Jelena Dokic’s return to the WTA Tour’s Top 100 has been one of the most surprising and inspiring stories of 2009.
The former World No. 4 has moved on from a damaging relationship with her father, mended fences with Tennis Australia, overcome depression and worked hard physically to resurrect a career that many assumed to be over.
Dokic took part in Australia’s Fed Cup tie against Switzerland on April 25-26, winning her singles rubber as part of the team’s 3-1 win. Her return to the squad – nearly a decade since she last represented Australia and timely given Casey Dellacqua’s injury woes – appears to have significantly bolstered the team. Winning all her singles matches this year has helped Australia to progress from Asia/Oceania Zone Group 1 to World Group 2.
Her success in Fed Cup play is just one positive among many during her astonishing ascent back towards the game’s elite. Just two years ago, the Yugoslavian-born Australian was languishing in tennis wilderness. She played one event in 2007 – an Italian satellite tournament – losing in straight sets in the first round. When she next returned to competition in Australia in January 2008, she was unranked.
Despite lacking fitness and match play, Dokic recorded some impressive results in a season that would eventually convince her she had the ability to match it with the world’s best. She qualified for a handful of tour-level events, won three titles on the satellite circuit and finished the year ranked 178.
Nobody was to predict the enormous result that would follow at Australian Open 2009. Dokic triumphed at Melbourne Park for the first time in 10 years, winning a tension-filled three-set battle against Austria’s Tamira Paszek in the opening round.
Growing crowd support and a cathartic first-round press conference seemed to take the weight of her shoulders, and her fearless determination and exceptional ball striking subsequently shone through.
She went on to defeat seeded players Anna Chakvetadze, Caroline Wozniacki and Alisa Kleybanova to reach the quarterfinals, and came only a point or two away from serving for the match against No. 3 seed Dinara Safina. The fact that these matches all went to three sets was indicative of Dokic’s mental fortitude and vastly improved fitness.
The result vaulted the Australian back into the Top 100, making week-in, week-out play on the WTA Tour possible again. Her results in ensuing tournaments – despite not matching her Melbourne Park efforts – have been respectable. She qualified in Memphis, lost to Jill Craybas in the opening round of Indian Wells, and reached the second round in Miami, falling to Wozniacki in three sets.
The season to date has not been entirely smooth sailing. Dokic admitted that her Australian Open campaign left her physically and mentally drained. She withdrew from the American green clay swing with sports fatigue syndrome, and has reportedly suffered heel injuries that have prevented her from practising, leading to a decline in physical fitness. Her Fed Cup performance was her first competitive outing in nearly a month.
But the Australian said she was getting better and looking ahead to Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Her form on Mildura’s grass courts against Switzerland may be a precursor to another barnstorming run at Wimbledon, the major at which she has had the most success. She made the quarterfinals in 1999, the semifinals in 2000 and fourth-round appearances in 2001 and 2002.
An equivalent performance could see her on her way to achieving her goal of finishing the year in the Top 30.
Matt Trollope is a journalist from Melbourne, Australia. He has covered the past two Australian Opens for the tournament’s official website.
Great article.