Aussie Jelena marches into fourth round
Earlier today it was the Serbia’s Jelena that moved into the fourth round after defeating Ai Sugiyama 6-4, 6-4. Tonight on centre court at Melbourne Park it was Australia’s Jelena Dokic that did us proud.
After not having played in a third round match at a grand slam since the 2003 Wimbledon tournament Dokic was back on the world stage at the highest level. Her opponent was Caroline Wozniacki the no. 11 seed from Denmark.
The crowd was right behind Jelena Dokic as she played a third round match at the Australian Open for the first time since 1999. Both players looked to be playing well in the first set. It was however Wozniacki who got the first break of the match. She maintained the lead and was able to take the first set 6-3. Dokic held six break points in the opening set but failed to convert.
Dokic said after the match that she was happy with her first set and that gave her confidence going into the second. Dokic dominated as she took the set 6-1. She was now firing, hitting winners and playing with confidence. You could almost say she looked like the former top ten player that she was.
The third set saw a pumped up Dokic break in the very first game. Wozniacki put a dampener on that as she broke back immediately. From there it was anyones match. Would Dokic fade. She did not have many matches under her belt. Wozniacki on the other hand is a player knocking on the top ten and plays consistently. Wozniacki reached at least the third round in each of the grand slams last year.
As the match continued it was Dokic who broke her opponent two more times to take a hugely popular win. The crowd at Rod Laver Arena gave Dokic a standing ovation. Dokic was back. It is the first time she has reached a fourth round at a grand slam since Wimbledon 2002. The final score was 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Just how far can Jelena go? Time will tell. Her next opponent is the winner of the Alisa Kleybanova / Ana Ivanovic match. As I write it is 3-2 in the third set to Kleybanova.
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