JELENA-DOKIC.com - Feb.
16, 2004
JELENA CORNER
by Todd Spiker
|
|
|
|
|
|
KNOCKING AT
JELENA'S DOOR
|
|
Whew! That was a little like a drug-induced
flashback, wasn't it? Not a good one, either, as Paris
took us all the way back to the Depression-era days of
2003. Not exactly a time-travelling trip to crow about.
Let's face it. We all knew something like what
happened to Jelena last week would happen again
eventually, no matter how much everyone hoped it
wouldn't happen at all. At the very least, we prayed it
wouldn't occur quite so early in the season, when
Jelena's still trying to make her season-ago problems a
long-ago memory safely secured behind a locked door
buried deep within her psyche.
Those bad memories are always going to be knocking on
the door, begging to be let out to create new havoc in
Jelena's mind and body -- house and home -- all over
again. Their existence can't ever be rightly forgotten,
nor should it be, but shrewdly ignoring their pleas when
it's appropriate prevents them from becoming a lingering
nuisance every time a pressure situation (or, in the
case of Paris, a moment of severe disappointment)
presents itself.
Nursing a groin injury from Tokyo, Jelena was allowed
to be the last player to begin action in Paris (she
didn't play until the final match on Thursday!).
Everything seemed to be going her way, especially in her
2nd Round match against Elena Bovina, the very author of
one of those devastating losses ('02 US Open 2nd Round)
that ushered in the 2003 downturn. Jelena led 6-4/6-5,
then was up 5-4 in the 2nd set tie-break, just two
points from the match. But she lost the lead, then the
set... then the ability to keep the Demon's Door closed.
With disappointment permeating the air, all hell
broke loose. Jelena never won another game. Was it the
memory of the past anxieties that caused it, or a lapse
in concentration that snowballed into a disasterous
avalanche bearing down on the leading citizen of
unsuspecting Jelena Town at the bottom of the mountain?
Was it bad thoughts that became a self-fulfilling
prophecy, or just one of those bad patches that have
sometimes pock-marked Jelena's matches throughout her
career? It would seem that only the Fair One could know
for sure... and even she might not be able to come up
with a wide-ranging explanation for what happened.
Needless to say, it wasn't a good day... even if in
reflection it can be noted that Jelena did manage to
hang in and nearly straight-set an opponent she's always
had problems with (even in her one win over the Russian,
Jelena was pushed to three sets) despite the serving
problems that plagued her all day long. A 0-6 3rd set
is never something one should hope to be cheerful about,
and nor should Jelena.
In a sense, though, maybe Paris can serve as a needed
dose of reality. Nothing is certain. Nothing is going
to be gift-wrapped and gold-plated for Jelena this
season, and she won't be able to get by simply on the
notion that 2003 was an aberration and that everything
will return to normal in 2004 because it'd always been
that way up until about eighteen months ago. She still
has to complete her tennis transformation on the court,
as well as in her head. She still must be diligent and
keep her demonic memories locked away where they can't
hurt her.
Knowing they'll be knocking on her psyche's door
after missing a chance to make short work of an opponent
in Paris is one thing, but letting them run rampant
through her "house" is another. Last week, the Fair One
allowed those uninvited houseguests inside her head when
she opened that door a crack after letting that
tie-break slip away... and what home-wreckers they
turned out to be.
That open-door policy can't continue if 2004 is going
to be as different as Jelena wishes.
But it's just one result. One match. One
tournament. The more important moments will come in the
next few events in Dubai and Doha. The last thing
anyone wants to see is the Fair One putting together
back-to-back events with results like that of Paris.
The Bovina loss could be very damaging, but only if
Jelena doesn't lock it away behind that aforementioned
door.
It took her nearly ten months to learn to ignore the
knocking memories of matches lost last year. That her
name didn't "magically" appear in the Antwerp draw is a
good sign that it won't take her so long this time. If
she'd altered course and played in Belgium it would have
raised more than a few eyebrows and smelled suspiciously
of a year ago when she tried to chase away early round
losses with additional tournaments... and instead just
got more early round defeats and dug a confidence hole
so deep some wondered if she'd ever find her way back to
the surface.
To her great credit, she did just that in Zurich.
Then Linz. Then Tokyo, too, Hopefully, Jelena's two
week trip to the Middle East will be successful enough
to prevent that vicious cycle from ever getting the
chance to start up again in 2004.
This won't be the last time Jelena hears that
familiar knock, knock, knocking she heard in Paris.
Next time, though, maybe she'll remember to keep the
door closed.
Rest, work and a
pledge to not have anymore unwelcome visitors
===================
THIS WEEK ON TENNISRULZ WTA BACKSPIN...
Find out the answer to the nagging question, "What
exactly IS a 'Frussian Pastry?'"
