Tennis

Dokic set for battle in Australia

The end of the tennis season may be upon us but the New Year and new season is never that far away and already the preparations are underway to kick start 2009 in great fashion. Melbourne Park is the host for the Australian open which officially gets underway on the 19th of January but as with any major tournament, the build-up and pre qualification has already begun in earnest. A top list of star players looks set to ensure the tournament gets the tennis calendar off to a bang but the tournament is not only about the top seeds, its an opportunity for many players to turn over a fresh leaf or make a new start this time around.

One star who looks keen to get the year started in a positive manner and atone for problems that occurred in 2008 is Jelena Dokic. Given her history with Australia, Dokic wasn’t slow to criticise last year when she was not given a wildcard entry to the 2008 Australian Open but clearly a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then and the former World number 4 looks ready to make amends when the tournament takes place in January. Dokic Had a previously well documented fall-out with Australian officials back in 2001 when she switched to representing Serbia and Montenegro but her return to Australian colors in 2006 looked to have been the end of that feud.

A new flashpoint surfaced prior to the 2008 Australian Open when Dokic was controversially snubbed from receiving a wildcard entry and the player, who along with her father Damir have been regarded as volatile characters often in the past, was quick to point the finger at people who perhaps had a vested interest in Dokic being denied entry to the tournament. It was alleged that some of the selection panel for the wildcards had a coaching interest for some of the other candidates who were looking to obtain a wildcard pass and this unsurprisingly caused anger in the Dokic camp.

However, in the build up to the forthcoming tournament, Dokic appears to have kissed and made up with the Tennis Australia and the Open Committee and the player, who is currently ranked 179 in the World, appears ready and focused for the Wildcard Play Off that occurs in mid December. A successful showing at this event could be the springboard for Dokic to relaunch herself on the international tennis circuit and stake a claim to reach the heights she previously hit. Female tennis has moved since Dokic was comfortably placed within the Top 10 but with a re-found passion for the sport and a new focus, there is every opportunity that the feisty character will be able to bounce back and give herself a strong chance of being ranked amongst the top players in the World once more.

In the end, an injury picked up in the playoffs last year was the major reason for Dokic’s exemption from the tournament but with a bit more luck this time around, the player could be able to relaunch herself on home territory and gain a confidence boost for the forthcoming year.