Women’s Tennis: Dokic’s fairytale ends, for now

Nine-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams will meet the French Open runner-up Dinara Safina in the final of the 2009 Australian Open this Saturday. It should be a great match and whoever wins will take the No.1 ranking position from Jelena Jankovic.

But the real story of the 2009 Australian Open is Jelena Dokic. The 25-year-old Dokic’s dream run was cut short by No. 3 Safina but her epic bid to become an unlikely grand slam winner still reads like a fairytale.

When Jelena Dokic arrived in Melbourne Park a couple weeks ago, she was a wildcard entry seeded 187th. Nine days later, she strode out of the complex an Australian Open quarterfinalist ranked among the world’s top players. Dokic did not even have a racquet sponsor before the tournament, let alone anyone to dress her. She left with a A$182,500 check and sponsors falling at her feet.

Dokic hadn’t played on the tour at this level in many years, and she hadn’t played in a major for 5 1/2 years. Yet she became the first woman in history to play five consecutive three-set matches at the Australian Open. Dokic may have lost to Russia’s Safina, but she left her mark on the tournament and the women’s tour.

That Dokic could become the first Australian woman to win the Australian Open since Chris O’Neil in 1978 captured the imagination of an Australian public desperate for home success.

But more than national pride, the personal fortitude that Dokic exhibited during the tournament gained her legions of new fans.

Dokic first came to prominence when she knocked Martina Hingis out of Wimbledon 10 years ago. She rose to world No. 4 but then seemingly disappeared. After battling her way into this year’s Australian Open as a wildcard Dokic went public with her personal story. She poured out her heart describing her fight against depression and the break-up of her family brought on by the bizarre and volatile behaviour of her domineering father, Damir, who also served as her coach.

While Dokic always considered her mental toughness her greatest strength, she says her struggles with depression had transformed her into a cold-blooded tennis assassin.

Dokic senses she may now be better placed to fulfill her rich potential. Anyone who watched her at the Australian Open – including her highly ranked victims Caroline Wozniacki and Anna Chakvetadze as well as Safina – knows there’s little doubt Dokic will return next year an even more formidable opponent.

It certainly looks like happier days are ahead for Dokic and we can look forward to more tournaments where she can build on the progress established in Melbourne. The Cinderella story continues…

AO Update: No.1 Jankovic upset

A lot happening on a busy day of fourth-round action at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

The big upset: France’s Marion Bartoli reached her first quarterfinal at the Aussie Open, outhitting the Jelena Jankovic and stunning the top seed in straight sets 6-1, 6-4.

Bartoli, who famously upset then World No.1 Justine Henin in 2007 to reach her Wimbledon final, said after the match:

“I think I played amazingly. The last game of the match was pretty tough. I just tried to play my game. I served so well and I’m very pleased to have won. I knew I could beat Jelena on a good day, it was just a matter of executing, you know, play the right shot at the right time and don’t make too many mistakes. But I was not overwhelmed by the situation, and I just went for my shot and everything went in today. It was just a great match.”

Jankovic’s loss follows the early round exits of Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic from the Grand Slam tourney. While she may be No.1,  JJ’s yet to win a major – and until she does, a big question-mark hangs over her head.

Other big wins include Australia’s comeback player Jelena Dokic (No.187) defeating Russian 29th seed Alisa Kleybanova, who upset world No.5 Ana Ivanovic in the third round. Dokic defeated Kleybanova 7-5 5-7 8-6 and will next meet Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals.

Good stuff – who wants this title the most?

Results for Day 7: Sunday, January 25, 2009
Women’s Singles - 4th Round
(16) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. (1) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 61 64
(3) Dinara Safina (RUS) d. (15) Alizé Cornet (FRA) 62 26 75
(7) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. (10) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 75 64
(WC) Jelena Dokic (AUS) d. (29) Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) 75 57 86

Schedule for Day 8: Monday, January 26, 2009
Women’s Singles – 4th Round
Rod Laver Arena
Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[13] v. Serena Williams (USA)[2]

Hisense Arena
Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) v. Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP)[21]
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)[18] v. Elena Dementieva (RUS)[4]
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)[8] v. Jie Zheng (CHN)[22]

AO Update: Venus upset, Serena digs deep

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams who many thought was primed to win her first Australian Open title, lost to Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro in the biggest upset so far at this year’s event.

This Spanish surprise had Venus squandering a match point in the 10th game of the final set before losing 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 at Rod Laver Arena.

Suarez Navarro, ranked 46th in the world and a French Open quarterfinalist last year, is making her tournament debut, while Williams suffered her second- earliest exit in 10 appearances.

Interviews with both Venus Williams and Suarez Navarro can be found on the Australian Open website.

In other AO news,

Serena Williams produced a characteristic fightback to advance to the third round after a 6-3 7-5 victory over Argentina’s Gisela Dulko in 110 minutes.

Also, Jelena Dokic of Austrialia defeated Russian Anna Chakvetadze 6-4,  6-7, 6-3 on Night 3 while Serbian Ana Ivanovic rallied past Italian Alberta Brianti 6-3,  6-2.

Also through to the third round are Jelena Jankovic, Elena Dementieva, Amelie Mauresmo and Jie Zheng.

AO Results Women’s Singles