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Dokic out in a thriller

Dokic out in a thriller

Brisbane International Monday 5 January 2009 15 Comments »

Jelena Dokic was narrowly beaten 7-6(9) 7-6(5) by former world No.1 Amelie Mauresmo at the Brisbane International today.

Showing more than a glimpse of the form that took her to No.4 in the world, Dokic gave Mauresmo a big scare in their opening round encounter.

Dokic had her chances in the first set, but was unable to convert. Mauresmo’s experience shone through as she pounced to take the first tiebreak 11-9.

After the match Dokic said the loss hurt, but she was happy with the way she played.

“It was a lot closer than I thought it would be, so there are a lot of positives I can take out of it.

“I played two tight sets with someone who is No.24 in the world, so that’s got to be positive.”

Dokic lamented her lack of matches and said that if she’d won the first set tiebreak the match may have had a different ending.

“I didn’t close out that first set, which I should have and if I did it really would have made things difficult for her.”

Dokic will now focus on playing the qualifying rounds at the Medibank International Sydney while Mauresmo will size up her next opponent – countrywoman and lucky loser Julie Coin who defeated Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 7-5 6-7(5) 7-6(3).

The two have only met once – at the US Open last year, with Mauresmo walking away the winner.

In other matches, No.8 seed Radek Stepanek breezed past Igor Kunitsyn 6-2 6-2; Tathiana Garbin defeated Sofia Arvidsson 6-2 6-3; Olga Govortsova upset No.8 seed Francesca Schiavone and in the day’s biggest shock, No.4 seed Daniela Hantuchova fell to Sara Errani 6-7(1) 6-4 6-0.

In the first night session of the tournament, Ana Ivanovic will play Petra Kvitova followed by Fernando Verdasco versus Australian Bernard Tomic.

Today’s results are as follows:

Women’s Singles – First Round
S Stosur (AUS) d A Sugiyama (JPN) 6-2 6-3
J Coin (FRA) d Y Wickmayer (BEL) 7-5 6-7 (5) 7-6 (3)
S Karatantcheva (BUL) d I Benesova (CZE) 1-6 6-4 6-2
R Vinci (ITA) d A Groenefeld (GER) 0-6 6-3 6-1
O Govortsova (BLR) d F Schiavone (ITA) 7-5 6-2

 Men’s Singles – First Round
J Nieminen (FIN) d M Baghdatis (CYP) 5-7 6-1 6-4

 Men’s Qualifying Singles – Second Round
A Delic (USA) d M Crugnola (ITA) 6-4 6-3
K Anderson (RSA) d E Korolev (RUS) 6-4 6-4
A Stoppini (ITA) d T Bellucci (BRA) 6-3 6-4
T Gabashvili (RUS) d S Groth (AUS) 6-2 3-6 6-3
B Reynolds (USA) d L Gregorc (SLO) 6-2 6-4
X Malisse (BEL) d P Luczak 4-6 4-6
J Sirianni (AUS) d M Zverev (GER) 7-5 6-1
G Muller (LUX) d M Kukushkin (KAZ) 7-5 6(5)-7 7-6(4)


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  • Lachlan

    I watched that match and DOkic could have easily won, She was up 5-3 in the first and had set points each game.
    I am so happy shes back and next time she will win, good luck in the aus open.

  • Nathan

    Dokic put up a great effort and showed that she still has the power and shot range to be a top 20 player. Its only a matter of time before the consistancy and match toughness come back keep up the great work!

  • Tom

    What an amazing effort from Jelena today!
    She definitely turned back the clock and looks to be approaching the kind of tennis that took her to the top of the world. I really hope she can return to where she rightfully belongs and puts womens tennis in Australia back onto the map. All the best to our most talented Aussie girl of the last couple decades even though she is actually Serbian we still love her! :)

  • Steven

    Dokic really deserved to have won this match or at least a set given she was dominating the play and pushing Mauresmo all over the court with her powerful ground strokes. She just needs to fix up her serving a little and I’m sure she can make back into the top 10 players of the world. But on another note I was a bit disappointing with the lack of crowd support for Jelena. I mean it was one of those matches that could have been swayed by a little crowd encouragement and she didn’t seem to be getting any extra support whatsoever despite her representing Australia. It was almost as if they were playing in a neutral nation or something. Keep up the great work JD

  • Jimmy

    Such an awesome match. So close and I just love watching Jelena on court. I’ve forgotten how good she is to watch. Dokic will definitely be a force by the time Wimbledon rolls around. More matches and fingers crossed for no injuries! And its great to have her back in Oz where she belongs. I agree, the crowd could have arked up a bit more but the tournament is still young. Looking forward to Fed Cup with JD, Sam and Casey.

  • Major

    OMG! Jelena was playing sooooo good! She is back for sure!! I was stunned by her performance today! so sad she lost, but if she keeps like this, she will dominating once again!!! Love you Jelena!!!

  • http://www.wtaladies.com Krsto

    I haven’t seen the match highlights, but I’ve seen the interview after the match, and I feel really sorry for Jelena and her unlucky loss today.

  • Lester

    What a see-saw thriller!!!
    I suggest that Jelena Dokic should be given a wild card entry to the main draw at the Sydney’s Medibank classic next week. She showed that Dokic can hang with the top pros, e.g. playing and almost beating Mauresmo in a close 2-set tie-breakers in Brisbane.
    Go Dokic go!

  • fred

    Dokic was lucky it was Mauresmo’s 1st match of the year and she was rusty while she;Jelena had 4-5 matches under her belt.I see she still has a stinky attitude.She better tone it down bcuz this attitude of hers will not fly against either Venus;Serena or Maria S.

  • alice in wordenland

    Well done , Amélie ! Greeting from Europe to you !!!

  • Tim

    Gosh!, Jelena played so well, dominating Mauresmo. Without the double faults she would of won. What was most impressing is her fight in the 2nd set. It would be easy for her to loose 6-0 or 6-1 but she toughed it out. Next time. Hoping she gets a good draw at the Aussie open and gets a win under her belt.

  • Leanne Bowie

    Go Amelie!!!!!
    Great win for your first game of the year
    Good luck with the rest of the Australian circuit will be cheering for you!!!!

  • phil

    Jelena Dokic played well even if she didn,t win it looked like she was tied out abit in the sceond round ,and still it good to see here back.i was cheese off went channel seven cut the game short

  • Phil

    I was there live yes it had its boring moments coz of those unforced errors and double faults. But the intensity of the whole match was awesome. Too bad Dokic couldn’t win it but she will learn from her mistakes and hopefully do better in Sydney and Aus open

  • Troy

    Dokic has not learnt anything in 5 years. She only has an A-game (hit hard, then harder). Surely we can’t waste more wildcards on Dokic. TA should get their head out of the sand and keep investing in our youth like they have done with Tomic and Klein with a 5 year plan.

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