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…