec City Week 45...Pattaya & WTA Chsp.(*) ------- (*)-Jelena not eligible for WTA Chsp. Will she play in Filderstadt? God, it was a nice thought to think not... but, of course (see below). What abou the Tier I in Zurich next week? And get another unseeded suicide draw? (Of course, lately, that kind of draw means she's facing anyone not named "BYE" in the opening round.) Linz the next week? Philadelphia or Quebec City after that? Pattaya the week of the Jelena-less WTA Championships in L.A.? Only the fair Dokic knows. In the Corner's opinion, it might not be a bad idea to call it a day right now and start thinking about getting ready for 2004 as soon as possible. At the very least, a few weeks of mental rest seem long overdue. Why run head-first into a brick wall EVERY week? So far, it's accomplished nothing and probably made things worse. Why not return after two weeks for the Tier II in Linz and/or one of the two final North American events on the schedule the week after that, and THEN pack up the rackets? Playing any more than two events in the schedule's closing five weeks just seems a needlessly cruel and masochistic exercise in futility. But this idle will-she-or-won't-she speculation is really all that remains in question about the 2003 season of Jelena Dokic. The biggest question is how much more of this she is willing to bear. Hopefully, for her sake, Jelena will learn when it's time to cut her losses... and after Moscow, that time might have arrived.

THIS WEEK

FILDERSTADT, GERMANY Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Tier II; Hardcourt Indoor unseeded; 1r vs. Maleeva ========================= What can you say about the decision to walk the plank once again in Filderstadt? Nothing, actually. So I won't. And with Maggie Maleeva up in the 1st Round, and either Chanda Rubin or Vera Zvonareva on deck in the 2nd there's really no need to elaborate.