Jelena 2001 Year in Review, Pt.V:
A Starring Role... and a Catalyst for Change
by Todd Spiker

After having experienced the breathtaking exhileration of her first WTA singles title in May, 18-year old Jelena Dokic spent her summer learning first-hand about the immediate pitfalls of early success.

Suddenly, the hunter became the hunted... and Jelena struggled with her newly-pressurized role of "favorite."  The brilliant results of the Spring became far less so, as she labored to keep her game's level high.  The string of ever-more-frustrating Summer disappointments that began with the stunning loss to 131st-ranked Petra Mandula at Roland Garros, Dokic's worst defeat in 2001, would finally end with the disheartening mid-match collapse against #1 Martina Hingis at the US Open.

Ranked #12 as the Autumn campaign kicked off, it was an open question just how much effect the lingering memory of the loss at Flushing Meadows would have on the remainder of Dokic's season.  Would her confidence tumble?  Or would she seize the chance to turn a possible moment of doubt into a golden opportunity to refocus her efforts and once again prove her abilities not only to others, but also herself?

Anyone who'd followed Dokic's career path up till then should have known that the answer was elementary.  With her will put to the test, Jelena used her renewed sense of determination to define the rest of her 2001 season and produce an unprecedented run of impressive results.

In compiling a 19-5 post-US Open record, she would raise two more singles trophies (plus one in doubles), advance to the final in five of seven tournaments (twice in Tier I events, making it three such finals on three different surfaces for the year), including twice earning back-to-back trips to deciding matches.  The elusive consistency against lesser-ranked players would finally be buried for good, as well, as Dokic completed runs of 26-1 (and 29-2) against such players on her way to the first Top 10 ranking of her career.  By the time she was finished, Jelena's compelling late-season surge had more than proven that her exploits on the clay in Rome were merely a sign of far greater things to come.

The run began in Bahia, Brazil in a tournament that Dokic wasn't originally scheduled to play.  Despite stating a desire to rest after having played every week since RG, Jelena was a late entrant (maybe because she wanted to get the Hingis loss behind her as quickly as possible?).  It didn't take her long to show that she had learned from her US Open experience.

In her first Bahia match against Iva Majoli, Dokic won with ease but faired even better in handling a 75-minute delay caused by a hovering cloud of bees.  In the past, similar breaks in the action might have resulted in a lapse in concentration.  Not this time, as the win proved to spark a rush of momentum that took Jelena all the way to her second final of 2001.  She lost to Monica Seles, her eighth straight defeat at the hands of a Top 10 player, but the result would be a stepping stone to even more late-season success.

In Tokyo, Dokic's game finally hit its stride.  She ended her losing streak against Top 10ers with a SF victory over #5 Kim Clijsters, fighting through a batch of streaky play and stoking her confidence still more.  After falling behind 4-5 in the 1st set, Jelena won seven consecutive games (including breaking to go up 6-5, after having had her own serve broken five straight times) to go up 7-5,4-0 before a late rally from the Belgian tightened the 2nd set to 6-4.  In the final, Dokic handled Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 6-4,6-4 in the easiest of her three victories in three tries over the Spanish veteran on the season.  With her second career singles title in hand, Dokic was surging toward the WTA Championships in Munich... shortening her learning curve, and bringing her Top 10 mission closer to reality.

On the indoor carpet surface of Leipzig, though, Dokic suffered a small setback in her quest for back-to-back-to-back finals when she was upset by #58 Daniela Hantuchova in her opening match.  Leading 6-4,6-5 and serving, Jelena was broken and went on to lose the final eight games of the match. It was her first bad loss in a while (the only defeat by a lesser-ranked player in the final three and a half months of 2001), but the admission to being unable to concentrate due to being physically down in the 2nd set TB and proceeding 0-6 3rd set was telling.  Dokic's over-stuffed schedule had finally caught up with her in Germany and the loss, while disappointing, was a warning sign that begged to be heeded.  As things turned out, it was a blessing in disguise.  The early exit provided a much-needed chance to rest, and would enable her to recharge for another run at a Tier I event... and a chance to attain her Top 10 goal with a winning flair.  Literally.

In Moscow, Dokic escaped a 1st Round match against Lina Krasnoroutskaya where a 6-3,5-4 (and serving) lead disintegreated after Jelena double-faulted on a match point.  In the 3rd set, she trailed 4-5 and was down 15-30 on her own serve... but was bound and determined to not fall back into her summer lull as she managed to pull her game together in time to take the deciding set 7-5.  The latest Houdini-esque win seemed to infuse Dokic with confidence, for she would run roughshod over her remaining opponents without losing another set.

On October 5, Francesca Schiavone took just two games off Dokic in their QF match, and the victory assured that Jelena would move past Nathalie Tauziat into the #10 position on the WTA computer for the very first time.  In the final, her third in four weeks, Dokic never allowed Russian Elena Dementieva into the match and claimed her third singles title of the year (on three different surfaces) -- and second at a Tier I, tying for the most by any player in '01 -- with a 6-3,6-3 win.

Since her US Open loss to Hingis, Dokic had grabbed the starring role as the hottest player on the WTA Tour.  Her confidence was soaring, and she was looking to be amongst the favorites in Munich in her debut Championships appearance.  Unfortunately, it was then that her grand season-closing campaign would prove to be an irresistable force coming up against an immovable object.  Her name was Lindsay Davenport, and her big-serve, power groundstroke game would construct a ceiling through which Jelena was not able to crash through.

Still, Dokic's play continued on its impressive upswing in the closing weeks of the season.  In the Tier I in Zurich, she came back from a break down in both sets to defeat Chanda Rubin in straights, erased a 1-4 (and 5-6 with her opponent serving) 2nd set deficit to knock off Silvia Farina Elia in a 2nd set TB, and assured herself of another rise to #9 with a routine 6-2,6-2 win over world #11 Tauziat to advance to her fourth final in five post-US events.  Then came Davenport.

Maybe it was the looming presence of the rangy American on the opposite side of the net just as much as it was the heavy shots that pinned Jelena deep behind the baseline or the powerful serve that seemed to be able to pull out aces in big momments almost at will, for Dokic seemed to enter the match already mentally prepared to walk away with a defeat.  It wasn't terribly difficult to see that she had developed something of a temporary mental block when it came to defeating the Big Babe likes of a Davenport, even after the thrilling near-upset in Melbourne in January.

One small wobble was all that was needed for Dokic to go on the defensive and mentally relinquish control of the match.  Jelena won her first serve game despite four DFs (did she feel the pressure of her belief that she had to be "perfect" to have a shot to win?), but once she was broken for 3-4 in the 1st set the match was over.  Davenport won nine of the final ten games as Dokic went into "scamble mode" by once again overcompensating for her failure to win big points.  As the American said after the match, Dokic's game "got progressively worse" in the 3-6,1-6 loss.

The Linz experience was nearly a copy of Zurich.  After being pushed by Majoli (7-6,6-7,6-3) in the 2nd Round, Dokic advanced to her fifth final in six events... only to find Davenport waiting for her yet again.  This time the final score was 4-6,1-6 as Jelena had difficulty handling the pressure after failing to break Davenport's serve, but did feel she had "played much better" than the previous week. The American concurred, saying, "It was closer than the score."  Still, it was apparent that Dokic recognized that the current state of her game prevented her from solving the frustrating riddle that Davenport's game presented.


"I know I have to keep working," said Dokic, "but there will be a time when I will beat her.  I just have to be patient and ready to take my chances."  She did manage one measure of additional satisfaction in Linz, though, as she teamed with Nadia Petrova (who had come to join with Jelena to form quite a forminable late-season duo) to claim her first WTA doubles title.

Jelena got one final 2001 reminder in her debut in the WTA Championships.  Seeded #6 in the select 16-player field, after knocking off Meghannn Shaughnessy to advance to the QF, Dokic drew Davenport for the third time in twelve days (and second match in a five-day period).  This time, the score was similar (4-6,2-6) to the two previous defeats, but Dokic showed at least one small sign of the determination that will be needed to find a way to take down Davenport (she's 0-6 vs. her, and was 0-5 in '01) when she turned a 1-5 1st set deficit into a 4-5 score to make the American at least have to work a bit before finally taking the opening stanza.  Jelena simply wouldn't go down without one final fight this time.  It was a small thing, but a timely reminder to Jelena that she DOES have the ability to play with Davenport... but must seize an advantage whenever an opening arises (something that an early break in both sets in Munich made so much more difficult to pull off).

After the match, Davenport noted that, "Obviously, she doesn't like to play me."  After what happened over the last two weeks of her 2001 season, it was something that Dokic could not refute.  Much as was the case with the US Open loss to Hingis that finally righted Jelena's season, how quickly Dokic grows to resent the fact of Davenport's domination over her -- physically, as well as through Dokic's own self-doubt -- might just be the key to how long it will continue to hamper her progress toward her next ranking goal:  the drive for #5.

The crash course in Tennis 101 provides Dokic with a valuable dose of reality.  Her work isn't complete, despite the bevy of thrilling results during the final two months of the season that raised her ranking to a new career-high of #8.  One more significant hurdle remains, and the additional progress -- in both the mental and physical aspects of her game -- will be required for Jelena to advance to the next level of tennis success.  It will take time, and patience.

Where 2001's great achievements served to whet Jelena's appetite, it's the trio of Davenport defeats that might be just as important.  They'll be a nagging nuisance tugging on the sleeve of Dokic's conscious the entire offseason, reminding her of what she DIDN'T accomplish in the greatest year of her career thus far.  Everyone saw this Autumn how she responds to a challenge... so consider the catalyst for even greater (and maybe even "grand-er") days in 2002 to now be set in stone.


*COMING UP...*

NEXT WEEK:
Jelena Year in Review, Pt.VI:
2001 Overview/2002 Preview --
"The Learning Curve Shortened, but Will It Be Eliminated?"

IN TWO WEEKS:
WTA 2002: The Top 10 Stories to Watch

JANUARY 7, 2002:
"And They're Off!" -- Even without Jelena, the WTA Season Begins


*SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER '01 RESULTS*
-SINGLES-
--SEPTEMBER--
Bahia - RU - def. by Monica Seles
Tokyo - WON - defeated A.Sanchez Vicario
Leipzig - 2r- def. by Daniela Hantuchova
--OCTOBER--
Moscow - WON - defeated Elena Dementieva
Zurich - RU - def. by Lindsay Davenport
Linz - RU - def. by Lindsay Davenport
WTA Chsp. - QF - def. by Lindsay Davenport

-DOUBLES-
Bahia w/ Virginia Ruano-Pascual
...1r - def. by Myskinaa/Panova
Leipzig w/ Kim Clijsters
...SF - def. by Hrdlickova/Rittner
Linz w/ Nadia Petrova
...WON - defeated Callens/Rubin


*END-OF-MONTH RANKINGS*
SINGLES
Sept.24  --  #11
Oct.29 --  #8
Nov.12 --  #8
DOUBLES
Sept.24 --  #14
Oct.29 --  #14
Nov.12 --  #12


*MONTHLY PRIZE MONEY TOTALS*
September:  $210,525
October:  $342,325
November:  $111,500
(Sept-Nov total:  $664,350)
(2001 Prize Money: $1,169,716 -- WTA #7)