Dokic's Shawshank Redemption

Jelena Dokic was one of those teenage prodigies who experienced immediate success when turning pro. As they say, all good things come to an end, but in this case (as in all that follow this pattern) the end came sooner and somehow unexpected.  After winning the US Open junior title in 1998, Jelena made it into her first Grand Slam quarter finals at Wimbledon a year later. She cause quite a commotion with her stunning first round performance when she destroyed the world number 1 Martina Hingis, 6-2, 6-0. The next couple of years were flourishing for the Australian as she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon in 2000, won her first title in Rome in 2001 and broke into the top 4 in 2002.

When she exited the scene in 2004, it appeared as if all her problems finally took their toll. The struggles in her personal life, the difficult relationship with her infamous father Damir, the issues with the Australian federation, plus some minor injuries proved too much to handle. After a poor string of results, the then Serbian decided to take some much needed time off.

I got to see the Yugoslavian born Dokic in 2009, when she played a challenger in Bucharest. By far the biggest name in the draw, she made it relatively easy to the final. Then, quite surprisingly, she lost to a then unknown Andrea Petkovic of Germany. Her form wasn’t great. She struggled throughout the match and a really focused German took full advance emerging as the worthy winner. At the beginning of that year she announced she was trying to make a comeback. She experienced an extraordinary run in Australia where she reached her first quarter-finals. She quickly faded away though and got lost in obscurity.

With a failed comeback attempt under her belt, many thought Dokic was dead and buried. Until last week when she proved she still has what it takes to return to the top, the Australian was lying six feet under. With wins over Francesca Schiavone, Michaela Krajicek and Lucie Safarova, Jelena captured the Kuala Lumpur trophy. In a relatively permissive WTA tour, Dokic is the latest addition to a growing list of players who, by combining strong belief with some hard work, experienced triumphant results on their returns. Leaving aside big names like Hingis, Clijsters or Henin, there are others who witnessed great comebacks after injuries or lay-offs. Kimiko Date Krumm, now in her forties, provides the best example. The determined Japanese won the title in Seoul in 2009, just a year after joining the tour for a second time.

However, is Jelena's result an indication of the fact that the Australian finally broke her jinx? Did she manage to put her troubled existence behind and focus entirely on tennis? Definitely time will tell, but at least now she has something to rely on. Those who were quick in dismissing her might have hurried in writing her off.

photo: GETTY IMAGES