[malaye]

Just read this on Eurosport news :

"Jelena Dokic has reignited her feud with tennis officials down under by announcing she plans to snub next year's Australian Open"

This is shoking news. I hope she changes her mind !

 

[TheBoiledEgg]

shocking yes but suprised no.

 

[Grice]

Sorry to say this, but it'll be great if she doesn't play... then Monica Seles may get into the top 8 seedings... <img src="biggrin.gif" border="0">

 

[malaye]

Hi Grice !<br />I am pretty confident Monica can easily grab that n° 8 spot without relying on other players missing tournaments. <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

 

[ptkten]

Yeah, she definitely is not playing. She plans to start her season at Tokyo. I find that funny because she said seh wasn't going to Australia because it was too far away but then she's going to Tokyo!

 

[apoet29]

This is a huge mistake by Jelena. She played extremely well this fall and the OZ would be a tournament she could excel at. While she has had problems with the Australian Tennis Federation in the past, she needs to put it behind her. A good example of someone who put the past behind her was Hingis at Roland Garros. After a disasterous 99 final, Hingis went on the play in the doubles final the next day and came back the next year to play singles and doubles with Pierce. By coming back, I think Hingis demonstrated that, despite her bad behavior, she is serious about her tennis and that she wants to win Roland Garros.

It's up to Dokic. It sounds like she is still controlled by her dad. I hope that is not the case.

 

[Rollo]

This could be a smart move on Jelena's part if she took the time off to get a better serve and waited til March. She plays too much as it is. Starting the season in Tokyo only looks foolish and spiteful. Kiss those Aussie endoesement deals bye-bye Jelena baby <img src="graemlins/kiss.gif" border="0" alt="[Kiss]" />

 

[moon]

doesn't bother me one bit. Personally, I'm sick of seeing her play so much. She can come back whenever she wants.

 

[Adrian]

I think it's a case of Jelena not being able to withstand the heat (which she ignited herself) and has gotten out of the kitchen <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

 

[jd4eva]

Along with saying she won't begin her season till the Oz Open next year, Dokic also said:

<br />Her serve would be the major focus over the next 2 months. She said she would try to improve it and says that she knows that if it improves, she'll win a lot more matches.

As well as the serve, she'll do some work on tactis and volleying.

She will stay in Yugoslavia (Belgrade) over the 2 months with her mother instead of Florida. There she will practise, with Radko Armenluic as her father is absent.

She will practise mostly on a fast indoor surface as that's the surface of the Pan Pacific Event.

Dokic has also dumped Octagon as her management company, ending a 7 year relationship and she's looking for another management group.

 

[Viva]

Oh, what a loss.

I'm over it! <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">

 

[Adrian]

[email protected], that was good <img src="biggrin.gif" border="0">

 

[StevenM]

woeful

 

[Penne]

I doubt she will be missed here.

Last year was a PR disaster for her - it's probably wise to stay away.

I am glad she and her dork of a father aren't coming - perhaps the focus will be on tennis this summer and not some drunk making ridiculous accusations whilst breaking cameras!

: <img src="tongue.gif" border="0"> enne slams the door::

......and stay out! <img src="tongue.gif" border="0"> <img src="tongue.gif" border="0"> <img src="graemlins/kiss.gif" border="0" alt="[Kiss]" />

 

[mn73]

She has the potential to be Top 10 for quite some time, so if she intends never to play the Aussie Open again it is only herself she is hurting.

I thought her idiotic decisions and comments were behind her. She seemed to have grown up in the last few months.

 

[Monica_Rules]

I do understand her desision but shes the one who will miss out on A LOT! of points!

 

[StevenM]

ditto!

i can uderstand if it was a tier5 and she withdrew , but its a grand slam and arent they worth more??...getting her rank higher and doing well in aus open could gain her ALOT in endorsements and boost her "PR" image in australia!.....logic would say thats what she wants?

instead shes not only going to undervalue her ranking...but also potential off court earnings from endorsements?!

<img src="redface.gif" border="0"> JELENA JELENA JELENA! <img src="graemlins/sad.gif" border="0" alt="[Sad]" />

 

[Aloysius]

She hasn't really done well in Australia anyway. Apart from winning the Hopman Cup (won 3 matches), she has suffered a 3rd round (won 2 matches) and a couple of 1st round losses at the Oz Open, and never advanced beyond the second round (won 1 match) of Sydney. In all, 6 matches won over three years playing professional tennis in Australia. I can definitely understand Damir, I mean Jelena, wanting to skip her hoodoo events.

*Slap* @ Jelena. Sorry. My hand slipped. <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

 

[sartrista7]

Quelle surprise.<br />Well, it's her points which won't be going up. I'm pretty sure she doesn't intend to skip Australia permanently - and a lot of players do, at least on a semi-regular basis e.g. Novotna. And if she spends the extra time working on her game then it'll be worth missing the AO. It's just as well for her anyway - she's been overplaying this season.

 

[NejedlyKanepi]

iluvjelena: yes, perhaps this will turn out in the long run to be a very wise decision. go jelena!