Jelena's Time

It's horrible. No matter where Jelena Dokic goes or what she does, she cannot escape the shadow of her father.

*

Damir Dokic is the horror-father of tennis. It takes a lot for Australia to turn against its sporting heroes - sport is basically our national religion - but the nation sure as hell turned against Jelena when Damir was holding the reins. Jelena was only sixteen when her career on the circuit really began - she was only a little girl, really - and he totally controlled her career. All kinds of horror stories filtered through, all kinds of bombs were dropped, but everything came to a head when Damir forced Jelena to play for a different country. Then Australia really turned its back on Jelena Dokic.

*

She was gone for years from the tour. Actually, 'forgotten' is probably a better word, because Jelena wasn't gone. She is one of the great fairy tale stories of sport. It is rare that a daughter estranging herself from her father is a fairy tale, but in Jelena's case it sure was. She broke with Damir and under the guidance of the Bikic brothes - coach Borna and boyfriend Tin - she brought herself back. I was there at her first match on Rod Laver Arena this year: her second round match, where she upset Anna Chakvetadze. It sounds trite and cliche to say this of a sporting event, but no one who was there will ever forget it.

*

And now Damir does this. Jelena did an interview for a magazine where she said that Damir physically abused her - which I don't think anyone doubted, tyrant that he was. And in - vengeance? I don't know what - he threatened to blow up in the Australian embassy in Serbia with a rocket launcher. Understandably, he got arrested and is now facing prison time.

*

Thing is, even now, when Jelena is 'ours' again, Damir can't quite get that it's not about him any more. I remember him saying that if Jelena made the final of the Open, he'd come to the final. But this is Jelena's time. If he really loved his daughter, he'd step aside now.

*

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Maybe in prison he'll actually shut up for a while. And Jelena - upset that she will be about her estranged father's actions - can get on with the rest of her life. Because it's going to be great.

*

*

Today's Results

*

Estoril Open (Estoril)

*

Men's Draw

*

Gilles Simon def. Fabio Fognini, 6-0 7-5

James Blake def. Marc Gicquel, 7-6 (8-6) 6-2

Albert Montanes def. Simon Greul, 6-2 6-2

Florent Serra def. Juan Monaco, 6-3 1-6 6-3

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Ekaterina Makarova def. Maria Kirilenko, 5-7 6-2 6-2

Yanina Wickmayer def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-4 1-6 6-4

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Sabine Lisicki, 6-2 retired

Shahar Peer def. Jarmila Groth, 6-2 0-6 6-3

*

*

BMW Open (Munich)

*

Tomas Berdych def. Andreas Beck, 1-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Potito Starace def. Simone Bolelli, 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Daniel Brands def. Julien Benneteau, 6-4 3-6 7-6 (8-6)

Lleyton Hewitt def. Thiemo de Bakker, 6-3 6-4

*

*

Serbia Open (Belgrade)

*

Ivo Karlovic def. Brian Dabul, 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Andreas Seppi def. Leonardo Mayer, 6-4 6-1

Marcos Daniel def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-4 6-3

Flavio Cipolla def. Arnaud Clement, 1-6 6-4 6-2

*

*

Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome)

*

Dinara Safina def. María José Martínez Sánchez, 4-6 6-3 6-0

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Jelena Jankovic, 6-1 7-6 (7-3)

Venus Williams def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-1 6-2

Victoria Azarenka def. Kaia Kanepi, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

The Damir Question

And so the wildcards have been decided. In the men's draw, Colin Ebelthite will go through. In the women's, Jelena Dokic.

*

Both results are, in their way, surprising - Ebelthite most of all. Thus, let's start with Dokic. She's definitely got the most experience and Grand Slam time under her belt, so it would have been a bit of a slap in the face if she hadn't come through, but how about some of the competition she faced? I cannot speak too highly of Monica Wejnert - she is going to be pretty good one day, mark my words. She really took it to Jelena - the score was 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 6-3, so it was pretty tight the whole way. She needs some experience yet, I suppose, but that's only time... she's only sixteen. So I think she can be pretty proud of herself - and the junior Australian Open had better watch out next year!

*

Dokic has been off the Australian sporting radar for some years now, but she's still remembered - more for her father than anything else. Thus, with her back in the main draw instead of losing in qualies where she can be safely ignored, it's going to be very interesting to see how Australia reacts. We are no stranger to generally liking toolface tennis players - look at the BecnLleyton phenomenon - but Damir Dokic was something else. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that more people remember him than Jelena herself. In my understanding, she was a bit of a victim - torn between what her dad wanted her to do and what Tennis Australia wanted her to do and the world and herself, and it was all just nasty and bad.

*

So will Damir show at the Australian Open? If so, you can bet that no one will take too kindly to Jelena... but if she shows up independently of him, then we might be cooking with fire...

*

And how 'bout Colin Ebelthite, huh? A few days ago it was pretty much assumed that Bernard Tomic would take his place in the knockout portion of the tournament, and here he is winning the whole damn tournament. It was a tough match against Sam Groth - 1-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 6-4 - but Ebelthite pulled it out. He's never played in a Slam before, so what an opportunity for him! Nice one, Colin!

Daddy Dearest

Remember the other day how I was lambasting Bernard Tomic for his bad attitude? Well, today Daddy Tomic (aka John) has come out and apologised for his actions in Sorrento. The plot thickens...

*

I'm not exactly what Daddy Tomic did, but it resulted in Bernard defaulting his match - or so it seems we are to believe. Here is a snippet of what Daddy Tomic said:

*

“I apologise to the Perth officials, to Tennis Australia, to our friends, sponsors and tennis fans and especially to my son. I was wrong. I am a father who wants the best in the world for my children. I realise that my actions have actually hurt my son. That hurts me deeply and I want to correct the situation, which is why I am fronting here today to apologise without reservation.”

*

Okay, firstly, kudos for having the balls to apologise. That takes chutzpah. But seriously - on what planet did it seem like it was a good idea for Bernard to default a match for no good reason? Was he pissed? That's some serious error in judgment. I've said it in regards to Djokovic numerous times and I will not hesitate to say it again: you cannot retire yourself to #1. Look at Federer, greatest of all time. How many times has he retired on the senior circuit? That would be NONE, bitches! He retired once in juniors - here's hoping that this is Bernard' once.

*

But Bernard, seriously... there's all this talk about being a rebellious team and not listening to your hitting partners and suchlike - why did you pick this time to listen to an authority figure? Play your own game, kid - and don't retire unless you have genuinely broken your leg or something. It is just not cricket. Looming in the not-so-distant tennis past of Australia, there is the ultimate evil tennis parent, the Damir. Please, Bernard, don't let yourself become Jelena Dokic mk 2! Sure, Daddy Tomic seems to have more sense than Damir - Damir would never have apologised - but what the hell was he doing getting so involved anyway? If Bernard Tomic is going to become a great champion - and he certainly has the potential - then he needs to do it on his own.

Dancing Into Retirement

One thing I meant to write about last week and didn't because of the excitement of the US Open was the retirement of Alicia Molik, one-time world number #8 and one of Australia's best ever women's singles players. She announced it last week, and I kind of forgot about it, which is very careless of me. But never mind, I'll write about her now.

*

This has obviously been coming for a long time - when you take an amount of time off so large that you can appear on 'Dancing With The Stars' then there's something pretty seriously wrong. It was so sad for Alicia when she contracted that strange middle-ear thing or whatever it was that meant she could barely walk because her balance was so bad... actually, speaking of 'Dancing With The Stars,' I remember when she on it she said that she was fine as long as she could hold onto her partner, because he kept her upright. I also remembering wondering if doing 'Dancing With The Stars' was necessarily the smartest choice, if that was the case. She commentated at the Australian Open that year as well - I think it was 2006 - and you could just tell she was so sad she wasn't out there.

*

That was the beginning of the end for Alicia - but I remember the beginning of the beginning as well. It was around the same time that Jelena Dokic was playing for Australia. All the media attention was focused on her (and her dad, Damir... overbearing sports dads like Yuri Sharapov are often still referred to as Damirs in the vernacular, which I find very amusing!) So Molik came up quietly in the Dokic maelstrom. No one really knew she was there. She was very much the second banana for a long time. Then Dokic self-imploded and Alicia and Lleyton won the Hopman Cup and suddenly everyone was all about Alicia. She was an alternative to the chaos of the Dokic issue. She was simple and level-headed and uncomplicated and I think Australia as a whole really appreciated that.

*

If you asked me which of the two players had more talent, Dokic or Molik, I'd probably say Dokic. I wasn't exactly watching tennis critically when she was active - it was in my twelves to fourteens, I think - but she was explosive on the court, when her head was in it. Molik was never like that. As a tennis player, she was remarkably sane compared to Jelena. She was the tortoise to Dokic's hare, and it never really did her any harm. Both girls became top ten players - Molik reached #8, Dokic #4 - but Molik is the one who stuck around. And Molik is the one who is going to stick around in Australia's memory in the long term. Dokic is remembered - when she is remembered at all - for her dad and all the drama she used to go through there. Molik will be remembered as a good tennis player and as someone who seemed like a nice person.

*

Oh yeah, and someone who was once on 'Dancing With The Stars.'

*

I'm actually glad to see Alicia retire now, because if she kept playing, I think it might just get embarassing for her. She hasn't been the same player since she got sick, and although she's recorded some good victories here and there - I saw her beat Kaia Kanepi very convincingly at the Australian Open this year - she's also recorded some terrible losses, like that one at the Olympics to Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. It is very sad to see her go, but now she can retire with dignity. She is no longer the flagship for women's tennis in Australia - I think that baton was well and truly passed to Casey Dellacqua at the Australian Open - and so perhaps now is the right time. Vale, nonetheless. Alicia Molik may not have been one of tennis's renowned worldbeaters, but she was excellent for women's tennis in Australia, and she can be very proud of what she has done.

*

*

Today's Results

*

BCR Open Romania (Bucharest)

*

Richard Gasquet def. Victor Crivoi, 6-3 6-2

Jose Acasuso def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 6-4 7-5

Ivan Navarro def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-3 1-0 retired

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Adrian Cruciat, 6-1 6-2

*

*

Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic (Bali)

*

Flavia Pennetta def. Anastasia Rodionova, 6-3 7-5

Nadia Petrova def. Tathiana Garbin, 6-1 6-1

Tamira Paszek def. Sara Errani, 6-0 7-6 (7-2)

Chan Yung-Jan def. Peng Shuai, 6-1 7-5