Week 1 at SW19 wasn't a particularly easy one for Jelena
Dokic. Having advanced to the second week in all three of
her previous trips to Wimbledon, this fourth opening week
excursion included more hand-wringing, anxiety-laced moments
than the three others combined. More than once, she looked
to be teetering on the edge of elimination and seeing her #7
seed go to waste.
So far, though, she's made it through, even if it was by the
skin of her teeth. It all started with what looked to be an
easy 1st Round match against qualifer Elena Tatarkova. That
one turned into a 7-6,6-4 eyebrow-raiser.
Round Two was still more of a white-knuckled affair. Even
after taking the 1st set 6-0 over Kveta Hrdlickova despite
ongoing service problems, Jelena nearly saw her 2002
Wimbledon slip away. She lost the 2nd set 4-6, then lost
her serve for 5-6 in the 3rd. At that point. she was at a
mental low point and noted after the match that she pretty
much thought her run was over. But as the Czech served for
the match, and was just two points from victory, Jelena's
fortunes turned. After a stream of errors (61 in the match,
with 10 DF) had gotten Jelena into such trouble, it was a
handful of nervous mistakes from Hrdlickova that brought her
back from the brink. The errors allowed Jelena to break
back, then win the next two games for an 8-6 final set
triumph.
Looking for an easier match on Centre Court in the 3rd
Round, Jelena nearly got it. Notice I said "nearly." She
cut down on her errors (totalling more winners for the
match), but almost choked away the 1st set to Nathalie Dechy
after blowing 10 set points (3 on Dechy's serve, then 7 on
her own in a single game while up 5-3). The 10th lost SP
was frustratingly followed up by a DF, then a lost break
point. From that moment, Jelena rallied and won 8 of the
last 10 games to win 7-5,6-2 for an otherwise routine win.
But the serving lapses that have hounded Jelena for well
over a month continue to linger, and all the drama that
resulted in Week 1 will finally end her 2002 Wimbledon
journey if they make a return appearance in Week 2. The
competition only gets tougher now, and Jelena can't afford
to continue to come so close to beating herself. Now, the
opponents will do it for her. She can't give them an
assist.
This Houdini act can only last so long.
--A WIN AWAY?--
One of Jelena's stated goals for 2002 was to rise to the Top
5. After various injury-related stops and starts during the
season's first six months, it appears she might be just one
victory from wrapping up the #5 ranking for the week of July
8.
A month ago, Jelena trailed Kim Clijsters by 1063 points,
Justine Henin by 742 and Lindsay Davenport by 515. Just
before Wimbledon, Jelena vaulted past the injured Davenport
to #7. This is what the Drive for #5 looked like as
Wimbledon began:
Henin is in the process of defending 608 points from last
year's RU, but it's Clijsters' 2r loss to Elena Likhovtseva
(costing her 174 points) that has put Jelena (having already
defended her 4r from 2001) into the position to make her
next momentous ranking jump. Here are the up-to-date totals
after three rounds at Wimbledon:
What it means is that if Jelena can defeat Hantuchova on
Monday to advance to the QF, she will gain 142 more points
and move past Clijsters to #5. At that point, the only
thing standing between Jelena and the official #5 ranking
would be Justine Henin. Henin could still move past her,
but only if she can fashion her second straight trip to the
Wimbledon Final. To do so, though, would likely entail
Henin defeating both Monica Seles and Venus Williams. Not
exactly the most likely scenario.
So, for all sane intents and purposes, Jelena is one win
away from turning another goal into reality. Maybe a week
from now, the Drive for #5 will be tranformed into... oh,
let me see... maybe "The Trek for Tres?"
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Venus Williams
...The two-time defending champ hasn't done anything to make
anyone think she won't make it three in a row.
RISER: Eleni Daniilidou & Chanda Rubin
...Last week's Netherlands and Eastbourne grasscourt
titleists continued their runs to the 4r. Next, they'll
face Jennifer Capriati and Serena Williams, respectively.
SURPRISE: Els Callens
...The third (and forgotten) Waffle, 31-year old Callens was
the oldest woman in the draw. But her 3r effort against
Serena Williams, a 6-7,6-7 loss, produced the best women's
match of Week 1.
VETERAN: Monica Seles
...Seles hasn't yet faced a real test thanks to a good
draw. A QF meeting with Henin seems to loom ahead.
NEW FACE: Laura Granville
...the 21-year old American college champ quietly knocked
off Nicole Pratt, Marlene Weingartner and Mary Pierce to
advance to Week 2. Next up: Amelie Mauresmo.
DOWNER: Kim Clijsters
...dogged by the stress fracture in her arm since January,
her lack of practice time is catching up to her. She
followed up her 3r RG exit with a 2r loss to Elena
Likhovtseva at Wimbledon.
*MATCHES*
1.3r - Serena def. Els Callens
...the 7-6,7-6 win over the oldest player in the draw kept
Serena off the list of Court 2 victims.
2.2r - Elena Likhovtseva d. Clijsters
...the Waffle was 2-of-14 on break point chances.
3.2r - Dokic def. Hrdlickova
...Hrdlickova was two points from her second slam victory
over Dokic (2000 RG 2r), but the Yugoslav pulled out an 8-6
3rd set win despite 61 unforced errors.
4.3r - Mauresmo d. Anastasia Myskina
...two straight grasscourt final runs proved too much for
Myskina to follow up. Isn't it about time for Mauresmo to
crumble?
5.3r - Laura Granville d. Mary Pierce
...Pierce was a set up and 4-3, then Granville took 9 of the
last 10 games.
*QUOTES*
--Jelena Dokic, when asked about a relationship with F1
driver Enrique Benoldi: "If I wasn't a tennis player, you
wouldn't be talking to me right now, so why don't you think
of a question that's your business and ask me that."
Ouch.
WIMBLEDON WEEK 2 PREDICTIONS
4TH ROUND
Venus d. Raymond
...Venus has won 17 straight at Wimbledon. 18 is but a mere
formality unless her knee (slightly wrapped in the 3r) is
bothering her.
Likhovteva d. Maleeva
...Maleeva matched her career-best Wimbledon 4r from last
year, so she's never gone past this point. Likhovtseva was
a 1996 Quarterfinalist.
Seles d. Tanasugarn
...Tanasugarn's 5th consecutive 4r Wimbledon result. Seles
is likely to win, but this could be the big 4r upset.
Henin d. Dementieva
...Dementieva has made the 4r in the last four slams, but
she hasn't won on a stage as big as this since 2000.
Granville d. Mauresmo
...Granville's game is suited for grass, and Mauresmo is
overdue to fall apart.
Capriati d. Daniilidou
...Capriati might be in for a surprising fight from the
Greek, but she'll pull it out.
Dokic d. Hantuchova
...Hantuchova is 2-0 vs. Dokic as a pro, and Jelena's serve
has been up-and-down all week. But two days rest, and that
Wimbledon has been so good to her, should get her through.
(I'm not sure if Mr. Sweetness & Light hijacked that one or
not.)
Serena d. Rubin
...the matchup looks intriguing on paper, but it probably
won't be.
QF
Venus d. Likhovtseva
Henin d. Seles
Capriati d. Granville
Serena d. Dokic
SF
Venus d. Henin
Capriati d. Serena
F
Venus d. Capriati
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by Todd Spiker