The Aussie Open is definitely in full-swing (it’s already Day 4), with its share of upsets — Venus Williams, David Nalbandian, Ana Ivanovic — and cliffhangers (Gonzalez vs. Hewitt; Djokovic vs. Delic).
But right now, let’s talk comebacks. Let’s talk controversial pasts. Let’s talk drama. Let’s talk about Jelena Dokic.
Watching her match against Caroline Wozniacki today, I was struck by two things: her striking features — those imperiously high cheekbones worthy of a supermodel — and her natural ability to infect spectators with her intensity and drama.
At three match points, Dokic nets a ball in the middle of a rather rythmic rally with Wozniacki. The spectators gasp as the camera closes in on the agonized look in her eyes. Another error makes it 40-30, on her serve. Her anguished cry was more to herself and it would’ve passed unnoticed, but how can it? The camera seems drawn to her telegenic profile and the fleeting traces of girlhood about her: that pink barette, the way she touches her ponytail…
She really knows how to turn it up.
Her brand of drama isn’t like Serena Williams’ or Sharapova’s. She’s not a screamer. Even when she pounds her chest or clenches her fists as she lets out a cry of victory, there is an intensity around her that silences instead of explodes. She’s lightning, not thunder.
And I can’t help but fall for her.
I’ve heard snippets of stories about Yugoslavian-born Jelena (the “first” Jelena, before Jankovic burst onto the scene). They sounded more like a plot from a soap opera. From her infamous switching of allegiances citizenship from Yugoslavian to Australian, back to Yugoslavian, then British, and finally, back to the Land Down Under, her alleged “kidnapping by her boyfriend and former coach,” to her seemingly never-ending feud with her father, Jelena’s talent and budding tennis career had no choice but take a backseat. Take note that most of this happened before she was even twenty years old.
Now at truce with her equally controversial father, with a renewed Australian citizenship and stable environment, Jelena Dokic can make a fresh start. She’s in good shape and has that gravitas that can only come with age. At 26, she is poised for a comeback. Whether she is due for redemption or another crash-and-burn is not the point. The point is she’s back — in a big way.
January 24, 2009...12:57 am
the lovely (cheek)bones
The Aussie Open is definitely in full-swing (it’s already Day 4), with its share of upsets — Venus Williams, David Nalbandian, Ana Ivanovic — and cliffhangers (Gonzalez vs. Hewitt; Djokovic vs. Delic).
But right now, let’s talk comebacks. Let’s talk controversial pasts. Let’s talk drama. Let’s talk about Jelena Dokic.
Watching her match against Caroline Wozniacki today, I was struck by two things: her striking features — those imperiously high cheekbones worthy of a supermodel — and her natural ability to infect spectators with her intensity and drama.
At three match points, Dokic nets a ball in the middle of a rather rythmic rally with Wozniacki. The spectators gasp as the camera closes in on the agonized look in her eyes. Another error makes it 40-30, on her serve. Her anguished cry was more to herself and it would’ve passed unnoticed, but how can it? The camera seems drawn to her telegenic profile and the fleeting traces of girlhood about her: that pink barette, the way she touches her ponytail…
She really knows how to turn it up.
Her brand of drama isn’t like Serena Williams’ or Sharapova’s. She’s not a screamer. Even when she pounds her chest or clenches her fists as she lets out a cry of victory, there is an intensity around her that silences instead of explodes. She’s lightning, not thunder.
And I can’t help but fall for her.
I’ve heard snippets of stories about Yugoslavian-born Jelena (the “first” Jelena, before Jankovic burst onto the scene). They sounded more like a plot from a soap opera. From her infamous switching of allegiances citizenship from Yugoslavian to Australian, back to Yugoslavian, then British, and finally, back to the Land Down Under, her alleged “kidnapping by her boyfriend and former coach,” to her seemingly never-ending feud with her father, Jelena’s talent and budding tennis career had no choice but take a backseat. Take note that most of this happened before she was even twenty years old.
Now at truce with her equally controversial father, with a renewed Australian citizenship and stable environment, Jelena Dokic can make a fresh start. She’s in good shape and has that gravitas that can only come with age. At 26, she is poised for a comeback. Whether she is due for redemption or another crash-and-burn is not the point. The point is she’s back — in a big way.
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