Jelena-dokic.com

JELENA-DOKIC.com - November 2003 JELENA CORNER SPECIAL ===================== by Todd Spiker

THE JELENA AWARDS version 03.4

4TH QUARTER HEADLINE: Jelena Exits with Style 4th Qtr.Pts.Chart 2002*********2003 118...WK.37.....1 104...WK.38....27 1.....WK.39....29 1.....WK.40.....1 1.....WK.41.....1 53....WK.42...369 57....WK.43....82 0.....WK.44.....0 156...WK.45.....0 ================= 02 4Q POINTS..491 03 4Q POINTS..511

Jelena: "I'm playing for next year."

**JD.com 4th Qtr. Report Card** -SINGLES- Bali......1r/Garbin......0-1..F Shanghai..2r/Safina......1-1..D Leipzig...2r/Clijsters...1-1..C- Moscow....1r/Stevenson...0-1..F Fild......1r/Maleeva.....0-1..F Zurich....RU/Henin-H.....4-1..A Linz......QF/Sugiyama....2-1..B- 4Q SINGLES GRADE..............B- -DOUBLES- Bali......1r/Harkleroad..0-1..F Leipzig...SF/Bartoli.....2-1..B Moscow....1r/Safina......0-1..F Fild......1r/Matevzic....0-1..F Zurich....QF/Srebotnik...1-1..D+ 4Q DOUBLES GRADE..............D- BEST WIN III: Linz 1r def. Daniela Hantuchova 6-4/6-1... following up her Zurich final could have produced a letdown, but instead Jelena earned her first WTA victory in four attempts versus Wonder Girl. Before winning in straight sets, Jelena had lost six straight sets to Hantuchova. WORST LOSS III: Filderstadt 1r loss to Maggie Maleeva 5-7/0-6...another opening round loss, this one after grabbing an early break lead in the 1st set and seeing things degenerate into a love walkaway set. Coupled with a 1r exit in doubles, Jelena was riding a combined five-match losing streak in singles/doubles over a three-week stretch. It looked like a season low... who could have predicted what would happen the next week in Switzerland? **JELENA 4th Quarter Stats** Won/Lost.................8-7 3-setters................4-1 Set up...................6-0 Set down.................2-7 Tie-breaks...............3-0 Extended (to 7, non-TB)..1-1 QF-or-better.............2/7 SF-or-better.............1/7 Tier I...................4-2 Tier II..................4-4 Tier III.................0-1 Indoors..................7-5 Outdoors.................1-2 Average Points/event....73.0 Doubles (1-0 w/o)........2-5 ============================ .............1st-3rd.....4th vs.Top 10.......0-5......2-2 vs.Top 20.......1-7......4-3 vs.higher rank..2-6......2-4 vs.lower rank..18-17.....6-3 **JELENA vs. Top 10ers** -September- L....Kim Clijsters (#1) -October- W....Chanda Rubin (#10) W....Kim Clijsters (#1) L....Justine Henin-H. (#2) WHO KNEW?: The prevailing opinion at Jelena Corner for most of the 4th Quarter was that Jelena's season had effectively ended when her game was reduced to ashes at Ashe Stadium, when she lost a 5-1 3rd set lead to Mary Pierce. Guess someone was wrong about that, huh? Now, I wonder exactly who it was who made such a stupid pronouncement as that? Hmmm... THE CALM BEFORE THE PERFECT STORM: Jelena's 3-6/4-6 loss to Kim Clijsters in Leipzig in late September -- just claiming seven games seemed a laudible accomplishment -- was her ninth straight loss to a Top 10 player. **JELENA 4Q SINGLES RANKING** September 8-14............#21 September 15-21...........#22 Sept.22-October 5.........#26 October 6-19..............#25 October 20-present........#14 **JELENA 4Q DOUBLES RANKING** September 8-21............#18 Sept.22-October 5.........#17 October 6-19..............#20 October 20-26.............#22 October 27-present........#26 WORST LOSS II: Moscow 1r loss to Alexandra Stevenson 3-6/1-6... two years after winning the Tier I Russian event, Jelena suffered another disheartening 1r loss. This time it was at the hands of Stevenson, a player who was having a worse season than even Jelena. BEST WIN II: Zurich 1r def. Chanda Rubin 6-1/5-7/6-4... Jelena's Swiss chocolate-covered dream began with this rallying win over #10 Rubin, her first victory over a Top 10er in fourteen months. **JELENA on HARDCOURTS (o/i)** Bali (o) - 1r (Garbin) Shanghai (o) - 2r (Safina) Filderstadt (i) - 1r (Maleeva) Zurich (i) - RU (Henin-Hardenne) Linz (i) - QF (Sugiyama) Won/Lost: 7-5 **JELENA on CARPET SURFACES** Leipzig (supreme) - 2r (Clijsters) Moscow (supreme) - 1r (Stevenson) Won/Lost: 1-2

WHAT ONCE WAS LOST... "I felt like I lost the match with errors. I was able to play well for a few games, but then it stopped. That's pretty much the whole season for me." - Jelena, at the start of the 4th Qtr. ...IS NOW FOUND "I feel I have got my head together and my tennis together. " - Jelena, at the end of the 4th Qtr.

HER MISSION, SHALL SHE CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT: With the growing Russian presence on the tour, Jelena's past history versus The Horde should position her in good standing. Since losing to Elena Dementieva in the Sydney Olympic SF, she's a combined 22-8. Problem is, after losing to Dinara Safina this 4th Quarter, Jelena ended up being just 1-3 in her first career meetings with rising Russian teens Safina, Maria Sharapova, Vera Zvonareva and Svetlana Kuznetsova this season (the win was over Kuznetsova, who she lost to in their second matchup). With many more Jelena vs. the Russians shows on tap for 2004, one of the keys to a rebound next season will likely be Jelena reclaiming her past Russian dominance against this new crop of players. **THE (NEW) RISE CHART** --Zurich & Linz-- Won/Lost.............6-2 3-setters............4-1 Set down.............2-2 Set up...............4-0 Tie-breaks/Extended..2-1 **4th Quarter - At a Glance** -September- Bali (III).......1r/Garbin Shanghai (II)....2r/Safina Leipzig (II).....2r/Clijsters Moscow (I).......1r/Stevenson -October- Filderstadt (II).1r/Maleeva Zurich (I).......RU/Henin-H. Linz (II)........QF/Sugiyama NOT THIS TIME: Faced with the prospect of another loss to Alexandra Stevenson, this time in Zurich, Jelena followed up her win over Rubin by pulling out a 4-6/7-5/6-1 win over the American. It was just her third win in 2003 after losing the opening set (she'd been 2-24 in such cases before Zurich). Jelena liked the feeling so much, she did it again versus Kim Clijsters a few days later. YIN-YANG... JELENA/JELENA: One of the biggest confidence-busting moments from earlier in the season had to be the 0-7 tie-break loss to Iroda Tulyaganova. Seeking to balance out the powers in the universe, Jelena pulled the same feat (this time in her favor) against Serbian-Montenegran teen Jelena Jankovic in the 1r in Shanghai. The Fair One ultimately won the tougher-than-anticipated match 7-6(0)/4-4 ret. **JELENA - 4Q by Month** September............2-4 October..............6-3 November.............0-0 **HIGH-RANKED WINS (8)** #1....Kim Clijsters - Zurich #10...Chanda Rubin - Zurich #17...Daniela Hantuchova - Linz #18...Patty Schnyder - Zurich #39...Alexandra Stevenson - Zurich #41...Petra Mandula - Linz #83...Jelena Kostanic - Leipzig #124..Jelena Jankovic - Shanghai **LOW-RANKED LOSSES (7)** #100..Tathiana Garbin - Bali #66...Dinara Safina - Shanghai #31...Alexandra Stevenson - Moscow #21...Maggie Maleeva - Filderstadt #11...Ai Sugiyama - Linz #2....Justine Henin-H. - Zurich #1....Kim Clijsters - Leipzig A PRE-HALLOWEEN TREAT: Two and a half years after being haunted by her shocking 3r loss to Petra Mandula (ranked #131 at the time) at Roland Garros, Jelena finally got an opportunity to exorcise Great Mandula's Ghost from her attic during her season-ending trip to Linz. It wasn't an easy task, taking three sets to dispatch the now-#41 ranked Hungarian vet, but it was yet another bit of unfinished business finished by Jelena in 2003's final weeks. ALMOST: At the end of her most disappointing pro season, leave it to Jelena to go to the land of chocolate and neutrality and display an insatiable sweet tooth. She was far from a pacifist in Zurich, though. In fact, with two Top 10 victories in her pocket, she would have set a career record with three Top 10 wins in one event had she beaten #2 Justine Henin-Hardenne (who rose to #1 the next day) in the final. If she'd done it, Zurich would have gone into the books as arguably Jelena's career-best week. Even still, the tournament has to rank in her Top 5 as a pro (and remember, she has five WTA singles titles). **4th Qtr. Quality Points** -September (6)- 2....Jelena Jankovic/Shanghai 4....Jelena Kostanic/Leipzig -October (209)- 43...Chanda Rubin/Zurich 10...Alexandra Stevenson/Zurich 23...Patty Schnyder/Zurich 100..Kim Clijsters/Zurich 23...Daniela Hantuchova/Linz 10...Petra Mandula/Linz THE FORGOTTEN JEWEL: Lost amid the slew of big-time wins over the likes of Clijsters, Hantuchova and Rubin during the 4th Quarter's closing weeks was Jelena's most dominating performance of the season, and maybe her best since the form she showed in sweeping the singles and doubles (without dropping a set) at Sarasota in April 2002. In the QF in Zurich, the Fair One melted defending champion Patty Schnyder like a chocolate bar left inside a hot car, in a 6-0/6-3 (Jelena led 6-0/3-0!) act of euthanasia in front of an evening gathering of Schnyder's countrymen and women. WITHER NADIA?: With Nadia Petrova out of the 4th Quarter picture as a doubles parnter, Jelena returned to her former role as a doubles mercenary, teaming with five different women in five separate tournaments. She was a winner with just one -- Marion Bartoli (2-1). Teamed with Bartoli, the duo managed a 3-1 edge in the Leipzig SF vs. Kuznetsova/Navratilova... only to proceed to lose 12 of the final 13 games. *RECORD WITH DOUBLES PARTNERS* .....................w/o...W/L Marion Bartoli.............2-1 Ashley Harkleroad..........0-1 Maja Matevzic..............0-1 Dinara Safina..............0-1 Katarina Srebotnik..1-0....0-1 WORST LOSS I: Bali 1r loss to Tathiana Garbin 5-7/3-6...Jelena went to Asia and all she got was a lousy loss. The defeat by #100 Garbin was Jelena's fourth to a player ranked #100 or worse since 2001... but her third in 2003. BEST WIN I: Zurich SF def. Kim Clijsters 1-6/6-3/6-4... the win over the top-ranked Clijsters was Jelena's first over a world #1 since she defeated Martina Hingis at Wimbledon in 1999. Considering the relative state of the two's seasons, this win might just be Jelena's most impressive (right up there with the Hingis victory, and the upset of Jennifer Capriati last fall in San Diego). No matter the standing, the victory sent Jelena to her first Tier I singles final in fourteen months... in 2001, also in Zurich.

NEXT STOP, AUSTRALIA?: Could the dormant Dorothy Tour finally be resurrected by Jelena this coming January? Well, Jelena hinted at an intriguing down under comeback in October, saying, "There is the possibility of me starting next year in Australia. I want to do well in those early tournaments and hopefully be back in the Top 10 by March."

HMMM.. "hopefully be back in the Top 10 by March," huh? Guess that old "not expecting much" mindset is finally a thing of the past. About time. LEAVING 'EM WANTING MORE: After a long season full of pothole after speed bump, Jelena's closing Act produced nothing less than a standing ovation. After fourteen barren and frustrating months: two Top 10 victories, the first singles final since August 2002 (San Diego), four Top 20 wins in a month after just one in the previous nine months, a first career win over Daniela Hantuchova, the exorcising of Great Mandula's Ghost, the first defeat of a world #1 in four years, and a return to the Top 15 after having fallen as far as #26. So what if she ran out of gas in the Linz QF vs. #11 Ai Sugiyama... the tide was turned just in the nick of time. The 2003 season was "saved" (well, at least it's no longer totally "lost"), and hope was restored. Bring on 2004! The Fair One is now ready for the challenge of becoming the WTA's Comeback Player of the Year... or maybe even more? ============================== COMING TO JD.com: NEXT WEEK: The 3rd Annual Everything You Wanted to Know column... 2003's stats, a season review and a quick peek ahead at 2004 SOON?: Will Dorothy Finally Be Off to See the Wizard (well, at least Oz)? ....when Jelena makes her decision about Australia, the Corner will be back in session DECEMBER: The "Short Thoughts About Jelena Dokic" column returns for a second year to kick 2004 into gear