[$uricate]

Im still relatively new here so Im not sure if a thread like this has existed before but I think it would be cool to see when Jelena gained your unshakable support in a big way.

I'll go first:

The scene was Wimbledon 2002.
I hadnt been interested in tennis for that long, apart from playing from when I was younger and watching bits and pieces but I became engrossed this year.
I remember it was only one of those cut-to things that shows you another court and it showed Jelena's second round against Peschke (then Hrdlickova). I remember thinking she was extremely hot initially (that dress ) then when I saw her play I loved her go-for-broke game, her backhand, her stoic on-court demeanour - she was still rock-solid mentally then, and of course shooo! I was in love! After that I followed her results through the Championships and then beyond, through the ups and the (mostly) downs - a lot of players tend to nosedive results-wise when I become they're fan.

Since then I have been an obsessive fan of Jelena, not quite stalkerish , even through the long spells when she wasn't playing, even in 2007 when the occasional kidnapping story was all you got and I always believed that her best days were still to come, and now this year I believe that they may.

What about everybody else?

[jela_dokic]

I was a huge fan of Steffi Graf, but the first time that I saw Jelena was in Australian Open 99 on the 3rd round qhen she lost againts Hingis.

Then I saw her again in the first round of Wimbledon 99 and I started to see her matches every time. Now I´m a very huge fan of her...

Steffi is the biggest player that I´ve ever meet....
Jelena is the most beautifull and talented player that I´ve ever seen

[cn ireland]

Funny I was also a massive Steffi Graf fan

For me it was Wimbledon 99 and that awesome demolition of the then world No1 Martina Hingis.

I wasn't initially watching the match until I was checking the scores to see that some qualifier had taken the 1st set against Hingis. When I switched it on for the 2nd set her looks, her game, her determination and her smile won me over instantly.

Since then she has been and still is my fav tennis player. Through the good and bad i've supported her and will continue to so until she retires (which is hopefully a long way off!).

[Just Do It]

In 2001. To be honest I havent heard for her before she came to Serbia in 2001. It was a war in Serbia, and basicly no one talked about any kind of sport. But when I saw her in Belgrade ... that was it

[Привет]

I think I'm very different to most other Dokic fans on this board, in the way that I wasn't following tennis when Jelena was at her best. All I remember of Jelena is a mole and a long blonde ponytail, and a crazy dad, obviously. I first became interested in her when she changed back to representing Australia in the summer of 2005/06. I watched her against Razzano and just wanted her to get back to where she should've been. Since then I've followed her in the ITF's she's played and watched some of her matches from when she was playing at WTA level. I love her style and her game is so fun to watch. I support her because I can't wait until she gets back to WTA level so I can follow her like my regular favourite players.

[Havok]

I was obsesed with Virtua Tennis 2K2 and found that the name "Jelena Dokic" was rather funny. I usually played with her mostly. I've always been a 'casual' tennis fan always watching it from time to time whenever I fell upon it while flipping channels. Since I found the game so fun, I decided to really watch a tournament. It was the Rogers Cup in Montreal in 2002 and Jelena was playing. I then proceeded to fall in love .

[Golovinjured.]

Cool thread

I became a fan when Jelena competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, for Australia, and just missed out on the bronze losing to Seles in the playoff. That was when I first took notice.

[vutt]

Add me as another HUGE ex Graf fan to the list. I followed her doings since 1988 Golden Slam year up until she stopped at 1999.

I followed Dokic success at 99,00 Wimbledons, but I was very far from beeing called fan(atic).
But during late 2001 she grow on me by beeing constantly on TV.

[powerbackhand]

wimby 99

[hdfb]

Wimby 99

[OZTENNIS]

Well I must say that I was NOT a fan of Dokic when she beat Hingis at Wimbledon in '99. As an avid Hingis supporter, I was devastated
Then she was always a 'threat' to Martina so, I never really followed her closely
But then Hingis retired at the beginning of 2003, so I needed someone else to cheer, I decided to support all the Aussies, and then Dokic returned to Australia in late 2005...so I have been supporting her since then, and would keep supporting her even if she changed nationalities...
I remember being in the crowd at the Australian Open in 2001, wanting to boo her because she changed nationalities the first time round, but my mum wouldn't let me ... I'm glad I didn't now

No, bad reps for that 'misjudgement' please

I have always (even from '99) admired her great game though

[SM]

1997 saw her play for first time liked her
1998 my interest got much higher when heard she made french junior final
1999 hopman cup cemented me as fan

[ce]

Originally Posted by JustDoIt

In 2001. To be honest I havent heard for her before she came to Serbia in 2001. It was a war in Serbia, and basicly no one talked about any kind of sport. But when I saw her in Belgrade ... that was it

same

[ckupets04]

my god, you guys are making me feel old. either that or you guys just got into tennis late. i first started getting into tennis in the late 80s. Two words, Michael Chang. I just loved the way he played, he was never the biggest guy or the strongest guy but you knew when you watched him that he was going to give it his all. And also Jennifer Capriati, I admit I had a crush on her when I was a kid and I still do even though she hasnt played in a few years. So I've been a die hard tennis fan for almost 20 years now.

[OZTENNIS]

^^^^
Um,
We are talking about when we became fans of Jelena Dokic, not fans of just tennis
Welcome to TennisForum btw