Dokic's Chance

BlackMamba

So everyone has heard about Jelena Dokic's progress in the Australian Open. It was a fantastic start to the year by a player most people thought was gone for good. She was great back in the day and she showed glimmers of it during her matches.
The thing is...that was about 4 years ago, tennis has changed.
My question is......what kind of chance does Dokic have this year? Will she break top 50 or 20? Or will she find the pressure too much to bear?

cfitz

I think she'll break top 20. Even if she doesn't break top 20, I think she'll beat a good few 20 players this year. If she got to quarter final of another Slam and hung on til the 4th round in the other two, and also the later rounds in a good few of the big tournaments she'd be well on her way. Consistency will be the key to her moving up the rankings, but even if she isn't consistent enough this year, I reckon she is on her way back up. With her low ranking she will have to deal with tough draws.

BlackMamba

Consistency and health are key to her success. She has all the tools necessary to be good. I think we'll see her shoot up the rankings. Another showing like what happened at the Aussie will be a major boost to her confidence and the confidence of her fans

Cathal93

I think the main way Dokic could prove that she could move up the rankings is by showing the australia wasnt a once off tournament......which she did by playing in the fed cup. Now that she has cracked the top 100, top 75 is in sight, and so it seems she has a great chance of really moving. With the current gap in the womens game, ie 10 of the top 15 seeds out before the quarterfinals

Unless Justine Henin decides to come out of retirement, Dokic could definetly end the year as a top 20 player...I'm going for her anyway!! :D

BlackMamba

No chance of Henin coming back anytime soon. Unfortunately!
Dokic for the top 20!!:D:D:D

Cathal93

BlackMamba wrote: »

No chance of Henin coming back anytime soon. Unfortunately!

I no...even as a die hard williams sisters fan....id still love to see henin make a comeback, i mean, the matches, the rivalries she had... amazing...she brought the best out of everyone, especially the Williams sisters ie Miami final 06...the top 5 is lookin less impressive at the mo.....Jankovic, Safina, and even Ivanovic, tho she is making improvements, are all below par.

With dokic losing heavily last week, could we say the Australian open was a fluke, or am i jumping to conclusions???

cfitz

I wouldn't write her off yet, 6-1 6-2 is a bit of a hammering to get in the first round alright but C Wozniacki is fairly decent and it wasn't a big money tournament and Dokic had come through qualifiers.

So who could be the next Justine Henin? I didn't rate Ivanovic before but I saw her give Serena a pretty tough time in Dubai, was a cracking match. Everyone has been saying for the last few years that Safina is one to watch but how much further will she go? It's hard to see her reaching the level Henin or the Williams sisters. Could Azarenka or Cornet make the step up? Is there a chance of a late surge from Sharapova, Mauresmo or Dokic?

cfitz

Perhaps the Aus Open was a flash in the pan for Dokic. Result from first round at Indian Wells:

Jill Craybas (USA) d. (WC) Jelena Dokic (AUS) 64 62


In other new though, delighted to see that Kim Clijsters may be making a come back.

Cathal93

I dunno.....Dokic isnt maintainin a great start...lookin grim from here!

I read a few articles bout kim comin bac, supposedly she's been trainin alot, and only for 1 exhibition match....perhaps a return is on the cards...hopefully!!!

BlackMamba

IMO I see Dokic's loss as a learning curve. Everyone suffers first round losses it's better that she has it now than down the line. She can learn from this, analyse her game and make adjustments.
We'll see more of Dokic this year I'd say.

Stevecw

Good start for her in Miami.
She beat Gallovits from Romania 6-3, 7-6 this evening in 1st round

But next up is Wozniacki who beat her 6-1, 6-2 a few weeks ago! Lets hope she improves on that!