- Jelena Dokić
Infobox Tennis player
playername = Jelena Dokić
country = AUS (1998–2000, 2006- )SCG (2001–2005)
residence =Monte Carlo ,Monaco
datebirth = birth date and age|1983|4|12
placebirth =Osijek ,SFR Yugoslavia
nowCroatia
height =height|m=1.75
weight = convert|60|kg|lb st|abbr=on|lk=on
turnedpro = 1998
plays = Right; Two-handed backhand
careerprizemoney = $3,773,276
singlesrecord = 244–159
singlestitles = 5
highestsinglesranking = No. 4 (August 19 2002 )
AustralianOpenresult = 3R (1999)
FrenchOpenresult = QF (2002)
Wimbledonresult = SF (2000)
USOpenresult = 4R (2000, 2001)
doublesrecord = 111–89
doublestitles = 4
highestdoublesranking = No. 10 (February 4 , 2002)
updated =May 12 ,2008
note = 1- FromJelena Dokic (Serbian: Јелена Докић, "Jelena Dokić", pronounced roughly YELL-e-nuh DOK-itch , born
April 12 ,1983 ) is a female professionaltennis player fromAustralia .During the height of her career, she played for
Serbia and Montenegro (FR Yugoslavia prior to February 2003) and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 4 onAugust 19 ,2002 . However, after several family issues (particularly from her father's side), she slowly slipped down the rankings in 2006. She is now slowly returning to tennis, and after wining three ITF tournaments in 2008, she has reached World No. 187 as ofAugust 18 ,2008 .The highlights of Dokić's career include reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon and the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and reaching the quarterfinals at the
French Open in 2001. Other highlights include beating several former World No. 1 players:Martina Hingis in the first round of Wimbledon in 1999,Kim Clijsters at the 2003Zürich Open , andVenus Williams at the 2000 Italian Open. Other high-calibre players who Dokić has defeated includeMonica Seles ,Justine Henin ,Amelie Mauresmo ,Mary Pierce , andJennifer Capriati .Early life
Jelena was born to a Serbian family in
Osijek ,Yugoslavia [ [http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/players/playerprofiles/Playerbio.asp?PlayerID=40344 WTA Profile Jelena Dokic] ] (nowCroatia ) as an eldest child of Damir and Ljiljana Dokić. She has a younger brother, Savo. At the start of the war in Croatia in June 1991, where they lived inOsijek , her family moved away toSombor ,Serbia , and later, in 1994, emigrated toAustralia . From 1994, they lived in Fairfield, a suburb ofSydney , where she attended Fairfield High School. [ [http://www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp/dhbvg87/Encyclopedia1.htm Jelena Dokic Encyclopedia 1 ] ]Tennis career
Junior career
Dokić was an accomplished junior player. In 1998, she won the US Open girls singles title and the French Open doubles with
Kim Clijsters , ending the season ranked World No. 1 in theInternational Tennis Federation junior singles rankings and World No. 7 in doubles.1999
Dokić started the year by teaming up with
Mark Philippoussis to win theHopman Cup title. To date, it is Australia's lone victory at the event. She then received a wildcard into theAustralian Open , winning two rounds before losing 6–1, 6–2 to world No. 1Martina Hingis . At Wimbledon, Dokić made her professional breakthrough. As a qualifier, she caused one of the biggest upsets in tennis history, defeating World No. 1 Hingis 6–2, 6–0, in the first round. Ranked World No. 129 at the time, she was the lowest-ranked player to have defeated the top seed in a Grand Slam tournament during theopen era . She also defeated ninth-seededMary Pierce in straight sets before losing 6–3, 1–6, 6–3 toAlexandra Stevenson in the quarterfinals. Dokic also reached her first WTA doubles final withAmanda Coetzer inTokyo . During 1999, Dokic jumped 298 spots, finishing the year at World No. 43.2000
Dokić was defeated in the first round of the Australian Open by
Rita Kuti Kis of Hungary, 6–1, 2–6, 6–3. After the match, Dokić said, "I lost to a player who has never been a player and, I guess, probably never will be." This assessment of her opponent resulted in many critical remarks about Dokic from the media and the tennis world.During the spring
clay court season, Dokic reached the quarterfinals of theTier I events inHilton Head, South Carolina andRome (upsettingVenus Williams en route), as well as earningFed Cup victories overKim Clijsters ,Anna Kournikova , andSandrine Testud respectively. However, Dokić lost in the second round at theFrench Open .Her successes at Wimbledon continued. She lost in the semifinals to
Lindsay Davenport 6–4, 6–2. Jelena reached the fourth round of the US Open, where she lost toSerena Williams 7–6(7), 6–0. At the2000 Summer Olympics , representingAustralia , she lost toMonica Seles in the bronze medal match 6–1, 6–4. In doubles, she teamed withRennae Stubbs , but they lost in the second round. Dokic finished the year at World No. 26.2001
Beginning with the Australian Open, she began playing for Yugoslavia. Her father, Damir, claimed irregularities in the draw after her first-round loss to
Lindsay Davenport and his ban from the tennis tournament due to abusive behavior. Damir later said "I think the draw is fixed just for her" [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/2001/australian_open/news/2001/01/14/dokic_yugoslavia/ Dokic to be recognized as Yugoslav at Open] , article fromSports Illustrated (January 14 ,2001 )] After the Australian Open, her family moved to theUnited States .In May, she won her first singles title in the
Rome Masters , defeatingAmelie Mauresmo in the final, 7–6(3), 6–1. Later that year in doubles, she teamed withConchita Martinez to reach the final of the French Open, where they werer defeated byVirginia Ruano Pascual andPaola Suarez in straights sets.Later in the year, she reached five finals, winning two titles, in
Tokyo (defeating former World No. 1Arantxa Sanchez Vicario ), and theKremlin Cup (defeatingElena Dementieva ). She also won her second title in doubles in Linz, withNadia Petrova . She also qualified for theWTA Tour Championships in singles, reaching the quarterfinals. She finished the year at World No. 8.2002
Dokić reached the final of the
Open Gaz de France , where she was forced to hand a walkover toVenus Williams , after her first victory overMonica Seles a day earlier, due to a right thigh strain suffered in her win. In April, she won her fourth singles title inSarasota, Florida defeatingTatiana Panova 6–2, 6–2 in the final. At theHamburg event, Dokić collected a 7–6(3), 7–6(3) win overJustine Henin , before having to retire in the semifinals. Dokic was unable to defend herRome Masters title, losing to eleventh-seededAnastasia Myskina in the third round. In Strasbourg, she reached her fifth final, losing toSilvia Farina Elia , 6–4, 3–6, 6–3. At the French Open, she was defeated by top-seededJennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals, 6–4, 4–6, 6–1. Dokic then won her fifth career singles title inBirmingham , defeating Myskina in the final 6–2, 6–3. Dokić then lost in fourth round at Wimbledon toDaniela Hantuchova 6–4, 7–5.After Wimbledon, Dokić reached the final of the
Acura Classic inSan Diego , scoring her first win over Capriati in a three set match. In the final, however, she was defeated byVenus Williams 6-2, 6-2. She also reached the semifinals ofLos Angeles , losing toChanda Rubin , andMontreal , grasping a 6–4, 6–3 victory overMartina Hingis before retiring hurt against Capriati. Despite a 6–4, 6–2 loss toElena Bovina in the second round of the US Open, Dokic reached her career-high singles ranking of World No. 4.Dokić then reached the semifinals in
Bahia andTokyo . Dokic again qualified for theWTA Tour Championships , losing in the quarterfinals toSerena Williams 7–6(1), 6–0. She finished the year ranked World No. 9 in singles.In doubles, Dokić won titles in
Sarasota (withElena Likhovtseva ),Los Angeles (withKim Clijsters ), andLinz (withNadia Petrova ), as well as reaching the finals ofMoscow andZurich (both with Petrova). This success resulted in Jelena reaching her career high doubles ranking of World No. 10.2003
After parting ways with her erratic father Damir, who was also her coach, her career problems began. In 2003, she hired Borna Bikić from
Croatia to be her trainer (while simultaneously dating his brother Tin), contrary to the wishes of her father Damir on both counts. Her tennis suffered and her slide down the standings continued.A string of first or second round losses commenced as she clearly suffered from a severe loss of confidence. No longer a part of her life physically, her father continued to be a presence as he publicly criticised her choices. At one stage, he termed her boyfriend
Enrique Bernoldi , a formerFormula One driver with whom she lived at the time, "an idiot."She played matches at 30 events, reaching one final, one semifinal, and seven quarterfinals. At Zurich, she beat the then World No. 1 player,
Kim Clijsters , later to lose toJustine Henin in the final. She also reached a final in doubles, in Rome withNadia Petrova .2004-2005
In mid-2004, Dokić returned to her family in Serbia, trying to put her life back in order and regain confidence. However, the attempt was unsuccessful, and in November 2005, after a turbulent period of 4–5 months during which she canceled all her tennis commitments and not even her family knew her whereabouts, she returned to Australia proclaiming, "I want to play for Australia again."
2006
Representing Australia for the first time in 5 years, Dokić received a wild card into the
ASB Classic in Auckland. However, she lost her first round match toJulia Schruff , 5–7, 7–6(3), 6–1, hitting 51 unforced errors and 28 double faults. Dokić then earned a wildcard berth at the Australian Open after winning the wildcard playoff. She held a match point on her opponent Virginie Razzano's serve and hit what she thought was a forehand winner, only to have the umpire overrule the ball out. She went on to lose the match, 3–6, 7–6(6), 6–1, hitting over 70 unforced errors. Later in the year, Dokić played in the qualifying tournament for Wimbledon, where she received a wildcard. However, she suffered a 4–6, 7–6(4), 6–2 loss toAlexandra Stevenson . Under the guidance of new coachNikola Pilić , after over three months away from the tour due to injury, Dokic qualified for a $10,000 tournament and reached the semifinals of the main draw before losing toAstrid Besser 3–6, 6–3, 7–6(5). In late November 2006, Dokic denied reports from her father, Damir, that she had been kidnapped by her boyfriend, Tin Bikić. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/6181140.stm BBC SPORT | Tennis | Dokic slams father's kidnap claim ] ] In her interview, she said she would not play in the2007 Australian Open because she was not ready and her aim was to get back into the top 30. Shortly after, Dokić left the Nikola Pilić tennis academy. She was due to sign a contract to be in the academy for a year, but she instead returned to Borna Bikić, her coach. Dokić said she was not satisfied with the contract Pilić's Academy offered her.2007
After withdrawing from several ITF events in the early months of 2007, Dokić lost in the early rounds of two $10,000 events in Rome. Dokić then continued to withdraw from events, allegedly due to a wrist injury which had been troubling her for some time. Back in Australia on
October 17 , Dokic released a statement throughTennis Australia saying that she would be using their facilities in an attempt to make a successful comeback. [ [http://www.tennis.com.au/pages/News.aspx?id=4&pageId=11478&HandlerId=2&archive=false&newsid=3490 Tennis Australia - News - Articles - Exclusive: Jelena's first interview] ] She said that she had not felt "within herself" to play during 2007 season but was now ready to put in the hard work necessary to get back to the top. She citedMary Pierce ,Jennifer Capriati , andAndre Agassi as inspirational figures for her to follow towards her goal of reaching the highest echelons of tennis once more. Dokic's long awaited return to tennis came during the Australian Open wildcard playoff, where she was hoping to earn a wildcard into the first Grand Slam tournament of 2008. Dokić emerged from the round robin stage with a 3–0 record before retiring in her quarterfinal match while trailing 6–3, 3–1 due to a thigh strain.2008
Dokić received a wildcard for the qualifications of the
Moorilla Hobart International , where she won four matches to reach the second round of the main draw, where she retired in her match againstFlavia Pennetta due to an ankle injury. Dokić received a qualifying wildcard into theAustralian Open , where she lost in the second round.After a three month layoff, Dokić finally returned to action at the
Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem tournament inFes where she qualified but lost in the first round againstGreta Arn .She then entered the following week in a $25,000
International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament inFlorence, Italy , where she successfully qualified and proceeded to win the tournament, saving two match points againstMirjana Lucic in the quarterfinals and defeating seventh-seededLucie Hradecka in the final 6-1, 6-3. A week later, Dokić continued her winning streak by capturing the $25,000 ITF tournament inCaserta, Italy .She was then offered a wildcard to the
Internationaux de Strasbourg , where she lost in the first round to SwissTimea Bacsinszky .In July, she won a $25,000 ITF in Darmstadt after winning the final 6-0, 6-0.
After a period with less successful results, Dokić has taken a temporary break and withdrawn from all ITF tournaments during September - October.
Career titles (12)
Career runner-ups (14)
ingles (8)
ingles performance timeline
"To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through
Olympic Games inBeijing , which ended onAugust 17 ,2008 ."References
External links
*wta|id=40344|name=Jelena Dokic
*ITF womans profile for [http://www.itftennis.com/womens/players/player.asp?player=20011049 Jelena Dokic]
*ITF junior profile for [http://www.itftennis.com/juniors/players/player.asp?player=20011049 Jelena Dokic]
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