Jelena-Dokic.com
January 1, 2006

**44 SHORT THOUGHTS ABOUT JELENA DOKIC**
by Todd Spiker

Jelena's Law (yeh-LAY-nuhz law) - n. Axiom that states that things are bound to get better at some point, because they couldn't get much worse.

...finally, that time has come. "Dorothy" Dokic's first steps down the yellow brick road have already been taken, on December 3 when she stepped off a plane in Melbourne and set foot on Australian soil for the first time since her father left the Land of Oz in a huff (with 17-year old Jelena in tow), shouting claims of draw rigging and other paranoid conspriracy theories on par with JFK assassination theories and tales of little green men crashing in Roswell, New Mexico. The tentative steps turned into a swifter trot, though, after she won the Australian Open Wild Card Playoff tournament. Will she break into a run this week when she returns to tour action in Auckland, New Zealand? Stay tuned.


FACT (sort of): The reports of Jelena's tennis death were greatly exaggerated. Well, at least her desire for the fateful date to arrive any sooner than it has to, anyway.

OPINION: After nearly three seasons of wondering when it'd be discovered, we finally found out what Jelena's breaking point was -- about a #350 ranking, losses to also-rans in ITF challengers, a complete familial break, multiple surgeries and difficulty with even getting out of bed at one point. In essence, it was a role that amounted to "professional insignificance" for the former #4 player in the world.


QUOTE: "I am an Australian. I feel like an Australian and I want to play for Australia again." - Jelena


THE LAST TIME JELENA...
Had a Top 10 ranking: May 25, 2003
Had a Top 10 win: vs. Clijsters (Zurich '03)
Played a Top 10 player: vs. Henin-Hardenne (Zurich '03)
Won Singles title: 2002 Birmingham
Won Doubles title: 2002 Linz (w/ Petrova)
Played in Singles Final: 2003 Zurich (vs. JHH)
Played in Doubles Final: 2003 Rome (w/ Petrova)
Played in a Slam: 2004 U.S. Open (Dechy/1st Round)
Won a Slam match: 2003 U.S. Open (Gagliardi/1st Round)


JELENA QUOTE: "Everyone will have their opinion and I cannot know how much will be positive or negative, but I owe a lot to so many people in Australia. It is where I belong."

PAUL McNAMEE QUOTE: "I nearly fell off my chair three months ago when the phone rang and it was Jelena saying she wanted to come back."


THE LAST TIME JELENA (Aussie Edition)...
Played Australian Open match: 2001 1st Rd. (vs. Davenport)
Won Australian Open match: 1999 2nd Rd. (vs. Brandi)
Won match in Australia: 2000 Sydney Olympic QF (vs. Coetzer)
Won Fed Cup match for Australia: 2000 World Group Playoffs (Russia, vs. Kournikova)


JELENA QUOTE: "I really regret the way that I left (Australia). Hopefully, they can understand me and what happened, and that I'm making this decision now. I'm looking forward, not going back to what happened, and hopefully they can start to love me again like they did before."

PAUL McNAMEE QUOTE: "We're certainly giving her a chance, and we hope other people do, too. She seems to have the fire in her belly and the eye of the tiger... which is a good sign."


HOPE: Jelena (and others) won't overreact if tour wins don't come early, or often, in early 2006.

REALITY: The Fair One might never make it fully back, and even if she does it won't occur this season. A year from now, a Top 50 ranking
would be a sign of real progress. The best news is that she's no longer refusing to the see the forest for the trees, and has mustered up the courage to return to her roots and ask for help.


HOPE: Jelena defies all expectations and is hands-down "Comeback Player of the Year" in 2006. Of course.

QUOTE: "Getting in the Top 100 is my first goal so I can get into tournaments. Having some wild cards at the beginning will help, but if I can play well and improve well with each match, I think I can get in the Top 50."


==BAD STAT ALERT==
[Year-End Rankings]
1997: #589
1998: #341
1999: #43
2000: #26
2001: #8
2002: #9
2003: #15
2004: #125
2005: #351


OLD: Rigged Draws
NEW/OLD (like '99 all over again): Dokic and Hingis playing in the same tournament again.
NEW?: The Fair One with a smile on her face


WHAT DID OLIVIA LUKASZEWICZ KNOW BEFORE ANYONE?: What Jelena was like on the court just after she'd returned to Australia, as the teen was the first player to hit with her at Melbourne Park

WHAT DOES DAMIR KNOW THAT WE DON'T ALREADY KNOW THAT HE THINKS HE KNOWS?: Not much. Oh, to be a fly on the wall when Damir first caught wind of Jelena's return Down Under. Or not... he likely swatted it, or maybe pulled off its wings. You know, sort of like how he managed -- both first-hand and by psychic connection -- to pull the wings off his daughter's tennis career the last few years. Recent reports state that Damir said he already believes Jelena's career is over (raise your hand if you didn't see that one coming).


JELENA ON DAMIR: "My father and I have completely different ideas. We aren't on the same wavelength. I am not able to live with him or to work with him. When you are in that situation, you can survive for a certain period of time, but then it has to end. It is like that with a coach, but it is so much tougher when it is family."


STOP IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE: "I haven't been ready to play before but I've been training hard recently, and though I know it won't come back easily for me, I have nothing to lose."

WISH WE'D HEARD THIS BEFORE: "Dorothy" finally surrendered to the reality that in order to have a tennis future, she had to go back home and start all over again. Sure, it's 3-4 years late, but why quibble? Especially when Jelena is 22 years old, a year after players 7-8 years older than she were still having resurgent seasons in 2005. She's using Mary Pierce (the crazy dad, the comeback, etc.) as an inspiration. At least she's finally got a blueprint to follow.


NEW YEAR'S REALIZATION: This will be Jelena's first FULL "Dorothy Tour" action since 2000 (her '01 Aussie/NZ stand included just one match).

NEW YEAR'S HOPE: That with Alicia Molik out due to illness, Jelena might ride a wave of Aussie support to a surprising few weeks ala two-time January '05 finalist Samantha Stosur and '05 Oz quarterfinalist Molik.


**JELENA ON THE DOROTHY TOUR**
1999: 5-2
2000: 3-5
2001: 0-1
2005-6: 4-0 (so far)


YOU KNEW THIS WAS ALL REAL WHEN...: Nicole Pratt started fretting about whether Jelena would be awarded an Australian Open wild card instead her. It wouldn't be a Jelena story if a little controversy wasn't wafting through the air. It's sort of refreshing... some things never change.

YOU KNEW THAT THIS TIME IT MIGHT BE DIFFERENT WHEN...: Jelena won the AO Wild Card Playoff tournament, making Pratt's worries inconsequential, and giving the Fair One a nice controversy-free boost in confidence.


NEXT-TO-LAST PARTING JELENA QUOTE: "I'm not expected to beat anyone. No one knows what to expect from me. I don't know what to expect from myself. But I'm fine with that. I just feel happy and good about my life, and I am hungry to compete back at the level I used to."

LAST PARTING JELENA QUOTE: "It's a lot harder to come back than to come up. But if I can do it, I think I'll be a stronger person and a
player."


Either way, Toto. I don't think we're in Zagreb anymore.

All for now.