"10"...starring Jelena Dokic

By Todd Spiker
Date: 9/10/2001

The planets were perfectly aligned for a certain Miss Jelena Dokic during the first week of October 2001. She didn't merely powerfully affirm her new Top 10 ranking with a third career singles title in Moscow on Sunday.

For a closer examination of the timing of this rising star reveals that she may have even more flair than she or anyone else expected. Surely, it's all purely coincidental... but what if it isn't?

*Moscow Point Breakdown*
260 = Champion
10 = Krasnoroutskaya (#36)
1 = Fokina (#258)
10 = Schiavone (#40)
23 = Farina Elia (#17)
35 = Dementieva (#13)
339 = TOTAL
-62 = 2000 points off
0 = 17-best tour.pts.off
+277 = POINTS FOR WEEK


On October 5, 1979 the movie "10" premiered. It made Bo Derek an instant star. On the same date 22 years later, Jelena Dokic defeated Francesca Schiavone in a QF match in Moscow to assure her ascension into the Top 10 for the first time in her young career.

Two days later, rather than jogging along the beach with her blond hair in braids and wearing a flesh-colored one-piere bathing suit ala Bo,
Jelena was seen with her blond hair in a ponytail and donning a powder blue-and-white Fila tennis dress as she lifted yet another silver-plated
cup above her head. She simply can't resist striking out on her own path, I guess.

First, let's get this out of the way. Here's the current Top 10 (isn't it great to see her name there?):

1.Martina Hingis
2.Jennifer Capriati
3.Lindsay Davenport
4.Venus Williams
5.Kim Clijsters
6.Amelie Mauresmo
7.Justine Henin
8.Monica Seles
9.Serena Williams
10.JELENA DOKIC

And here's a testament to her burgeoning all-surface versatility:

*Jelena's '01 Finals by Surface*
-HARD-
Hong Kong (exhib) - def. Kournikova
Tokyo (II) - def. Sanchez Vicario
Bahia (II) - lost to Seles
-CLAY-
Rome (I) - def. Mauresmo
-SUPREME INDOOR-
Moscow (I) - def. Dementieva

Those are the facts. Jelena IS a Top 10 player, and she more than deserves the honor. But is she a "star" in all the ways the word implies on the women's tour in 2001? Can she be referred to on a
first-name basis by everyone -- ala "Venus" or "Serena" or "Jen" -- rather than just by her devotees (and you know that means you)? Not
right now. Not yet.

Being the Kremlin Cup champ won't allow Jelena to one day claim it as the single role that made her a "star." Despite it being a Tier I event, this isn't a Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman" type of moment. But, my, Jelena's body of work is beginning to look mighty impressive, isn't it? Three singles titles in 2001 (including two Tier I's) on three different surfaces, back-to-back finals in Bahia & Tokyo, and now three trips to a tournament's deciding match in the past four weeks to seal her long-awaited climb to #10. And she only turned 18 six short months ago.

As Jelena eases into a brief, well-deserved one-week hiatus before the sprint to the WTA finish line in Munich, it's safe to say that the
gameplan for her greater gains is now being formulated. The ankle sprain that gives Jelena a convenient excused absence from the Kiwi Open
in Shanghai couldn't have come at a better time. The final Tier I of the season comes up in Zurich immediately after the China event (with
the WTA Championships just two weeks after that), and there was really no need to cross continents yet again for the sake of a Tier IV event so
soon before the final big show of the year is about to begin. Jelena's looking for a juicy lead part, not a guest shot on a low-rated series.
As with the biggest of movie stars, at times it's best to settle down and wait for a true prestige project to come along... the "Oscar bait"
role that is destined to garner the star the prized respect from their peers that she deserves.

Jelena's success in bigger events has always been a well-documented fact, and her Tier I results in 2001 are yet another case. Here's this season's Tier I winners:

Feb - Tokyo = Lindsay Davenport
Mar - Indian Wells = Serena Williams
Apr - Miami = Venus Williams
Apr - Charleston = Jennifer Capriati
May - Berlin = Amelie Mauresmo
May - Rome = Jelena Dokic
Aug - Toronto = Serena Williams
Oct - Moscow = Jelena Dokic
Oct - Zurich

Notice whose name pops up twice? And how many Top 10ers DON'T appear? And how many players show up who don't currently occupy a space in the
Top 10? (The answers: "Jelena," of course, "4" --Hingis, Henin, Clijsters & Seles, and "0.") With a few rare exceptions, only big-time
players win big-time events... and it's clear that Jelena belongs in that group.

In equating the type of star "galaxy" that Jelena currently finds herself in Hollywood terms, it's clear that she's not of the flash-in-the-pan variety of Bo... but she doesn't seem to yet be in the league of a long-standing star like Julia, either. Although, one COULD argue that Jelena's "Pretty Woman" might have been the upset of Martina Hingis in 1999.

Hmmm, maybe Jelena DOES have a bit of Julia in her. Like Roberts, she started out with a bang before being dogged (many times unfairly) by
off-camera/court headlines but managed to keep her head and worked even harder to prove herself. As Roberts showed an increasing versatility in both comedic and dramatic roles, Jelena's results have held steady or
improved on everything from slow clay to fast hard courts, and from unpredictable grass to the Supreme indoor court of Moscow. Roberts
seized her "moment" with "Erin Brockovich" and won an Oscar last year to couple her success with the respect that her talent had finally earned.
Jelena, meanwhile, is still lurking and searching for HER "Brockovich."

When will it come? And where? Wimbledon, the scene of her first big pro success? How about her favored hard courts in the US or (ironically) Oz so soon after her stormy exit from Down Under? Then again, before last spring's Roland Garros, Jelena was playing so well on
the clay courts of Europe that she would win the tour's Player of the Month award for that period. One thing IS certain. Everyone will
recognize the true star-making role when it arrives.

As things are shaping up, it's becoming more and more apparent that Jelena appears fated to one day find her "Brockovich," too. The hopes
and theories of 2000 have morphed in 2001 into firm beliefs and convictions that that day isn't far off. As for now, though, she'll have to revel in her "10" role... and wait for the dream script to come across her desk. As was the case with her Top 10 status, that's now looking to be a matter of when, not if. Jelena's confidence-bursting late season surge has established an environment where it could come far sooner than later. Her timing is perfect, just as her victory of October 5 proved.

Is it coincidence, or destiny? You be the judge... and make sure you check the ballot clearly.


*TOP 20 (Oct.8, 2001)*
NAME==POINTS==(since 10/1)
1.Hingis = 5100 (-156)
2.Capriati = 4984
3.Davenport = 4345
4.V.Williams = 4333
5.Clijsters = 3280 (-214)
6.Mauresmo = 2842
7.Henin = 2704 (-38)
8.Seles = 2508 (+94)
9.S.Williams = 2501 (-252)
10.JELENA = 2347 (+277)
11.Tauziat = 2089 (-56)
12.Shaughnessy = 1905
13.Dementieva = 1876 (+266)
14.Farina Elia = 1685 (+120)
15.Testud = 1591
16.Maleeva = 1585 (+18)
17.Coetzer = 1509 (-94)
18.Schett = 1492 (+103)
19.Sanchez Vic. = 1430 (-134)
20.Huber = 1263 (+1)


*Race for the Sanex Chsp*
(Jan.1-Oct.8, 2001 points)
Top 16 invited to Munich
1.Capriati = 4587
2.V.Williams = 4128
3.Hingis = 3811
4.Davenport = 3338
5.Clijsters = 2838
6.Henin = 2667
7.Mauresmo = 2636
8.S.Williams = 2501
9.JELENA = 2323
10.x-Seles = 2142
11.Shaughnessy = 1904
12.Farina Elia = 1716
13.Testud = 1663
14.Dementieva = 1496
15.Tauziat = 1453
16.Sanchez Vicario = 1380
17.Maleeva = 1352

(x- will not compete)


THIS WEEK...

A LOOK BACK -- Jelena in Oct.2000
...Jelena's ranking was a then-career high of #31 a year ago (and would rise to a new high of #29 a week later). She was fresh off her SF run
at the Sydney Olympics, where she lost a tight 3-setter to Dementieva before falling to Seles in the Bronze Medal Match, and QF defeat at the
hands of Serena Williams in Tokyo. With the WTA schedule rearranged because of the Olympics, Jelena found herself at the Swisscom Challege
in Zurich. There, Jelena defeated Emmanuelle Gagliardi in the 1r before losing in straight sets to Hingis in the 2r.

*This Week's Defending Champions*
Shanghai (IV)--
Shaughnessy def. Tulyaganova
Filderstadt (II)--
Hingis def. Clijsters


FROM THE WATCHTOWER...

*Can Anyone Escape Jelena's Wrath?*
#6 Mauresmo = leads by 495 points
#7 Henin - leads by 357 points
#8 Seles - leads by 161 points
#9 S.Williams - leads by 154 points
#10 JELENA - 2347
#11 Tauziat - trails by 258 pts.
#12 Shaughnessy - trails by 442 pts.
#13 Dementieva - trails by 471 pts.


...The Serena Watch: As Jelena has been posting great results on a weekly basis since the US Open, Serena Williams has been sitting out.
Quietly, Jelena has been creeping closer and closer in the rankings. Now, with Serena having pulled out of Filderstadt, the move past one of
the Williams sisters could happen as soon as after the Tier I in Zurich next week (if Jelena had played Shanghai, it could have come even
sooner). It's hard to believe that ten months ago anyone would have predicted such a thing for 2001, but it's now a distinct possibility.

...The Seles Watch: While Jelena was winning a Tier I in Moscow, Seles was taking the title at a Tier III in Tokyo. Thus, Seles' 344-point
lead shrunk to 161 in one week... but will likely by pushed back to 200+ with Seles now the only Top 20 player competing in Shanghai. But, with
Seles having no plans to go to the tour's Championships in Munich, Jelena's recent success, coupled with the additional points she may gain
in HER Championships debut, means her chances of finishing 2001 as the highest-ranked player born in Yugoslavia are looking better and better.

...The Belgian Waffles (with French dressing) Watch: Kim Clijsters holds an insurmountable (in 2001, anyway) 933-point lead at the moment,
but the same cannot be said of fellow Waffle Justine Henin. Henin bowed out early in Moscow, and now holds just a 357-point lead over Jelena (a
week ago, it was 672). Meanwhile, Amelie Mauresmo took a similar 2r ticket out of the Kremlin Cup and saw her 772-point lead sliced to 495. All three are in the field at Filderstadt, with potential QF matchups of Clijsters/Henin and Davenport/Mauresmo meaning that at least one (and
maybe both) of Jelena's potential '01 targets is guaranteed to fail to stack up a large enough amount of points to put their total out of Jelena's reach for this season.


Keep a Close Eye On...

...TAUZIAT: With the right combination of results in Moscow (namely Jelena's title run and Tauziat 2r exit at the hands of Schiavone),
Tauziat's 75-point lead over Jelena turned into a 275-point deficit for the French veteran. With the right (or wrong, in Jelena's case) result
-- a singles title in Filderstadt -- Tauziat could substantially cut into Jelena's lead this week. Tauziat was a Filderstadt semifinalist in
'00, and has a potential QF matchup with Hingis that could earn her an additional 100 quality points (ala Dementieva in Moscow last week) that
might potentially (temporarily) endanger Jelena's new standing as a Top 10er.

...SHAUGHNESSY: Jelena's hot streak has ballooned her once slim lead over the American to 442 points. Shaughnessy won the title in Shanghai
in 2000, but she's in Filderstadt this week in her first action since being crowned champion in Quebec City a few weeks ago.

...DEMENTIEVA: After a disappointing and injury-plagued early season, the Russian's game has suddenly found its form again. Dementieva nearly
fell out of the Top 20 after failing to defend her '00 SF at the US Open, but she's stormed all the way back to #13 since... the past month's most impressive rise by a player not named Dokic. Before losing to Jelena in Moscow, Dementieva defeated Hingis in the QF. Surprisingly, though, Dementieva has yet to win her first singles title as a professional.


*TOP 10 NEWS*

...The Battle for #1: The time may be now for Martina Hingis to relinquish her hold on the world #1 ranking. But, then again, that's a
possibility that's been in the air for what feels like an eternity. Hingis' loss to Dementieva in the Moscow QF might end up being the first
falling domino that begins the chain reaction that leads to her fall from the top. Hingis won four titles in late 2000 (Moscow, Filderstadt,
Zurich and the WTA Championships), but after getting off on the wrong foot last week she may now be hard pressed to prevent a semi-major slide
to #3 or #4. The changing of the guard may occur this week as Jennifer Capriati finally returns to the tour, after a month-long absence, at the
Filderstadt tournament that boasts a field that includes six of the tour's top 10 players (Venus and Serena pulled out, while Jelena and Seles had been scheduled for Shanghai). Capriati finds herself just 116 points from putting the final punctuation mark in the book that has been
her remarkable comeback story.

...Monica Seles' title in Tokyo provided enough points to move her past Serena Williams to #8. She holds a 7-point lead.

....Hmmm, what am I forgetting? Oh, yeah. A certain 18-year old from Yugoslavia also broke into the Top 10 for the first time this week.
With a 1983 birthdate of April 12, she's the second-youngest player currently residing in the elite group. Only #5 Clijsters, born two months later on June 8, is younger. By the way, that same Yugoslav's winner's check in Moscow allowed her to move into the #7 position on the
list of the WTA's 2001 money leaders.


THE NUMBERS...

*Jelena's Carpet/Supreme Indoor '01*
Japan (exhib) - 0-2 vs. Coetzer
Leipzig - 2r (lost to Hantuchova)
Moscow - W (def. Dementieva)
Linz - starts Oct. 22
Won/Lost Total: 5-3


*Most WTA Singles Titles in 2001*
6 Venus Williams
4 Lindsay Davenport
4 Amelie Mauresmo
3 Jennifer Capriati
3 Martina Hingis
3 Monica Seles
3 JELENA DOKIC
3 Justine Henin


*Most WTA Finals in 2001*
7 Lindsay Davenport (4-3)
7 Jennifer Capriati (3-4)
6 Venus Williams (6-0)
6 Martina Hingis (3-3)
5 Justine Henin (3-2)
5 Amelie Maursmo (4-1)
5 Monica Seles (3-2)
5 Kim Clijsters (2-3)
4 JELENA DOKIC (3-1)


*Best Win Pct. in WTA Finals '01*
(3 or more)
1.000 Venus Williams (6-0)
.800 Amelie Mauresmo (4-1)
.750 JELENA DOKIC (3-1)


AND FINALLY...

As she rests over the next week, Jelena's "yen for number 10" in 2001 will officially spawn a sequel. Let's dub it the "drive for number
5"... coming soon to a tennis court near you (or someone else) in 2002.

I'll have more about that next Monday.