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Nicole Pratt, dogged by injury for six
months, is keen to play the Australian Open and believes organisers should keep
faith with local players when awarding wildcards.
By Linda Pearce
December 7, 2005
FORMER top-ranked Australian and Fed Cup regular Nicole Pratt yesterday admitted
she would be "very disappointed" if Jelena Dokic received a wildcard into next
month's Australian Open at her expense.
Pratt, whose ranking has fallen below the direct entry cut-off to 127th after
being hampered by a knee injury for almost six months, said that while she
wished Dokic the best, there was a fine line between supporting Dokic after a
period of turmoil and keeping faith with local players.
When asked how she would feel if Dokic received one of four wildcards left to
the discretion of national development staff and Open officials and she did not,
Pratt said: "I would be disappointed if that was the situation."
Pratt, a veteran of 15 Australian Opens since her debut in 1990 and who has
reached the third round or better four times, pointed out that Dokic had been
active on the circuit for much of the year, and that her results had been poor,
injury problems notwithstanding.
Pratt stressed her views may not be representative of the wider Australian
playing group, with whom she had not discussed the issue.
She said she had submitted a wildcard application and planned to contact
Australian Open chief executive Paul McNamee later this week, but indicated she
would enter the qualifying tournament if her request was denied.
"I would be extremely disappointed if I'm not in the main draw, but if I have to
play qualifying, I'll play qualifying," she said. "I'm prepared to work my way
up and get my ranking back up and I know I'm capable of doing that."
Of Dokic, she said: "From a personal point of view it seems to be all positive
for her. I wish Jelena well. I like to see every athlete get the most out of
themselves and for sure Jelena's got a lot more to give."
Dokic's bid for a wildcard was supported yesterday by Australian legend Evonne
Goolagong Cawley, who said she wished Dokic "all the best" in her return and is
confident the one-time world No. 4 can reach similar heights again.
"We should give her the chance, really," said Goolagong Cawley, who has an
ambassadorial role with Tennis Australia. "She wants to come back and she is
here on her own now, she is without her father. Good luck to her, I wish her all
the best."
The tennis great said only hard work and a single-minded dedication to the sport
would get Dokic back to the top of the rankings, but she believed the
22-year-old was capable of such dedication.
"She was a great competitor and knowing the way she played, I think she can get
back. If she really wants it and she sounds like she is pretty determined, if
she really wants it, she can do it."
The seven-time grand slam winner and her brother Ian Goolagong, along with four
emerging teenage indigenous tennis players, will travel to Timor today as part
of an Australian Volunteers International initiative to take tennis to the young
country.
After a nine-day tennis camp, two young Timorese players will be chosen to come
to Australia to take part in the Goolagong National Camp in Box Hill next month.
Goolagong Cawley said she saw the initiative as part of giving something back to
the sport that had given her so much.
She also praised the new leadership at Tennis Australia and said she was pleased
with many of the programs that had been introduced in recent months.
"From meeting people around Australia, they are very happy and very excited that
there have been changes and hopefully everything will go well."
