JELENA-DOKIC.com -
Feb.1, 2004
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JELENA
CORNER
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by Todd Spiker
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JELENIACS REJOICE...A DOKIC SIGHTING IS
ABOUT TO BE REPORTED
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Is it safe to come out now?
It must be, for The Fair One is about to step into
the light. After checking off the few remaining items
on the list of living-proof reasons why she's
justifiably known as "the debutante of drama" in those
Backspin columns on Tennisrulz, Jelena returns to the
land of the tennis living this week in Tokyo.
As usual, it's been another wild and wacky Jelena
offseason, with just enough twists and turns, 90-degee
angles and forehead-whacking moments to remind us just
which young woman we're talking about. Really,
shouldn't we be conditioned to expect just about
anything by now? Where shall we begin?
Australia... no Australia. Fila... no, possibly
adidas. Unresolved personal issues... lack of
preparation. Out of left field comments by
you-know-who. Practice sessions with the Barcelona
Bumblebee.
It's enough to make your head spin. Okay, here's
where we should all let out that collective sigh
(again)... only this time it's one of relief. February
has arrived, and with it comes the first Jelena sighting
of 2004. The Jeleniacs of the world can now unite, and
rejoice. It's time to pay full attention again. Win or
lose, at least she's back on the court. Of that, at
least, we can all be certain (well, as of this hour,
anyhow... just kidding, sorta).
The "get-ready" Quarter is now at hand for Jelena.
**1Q THROUGH THE YEARS**
1999....8-5
2000....5-7
2001....6-4
2002....5-5
2003....5-6
As you can see, it hasn't been Miss Dokic's style to
exactly burn up the tour in the season's opening
stanza. This quarter has usually been her prep time for
the all-important, two-slam, clay & grass court-filled
2nd Quarter where she's generally produced her best
sustained pattern of results.
Dorothy Tour participation could have provided
additional revving-up events that might have meant
earlier success, but that task now will have to take
place in Asia and elsewhere. It probably means another
slow start (it's hard to see the Zurich/Linz success
from last October having much carry-over at this point),
then hopefully a gradual build to greater results.
Jelena's original goal of returning to the Top 10 by
March (essentially, the end of the 1Q) is still
technically possible (with three Tier I's, the first
this week in Tokyo, the points are available) but not
very likely. The lack of points from Australia might
have to push that goal back to April or May.
Though the thought of it would be nice, this quarter
isn't really a hunting ground for titles (or maybe even
finals). No use to overextend herself in that quest.
Slow and steady should sail this ship in order to be
well-fortified for EuroJelena in the spring.
That said, the Fair One still needs to avoid the
snowballing effect that an absolutely poor start could
ultimately have. Remember, 2003 began late and produced
a string of losses, which led to more tournaments in
search of matches, which resulted in still more losses
and lost confidence. Jelena's entire season just about
went down the drain in that vicious cycle, not reversing
course until the fall of the year (several months after
Borna Bikic had been brought aboard in the spring).
With so much up in the air, the 1Q goals can't but be
sketchy. Maybe two events in, things will start to
become more clear. But here's a quick target to shoot
at: say, 1 SF and more QF appearances than first-match
exits. That would provide a nice foundation on which to
build.
TOKYO, JAPAN
Toray Pan Pacific Open
Tier I; Indoor/Carpet
#7 seed; 1r vs. Cara Black
It'd be nice to think that Jelena could burst out of
the gate and cause everyone to wonder what might have
happened had she gone to Melbourne and placed herself
into a field so depleted that #22 and #32 seeds made the
SF... but it's more likely the opposite will occur.
The rust will no doubt be evident. Additionally,
Tokyo presents another set of anti-Jelena
circumstances. She's lost early in her first event of
the season the past two years, both times in the 2nd
Round in Tokyo (last year, after famously escaping a
gaping 0-5 hole in the 1st set of her 1st Round match
vs. Angelique Widjaja). Plus, carpet has traditionally
been Jelena's worst surface.
1998..3-3
1999..1-2
2000..2-2
2001..8-4
2002..0-3
2003..2-3
Overall, she's 16-17. Subtract her one carpet event
title (Moscow 2001) and she's 11-17. Not exactly
something to gain a confidence boost from.
Needless to say, the first match will be extremely
important if this is to be anything but a brief cameo
appearance. It'll be against Cara Black. Winnable?
Yes, but who knows what state Jelena's game will be in
this week. If it's passable, the draw could bring the
likes of Tamarine Tanasugarn and Elena Dementieva (who
Jelena's virtually owned on the court since 2000)... but
those matches are so far off you need binoculars to see
them.
Being a Tier I, a great deal could be attained in
Japan. But if it doesn't come to pass, Jelena just
needs to avoid some sort of collapsing moment that could
linger in her mind the rest of this quarter and derail
more things down the line. A solid win (or two) would
provide the tone-setting start that should be able to
put to rest any deeply-buried doubts that a repeat of
2003's woes might be awaiting her.
So, beat back Black... then go from there.
It's a little later than expected, but the "year of
the comeback" is now officially christened.
Hallelujah.
=================================
THIS WEEK ON TENNISRULZ BACKSPIN: "Taureau in a
Clijsters Shop"
