Jelena-Dokic.com
JELENA CORNER
September 29, 2004

STATE OF JELENA'S GAME REPORT (2004):
Nothing Is Entirely What It Seems... But Everything Is
Exactly As It Appears

by Todd Spiker

(Part 3 of 3): SHOOTING THE ELEPHANT

>"I often wondered whether
>any of the others grasped
>that I had done it solely
>to avoid looking a fool."
>[from the essay "Shooting
>an Elephant," by George
>Orwell, 1936]

It's just a hunch, but maybe it'd be a good idea for Jelena to consider hiring a female coach as her guide out of the darkness.

Jelena's only female "tennis voice" with a professional background in the sport has been Leslie Bowrey, during her early days in Australia (additionally, Pam Whytcross is listed as Jelena's "mentor" in the WTA's Partners for Success program). If nothing else, such a coaching move would eliminate the creeping "daddy complex" rooted in most of her previous coaching situations.  Consider, after living through the years with Damir, she acted like a rebellious teenager under the thumb of an oppressive parent with Heinz Gunthardt.  Then, she immediately hooked up with Borna Bikic, who has presided over the cutting of all ties to Damir (he's not even listed in her official WTA bio these days, although mentions of her mother and brother remain), while seemingly maintaining Jelena's allegience despite on-court results that have gone nowhere but south.  Rarely mentioned when Jelena's career-worst nine-match losing streak in singles is brought up is the fact that she's in the middle of a career-worst losing streak in doubles, as well.  THAT streak is at seven matches, stretching back to September 2003.

The relationship with Gunthardt might have felt too similar to that which Jelena had with Damir, with her then-coach giving orders to work when she'd rather have been doing other things.  On the other hand, the Bikic/Dokic relationship might be based too much on friendship, leading to her reluctance to end it at a time when she has few other people to turn to.  Still, though, the old "control" issue isn't out of the picture -- Jelena has mentioned in the past that she enjoyed having Bikic as coach because he took care of things so that she didn't "have to think" so much.

What Jelena may need in the coaching department is to find a happy medium between the two types of relationships she's had with Gunthardt and Bikic.  The best chance of realizing that might come with obtaining a female coach, preferably a recently-retired player since she'd need to foster a new form of coach/player teamwork.  A female contemporary could be a guide as well as a friend, while avoiding any of the father figure undertones that could continually hound a new relationship with a male mentor.

In the past, Jelena has talked about her friendships with the Spanish veterans Conchita Martinez and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.  Would it be out of the question for a coaching relationship to develop there? Martinez's career is nearly over, while Sanchez Vicario retired in 2002.  ASV returned to play doubles this season, and US Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova has talked in wonderful terms about how much Sanchez Vicario helped her career (they've even recently teamed up to play doubles a few times).  Could ASV serve as some form of part-time player-coach, teaching Jelena while also playing a little doubles with her along the way?  Hmmm, the Bumblebee and the Fair One... or maybe the Fair One and the Bumblebee? Whichever, each has a certain ring, don't you think? It's just a wild thought thrown against the wall -- Sanchez Vicario might not even have the mentality or desire to be a coach.  But imagining Jelena with a little of the Sanchez Vicario grit in her bones isn't something that makes you frown.

Speaking of (not so) wild thoughts, a few sessions with a sports psychologist wouldn't hurt Jelena, either.  She's become something of a "head case" the last few years.  Even Pierre Cantin, from his courtside view during Jelena's 1st Round US Open match, noted her overly harsh self-criticism after bad points, and her inability to forget about an error, move on, and focus on the next task at hand.  Helping players find ways to focus is precisely what a sports psychologist is called upon to do.  Just a few tips to avoid getting so needlessly down on herself would be an important step toward some recovery of her lost game.  With Jelena, it starts from the head down -- so fixing her mind will be essential.

Of course, Jelena needs more than JUST a coach, or a psychologist.  She needs cover.

A decade ago, Jelena fled to Australia to escape trouble at home in Serbia.  Might the land down under once again provide her with some form of haven of stability come 2005?  Say what you will about the Aussie press, but the Australian tennis establishment certainly seemed willing to accept Jelena back earlier this year when her possible Olympic/Fed Cup participation was at issue.  The Aussie fans seem to rally around their own, and such an extended circle of support could be tentatively tested come January with the long-awaited revival of the Dorothy Tour.

During that period this summer, Aussie tennis officials noted that they wanted some assurance that Jelena would be committed to becoming part of the Aussie "team"... which raises the final topic to be volleyed about in this State of Jelena report -- does Jelena, in her heart, even WANT to put in the effort to reclaim her past tennis life?  She's said all the right things ("I still love tennis," etc.) when queried about such issues this year, but actions speak louder than words.  And Jelena has given little visual indication on the court that she's willing, or even capable, of stoking the internal fire that'll be needed for her to repair what's become such wreckage.

Generally, by design, there are two types of successful pro athletes:  the frontrunners, and the fighters.  A few, like Justine Henin-Hardenne, manage to blur the line between the two categories.  Some, like Andre Agassi, live such varied careers that they alternately embody BOTH spirits with every fiber of their beings.  Jelena used to be a fighter, with dreams of being a frontrunner.  Now, she's neither... and she's quickly losing her place on the women's tour as a result.  The battle between "good Jelena" and "bad Jelena" has become the stuff of "legend" over the past few years, and as 2004 speeds to its conclusion it's clear that "bad Jelena" is winning.  Not only that, she's re-writing history and altering "good Jelena's" brainwaves in the process.  If Jelena was Winston Smith from George Orwell's 1984, it's safe to say that her Room 101 terror has been discovered.  But rather than the evil O'Brien administering the brainwashing techniques it's Jelena herself who's handling the chore.

>2 + 2 = 5
>War is Peace.
>Freedom is Slavery.
>Ignorance is Strength.

Nothing is entirely what it seems... but everything is exactly as it appears.  I've always been against the idea of Jelena walking out on what remains of 2004. It seemed to go against her nature.  But her nature has changed.  It could be that she needs to get away in order to rediscover why she's playing tennis in the first place, and whether she's willing to commit to what'll be needed to begin to play it at the level she did from 1999-2002 again.  Even with her off-the-court problems, and a few short mid-season sabbaticals, she's continued to play this year.  So, one has to conclude that she doesn't feel that she's mentally incapacitated to the point that she's UNABLE to play. In her handful of "return" matches over the past few months, she's apparently gone into each match at least assuming that she's ready... only to see her game fall apart over and over again.  So, this isn't just a case of simply clearing her head.  She has a lot of work to do ON the court, as well, to earn the right to be the Fair One again.  That'll take time, and she'd be wise to be sure that she understands that fact, and is willing to put all her effort into the process.  If she feels she needs to shut down things for 2004 in order to come back with a clean slate in 2005, then so be it.  After all, staying around TOO long this season, without anything to encourage her to go forward, might dig a hole that Jelena could never climb out of.  Certainly, she's in no condition -- mentally of physically -- to defend those Zurich points next month, and the reality of that could just hit her like a brickyard full of bricks that could bury her desire for good.  She's at the point where not playing at all might be better than playing and continuing to lose.  We don't want Pierre's recent trip to New York to have included his eyewitness account of what was the Fair One's last stand.

In my heart, if she were to close the book on 2004 right now, I feel Jelena WOULD ultimately return next season in a better state of mind.  It's funny how just the flipping over of a new calendar can reinvigorate the psyche, tricking it into believing that everything is "new" again even though all that's REALLY occurred is a few additional revolutions of the earth.  Still, as this year's State of Jelena's Game report as attempted to show, for things to change, far more needs to take place than just the passage of time.

>"The Jeleniacs outside
>looked from Good Jelena
>to Bad Jelena, and from
>Bad Jelena to Good
>Jelena again; but it
>already was impossible
>to say which was which."
>[paraphrased from the
>final line of George
>Orwell's novel Animal
>Farm, published in 1946]

It's time for Jelena to make some decisions... and the consequences of making the wrong ones might just put her tennis future in severe doubt.  It's up to her.

All for now... but hopefully not for later.