JELENA-DOKIC.com - May 6, 2003
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JELENA CORNER
by Todd Spiker
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*WARSAW (#4 seed) BREAKDOWN*
2279...April 28 points
99.....SF
10.....2r: Casanova (#49) - 7-5,7-6(12)
10.....QF: Serna (#40) - 7-5,6-2
0......SF: Mauresmo (#7) - 5-7,2-6
119....WARSAW TOTAL
-156...2002 points off
-37....TOTAL FOR WEEK
2242...May 5 points
-----------------------------------------
#11....SINGLES RANK
B+.....JD.com Warsaw singles grade
#20....2003 WTA Points Race (508)
#16....DOUBLES RANK (1610)
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OPENING NIGHT, &
SHE'S FEELIN' ALRIGHT
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--BACK TO NORMAL, or what poses for it in Jelena's World,
anyway--
Opening nights can be a dirty business, especially on
the red dirt of Europe. This year, the Tour season kicked
off in Warsaw and EuroJelena bucked the odds and went off
with nary a hitch.
Oh, there were a few tightrope moments, like the usual
audio/production glitches... you know, headlines in
Australia, lots of talk about Jelena's intentions and
feelings, but very little out of the only mouth that
really matters on the subject. And then there were all
those tight sets that went to tie-breaks or were extended
to seven games. One could look at those particular
moments and say Jelena nearly came up short against
lesser-ranked opponents, but that she went 3-1 in those
sets (and probably should have been 4-0) also says that
her game is getting in some much-needed rounds with some
pretty good sparring partners in Myriam Casanova and Magui
Serna.
Case in point: against Casanova, Jelena came back from
1-4 in the 1st, then overcame a handful of set points in a
26-point tie-break (the longest of her career) in the 2nd
set. A good fight won.
Then there was Serna. As was the case versus Alicia
Molik in Miami a few weeks back, Jelena cut down the
tour's hottest player-of-the-moment in straights, halting
Serna's 13-match winning streak dead in its tracks. Sure,
the Spaniard was invariably tired after having played the
previous three weeks (and gone three sets in both her
pre-Jelena Warsaw matches), but would Jelena have won this
match a few months ago? Probably not. Ah, progress...
and her first SF since Tokyo last September.
The luck ran out against Amelie Mauresmo (whose
eventual title means that 8 of Jelena's 10 losses in 2003
have come against players who've won championships in the
season's first 18 weeks), but of course the weather wasn't
exactly to Jelena's liking (let's not call it an "excuse,"
just an "obstacle not overcome"). In the pair's first
match since Jelena's win over the Frenchwoman in the 2001
Rome final, Jelena let slip 2-0, 3-1 and 5-4 leads. The
fact that she's 9-0 this year when she takes the 1st set
makes her disappointing 5-7 loss a true opportunity
wasted. As it turned out, the match went just like that
Rome match (close opening set, easy second)... only with
Mauresmo emerging with the win.
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**REBOUND CHART**
Last 13 matches...........8-5
3-setters.................2-1
Matches winning 1st set...9-0
Tie-Breaks/Extended sets..8-2
QF-or-better..............3/5
SF-or-better..............1/1
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But it's impossible to overlook what Warsaw
represents. Jelena didn't get her first final since San
Diego last July, but the SF is more than enough to be
encouraged (if not exicited) about. The progress toward
New Jelena continues, and it's now armed with the
reassurance that the old fighting spirit is still alive --
and that the hard-won victory over Elena Dementieva in
Charleston wasn't an isolated incident.
Tight matches won, nail-biting sets, an
edge-of-your-seat tie-break and arguably the biggest win
of the season, one that should foster the belief that she
can take out the world's best/hottest claycourters over
the next few weeks... not a bad opening night on the red
clay, I'd say.
Hmmm, maybe EuroJelena WILL see Jelena's game kick into
a higher gear... just in time for Roland Garros and
Wimbledon, too.
--THE SEE-SAW GOES DOWN ONCE AGAIN--
#8 Chanda Rubin...........leads by 282
#9 Daniela Hantuchova.....leads by 267
#10 Anastasia Myskina.....leads by 23
#11 JELENA................2242
#12 Monica Seles..........trails by 378
Even with her success in Warsaw, Jelena couldn't avoid
dropping out of the Top 10 for the second time this
season.
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**JELENA'S RANKING
IN 2003**
January 1-26..............#9
January 27-February 2.....#8
February 3-16............#10
February 17-March 30......#9
March 31-April 6.........#10
April 7-20...............#11
April 21-May 4...........#10
May 5-present............#11
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But, with no points coming off this week and with
Anastasia Myskina possibly facing Bol champ Vera Zvonareva
in the 2r in Berlin, Jelena might have the juice to jump
right back into the fray after just one week on the
outside looking in.
Long-range, Daniela Hantuchova's tumble dry cycle could
finally begin to benefit Jelena soon. Wonder Girl's
defending 130 in Berlin this week, partially courtesy of
her 3r win over Jelena there last year. Also, Chanda
Rubin will finally begin to face defense points for the
first time in 2003 in the coming weeks, opening the door
for Jelena to challenge her, as well, if the Serna win was
a sign of good things on the horizon for EuroJelena.
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2nd Qtr.Pts.Chart
2002*********2003
157...WK.14.....1
135...WK.15...100
1.....WK.16....33
0......FC.......0
156...WK.17...119
40....WK.18......
=================
2002 2Q Pts--1241
2003 2Q Pts---253
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**JELENA vs. TOP 10ers -- 2001-03**
2001: 3-16
2002: 4-9 (4-5 in completed matches)
2003: 0-3
--MARCH--
lost to #3 Kim Clijsters
--APRIL--
lost to #1 Serena Williams
--MAY--
lost to #7 Amelie Mauresmo
MasterCard GERMAN OPEN
May 5-11; Berlin, Germany
Tier I - Red Clay
#8 seed - 2r: vs. Martinez/Weingartner
2002: 3r-Hantuchova (40 pts)
POINTS CHART
W=275; RU=193; SF=124; QF=69; 3r=38; 2r=23; 1r=1
So, for Jelena it's back to Berlin, hoping her good
vibrations from Warsaw can continue to carry her higher.
Thus far in 2003, Jelena's improvement in the Tier I's
(8-9 in 2002) have led to a 6-4 record and three QF. It's
time to go one better, and she might have the draw to do
it.
Of course, it won't be easy. But with Conchita
Martinez out as a potential 2r opponent after her opening
round loss, things look good. Martinez could have ended
Jelena's hopes very quickly this week, but now that task
falls to The Blue Angel herself, Marlene Weingartner. I
doubt if she'll be up to it, considering the confidence
Jelena carries into Berlin thanks to her win over Serna.
Now it would seem that there isn't a big obstacle that
can keep Jelena from at least holding her seed and making
the QF, especially now that the surging potential 3r
opponent Elena Dementieva (who hadn't lost a match since
Jelena beat her last) has bowed out of Berlin before it's
hardly begun thanks to an injury in her match against
Dinara Safina (hmmm, wonder if she just didn't want to
learn how Jelena might magically find a way to win against
her yet again?).
And what would a QF bring? Probably a rematch with
Mauresmo. How enticing that would be, a second chance oh
so soon after Warsaw. Maybe this time the weather (oh,
and that pesky 1st set, of course) would follows Jelena's
strict orders. Defending Berlin champ Justine
Henin-Hardenne would be a tough nut to crack in the SF,
but it's a match Jelena might just need to gauge her game
against one of the sport's best just in time for the
slams, no matter the likely disappointing outcome.
A QF would be a decent enough setup for Rome next week,
but another SF would send Jelena streaking (now calm down,
I don't mean THAT kind of streaking)... well, let me just
say "charging" toward Roland Garros.
It's safe to say Berlin could answer a lot of questions
about Jelena's prospects in Paris. Let's hope they're the
answers Jelena wants to hear.
========================================
THIS WEEK IN TENNISRULZ BACKSPIN:
Amelie Day... deja vu all over again (oh, and a certain
Serbian-Montenegran wins a Riser Award)
