Tennis Australia to Watch Conduct of Jelena Dokic’s Father

Written by: Staff on 14th November 2011

Tennis Australia to Watch Conduct of Jelena Dokic’s Father

Jelena Dokic of Australia hits a return to Jelena Jankovic of Serbia during their second round match on the fourth day of the 2011 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA 01 September 2011. The US Open runs through 11 September 2011. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

Tennis Australia has vowed to monitor the recent reconciliation between Jelena Dokic and her often problematical father Damir with the threat to review the 28 year-old’s financial support if new issues arise.

Jelena is Australia’s third-ranked woman at no.66 on the WTA computer behind world no.6 Sam Stosur and 32nd placed Jarmila Gajdosova. She reportedly instigated the reconciliation with her father in their native Serbia and claims he is a ‘’greatly changed man’ from the one who was once ejected from Wimbledon for being drunk and disorderly and caused a rumpus in the US Open players restaurant over the price of a piece of fish.

Damir is still under an indefinite ban from all tournaments on the WTA circuit and Tennis Australia’s director of tennis, Craig Tiley maintained the man who was released from jail in April, 2010, after serving almost a year for threatening to blow up the Australian embassy in Belgrade, was not expected at January’s Australian Open.

However Tiley added Jelena’s personal relationships were her own business. As far as he was aware she planned to continue her year-old coaching arrangement with Tennis Australia’s Louise Pleming.

“All I’ve said publicly and privately to Jelena is ‘that’s your decision, and we’ll support you,” said Tiley. “But at any time if a decision you make personally impacts our support of you, or your performance or what you’re doing, then we have to reassess our situation. That would be normal for anyone, because that’s kind of impacting what you’re doing professionally’.”

Tiley, who is also the Australian Open’s tournament director, said he did not intend to have any direct contact with Dokic Sr. ”We deal with Jelena. In some cases with the young athletes the parents are involved, and we encourage that, because they obviously help with the development,” he said.

”But when the parents get involved to the point where we believe it hinders it, that’s when we step back and say ‘that’s where you’re on your own’, and it gets very simple.”

Since winning her sixth career title in Kuala Lumpur in February, Jelena has struggled with a shoulder injury, losing six of her seven singles matches since reaching the ‘s-Hertogenbosch final in June, and retiring from Linz last month.

“DAILY TENNIS NEWS WIRE”