JELENA-DOKIC.com
April 1, 2004
JELENA CORNER
by Todd Spiker
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THE
WONDERFUL, HORRIBLE 1st QUARTER OF JELENA
DOKIC
[The Jelena Awards, version 04.1]
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The 1st Quarter in Miniature...
ACT I: Dorothy Held Hostage, Year 3... "unresolved
personal issues"
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ACT II: Tokyo Elation... happy times are here again!
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ACT III: Delusions Revealed... exasperation erupts
after results expose wrong-headedness of belief that
"the slump" was over
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THE CONCLUSION: Reality Check... The Fair One needs
more time
*1st Qtr.Points Chart*
.........DEFEND...2004
======================
Week 1........0......0
Week 2........0......0
Week 3 (Oz)...0.......
Week 4 (Oz)..77......0
Week 5.......57....149
Week 6........1......1
Week 7........0......0
Week 8........1......1
Week 9........0.....35
Week 10 (I)...1.......
Week 11 (I)...0......1
Week 12 (M).118.......
Week 13 (M)...1.....55
======================
1Q..........255....242
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After
skipping the Australian circuit once again,
Jelena's absence from play Down Under is now
assured of exceeding 1400 days.
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*CORNER 1Q GOALS (& REALITY)*
W/RU.....0 (0)
SF.......1 (1)
QF/4r....3 (1)
early....2 (4)
BEST WIN: Tokyo QF - def. Tatiana Panova 6-1/6-1.
Jelena starts her season with a "surprise" SF result
in her most controlling match of the Quarter. After
advancing to one SF in her first 28 events in 2003,
Tokyo gives the Fair One two SF in three events from
Zurich-to-Tokyo.
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"My
confidence is very high tennis-wise. I
haven't been like this for a while, a
year and a half. I'm very happy about
it." -- Jelena, in Tokyo
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**QUARTERLY REPORT CARD**
-1st Qtr-
SINGLES
Tokyo TPP (SF/Davenport)..A-
Paris (2r/Bovina)..........F
Dubai (1r/Mandula).........F
Doha (2r/Zheng)...........C-
I.Wells (2r/Leon Garcia)...F
Miami (4r/Dementieva).....C+
OVERALL: C-/D+
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DOUBLES
Tokyo TPP (1r/Husarova)....F
Miami (1r/Safina)..........F
OVERALL: F
WORST LOSS: Dubai 1r vs. Petra Mandula. 1-6/2-6 vs.
Great Mandula's Ghost herself.
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AN
EYE-OPENING BEGINNING: Jelena defeated Cara
Black in her 2004 debut in Tokyo after
losing the opening set. In 2003, she lost
the first seven times she dropped the 1st
set, went 1-16 during the first seventeen
occasions and was 4-26 over the course of
the entire season.
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**2004 AT A GLANCE**
FEBRUARY
Tokyo TPP (3-1/149 points)
Paris (0-1/1 point)
Dubai (0-1/1 point)
MARCH
Doha (1-1/35 points)
Indian Wells (0-1/1 point)
Miami (1-1/55 points)
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AN
UNKNOWING HARBINGER?: In the Tokyo SF,
after the other SF was a walkover, Jelena
decided to play for the fans rather than
take a walkover loss of her own in her match
against Lindsay Davenport. With her leg
wrapped, she was noticably hampered in her
movement and quickly dropped a 1-6/0-6
decision. Nothing has been the same since.
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5-6...won/lost
1-0...walkovers
3-3...3-set matches
3-2...wins 1st set
2-4...losses 1st set
2-2...tie-breaks
2-0...extended sets
40.3..avg.singles pts.
0-2...doubles won/lost
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5-4...vs.lesser ranked
0-2...vs.higher ranked
4-3...Tier I's
1-3...Tier II's
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2-4...hard outdoor
0-1...greenset hard outdoor
3-1...carpet
2-4...outdoors
3-2...indoors
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0-0...January
3-3...February
2-3...March
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3-1...Japan
1-1...Qatar
1-2...United States
0-1...France
0-1...United Arab Emirates
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3-1...Asia
1-2...North America
1-2...Middle East
0-1...Europe
JELENA STREAKS THE CROWDS IN TOKYO: In the 1st
Round, Jelena opened by losing 4 of 5 games and
trailed 3-6/5-6... then won 8 of the final 9 games
to take the match. In the 2nd Round, she fell
behind 3-4, then went on an 8-3 run, then lost 6 of
8, then won 6 of 7 to take the match. In the QF,
she won 12 of 14 games. In the SF, she lost 12 of
13.
**1Q THROUGH THE YEARS**
1999.......8-5
2000.......5-7
2001.......6-4
2002.......5-4
2003.......5-6
2004.......5-6
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CHOKE:
In her Paris 2nd Round match against Elena
Bovina, Jelena blew a 6-4/6-6 (5-4 in TB)
lead. She lost the TB, then the 3rd set at
love en route to dropping a total of 26 of
29 games.
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**JELENA ON HARDCOURTS**
(g)-greenset indoor
Paris (g) - 2r (Bovina)
Dubai - 1r (Mandula)
Doha - 2r (Zheng)
Indian Wells - 2r (Leon Garcia)
Miami - 4r (Dementieva)
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CAREER: 106-70 (hard)
CAREER: 4-4 (greenset)
**THE COMEBACK CHART**
(well, maybe not)
[Z-to-T: Zurich-to-Tokyo]
[Since: Paris-to-Miami]
...........ZtoT...PtoM
Matches.....9-3....2-5
3-setters...6-1....1-3
lost 1st....3-3....1-3
won 1st.....6-0....1-2
TB/extend...4-2....2-1
walkovers...0-0....1-0
QF+.........3/3....0/5
SF+.........2/3....0/5
(time for a mid-awards flashback to October 2003)
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"I'm
playing for next year."
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"I want
to do well in those early tournaments and
hopefully be back in the Top 10 by March."
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----------------------
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"I feel
I have got my head together and my tennis
together."
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(okay, come back to the present now)
**2004 TIE-BREAK SCORES**
Tokyo 1r - Black/2nd/7-5
Tokyo 2r - Husarova/1st/9-7
Tokyo 2r - Husarova/2nd/2-7
Paris 2r - Bovina/2nd/5-7
TOTAL: 2-2
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TWO
JELENAS ARE BETTER THAN ONE?: Recent
reports indicate that Jelena may return to
Fed Cup action in April, representing Serbia
& Montenegro in the Europe/Africa Zone
competition in Athens along with, among
others, Jelena Jankovic. The Fair One's
first participation in FC since 2000 would
mean she's eligible to play the Summer
Olympics (which will count for WTA ranking
points for the first time) in
August,
also in Athens.
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DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?: When Jelena has signed
up to play doubles in 2004, her singles results have
been better (3-1 to Tokyo SF, 1-1 to Miami 4r)
compared to when she hasn't (a combined 1-4). Maybe
it's a health issue, since it can't be the extra
match play. Overall, she's 0-2 in doubles action.
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A
HALF DOZEN HEADACHES: After winning her
first three matches of 2004, Jelena
proceeded to go 1-5 in the next six.
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**HIGH-RANKED WINS (5)**
#45 Nicole Pratt (Doha)
#48 Kristina Brandi (Miami)
#48 Cara Black (Tokyo)
#166 Janette Husarova (Tokyo)
#250 Tatiana Panova (Tokyo)
[walkover vs. #46 Pratt]
**LOW-RANKED LOSSES (6)**
#98 Gala Leon Garcia (Ind.Wells)
#77 Jie Zheng (Doha)
#40 Petra Mandula (Dubai)
#35 Elena Bovina (Paris)
#8 Elena Dementieva (Miami)
#6 Lindsay Davenport (Tokyo)
Tokyo 1r vs.
Black... down 3-6/5-6, Jelena wins 3-6/7-6/6-1
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Doha 1r vs. Pratt... after losing the 1st set 0-6,
Jelena wins the next two 6-3/6-4 (though she lost
5-0 leads in both sets). Still, the Aussie vet is
Jelena's '04 good luck charm, having also provided a
walkover in a match in Miami.
**LONG WINNING STREAKS**
[career]
8...May-June 2001
8...October 2001
8...April 2002
[2003-04]
4...October 2003
3...March 2003
3...February 2004
HISTORY: Jelena's 0-9 vs. Davenport after the most
recent loss in Tokyo.
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HISTORY REVISITED: After seemingly exorcising the
bad memory last October, Jelena was again haunted by
Great Mandula's Ghost in the Dubai 1r in a match
that wasn't nearly as close as the memorable defeat
at the '01 Roland Garros.
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THEIR HISTORY IS... OFFICIALLY HISTORY: Jelena's
loss to Elena Dementieva in the Miami 4r ended her
6-match winning streak over the Russian since losing
to her in the Sydney Olympic SF in September 2000.
Ironically, Jelena won the 1st set this time around
but lost the match. In five of the previous six
wins in the streak, Jelena had to come from behind
after losing the opening set.
**LONG LOSING STREAKS**
[career]
4...September-Octber 2002
4...February-March 2003
[3+ - 2003-04]
4...February-March 2003
3...May 2003
3...September-October 2003
3...February 2004
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PROMISES: Jelena has said she plans to
finally resume the Dorothy Tour in January
2005. Of course, she seemed to say the same
thing about 2004. As with most things
Jelena, it's best to take a wait and see
approach.
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**2004 QUALITY POINTS**
FEBRUARY
10...#48 Black (Tokyo)
2....#166 Husarova (Tokyo)
2....#250 Panova (Tokyo)
MARCH
10...#45 Pratt (Doha)
10...#48 Brandi (Miami)
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"I know
that I'm going through a slump. It'll take
some time for me to start playing well and
win matches." -- Jelena in Doha
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NEXT UP IN THE (HOPEFULLY MORE) WONDERFUL, (HOPEFULY
LESS) HORRIBLE 2nd QUARTER: EuroJelena VI and the
Search for Hope
All for now.
