BEATS CAPRIATI AND KOURNIKOVA IN SAN DIEGO

Jelena shows closer's instincts

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

FROM THE ACURA CLASSIC IN SAN DIEGO – Maybe it's the presence of her boyfriend, Formula One racer Enrique Bernoldi, or maybe it's just because it was always just a matter of time before she fulfilled her potential, but Jelena Dokic has displayed tremendous closer's instincts in knocking off No. 3 Jennifer Capriati 2-6,6-2, 6-4 in the quarters, and the red hot Russian Anna Kournikova 6-7 (8-6) 7-6 (7-2) 6-0 in the semifinals of the Acura Classic.

Dokic went into her match with Capriati with a 0-4 record against the American but unlike in previous matches where she collapsed on the big points, the tall and muscular Dokic painted the lines with huge groundstrokes deep in the third set.

DOKIC CALLS VICTORY 'BIGGEST WIN'
"It's the biggest win of my career," said Dokic. "I've beaten Hingis and Venus before, but Jennifer was always the one to beat for me. She might be ranked number three, but she plays like a number one player so it was very important."
The 26-year-old Capriati ran through Dokic in the first set, running with abandon, out muscling her from the baseline and eating up her second serves. But Dokic found her range in the second set, hissing with ferocity when striking the ball and outlasting Capriati in brutal rallies. She won the second set by fighting off two break points with an ace and a service winner and then closed it out when she forced Capriati into a forehand error.

The two wowed the crowd in the third set, engaging in numerous eye-popping rallies, including an end-to-end 40-ball rally with Capriati serving at deuce at 2-2, which finally ended when Dokic caressed a backhand drop shot winner. Dokic then broke Capriati to 3-2. That began an avalanche of five straight breaks, which finally ended with Dokic serving in the match's final game, as the free swinger crunched a 97-mph service winner and followed it up with a forehand crosscourt winner.

"Jennifer's fitness is better than mine but I improved mentally in this match," said Dokic. "I didn't give her too may free points and I kept the pressure on her. I hit some down the line shots tonight that looked impossible to make, but I've been practicing them and it really paid off."

Capriati said that her opponent played a much headier match than she had in the past. "She's always been a good player but today she was a great player," said Capriati. "In our other matches, she usually made more mistakes. Tonight, she kept the pressure on me and hung in there very well."

Dokic had only 15 hours to get ready for Kournikova and came out extremely sluggish, looking like her feet were wet with heavy cement when trying to chase down Anna's drop shots.

"I had a terrible time recovering," Dokic said of the tense and up-and-down two-hour contest in which she fought off two match points. "I was very physically and mentally drained. I just thank God for this match. She was playing very well and it wasn't until the third set that I really got my confidence back."

ANNA BLAZES IN FIRST SET

Fred Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

In her first semifinal appearance in nearly six months, Kournikova came out firing on all cylinders, torching forehands to both corners of the court, tripping up her foe with exquisitely placed drop shots and tearing apart Dokic's wayward second serves. "She was playing very well," Dokic said. "She was hitting hard and not missing much. She was mentally stronger than she was before."

The go-for-broke Dokic served for the first set at 6-5, but was broken when she double faulted. Kournikova moved beautifully in the tiebreak and closed it out when she powers an inside-out backhand return of serve winner and then watched Dokic dump a forehand into the net.

"I was really disappointed,said Dokic, who was 7-0 in tiebreaks going into the tiebreak against Kournikova. "I win 95 percent of my tiebreakers and I gave her too many free points.

Dokic appeared to be out of the match at 4-5 in the second set when she double faulted at deuce, handing Kournikova her first match point. But Dokic ripped a forehand down the line winner to get back to deuce. The 21-year-old Kournikova forced another match when she powered a forehand winner, but Dokic whipped a heavy slice serve into the Russian's body, which Kournikova couldn't handle. Dokic then held to 5-5. "She served extremely well on those two points," Kournikova said. "There was nothing I could."

In the second-set tiebreak, a pumped up Dokic played more intelligently and forcefully, winning it with two seeing-eye returns of serve winners down the line. Anna's confidence sank faster than the chronically injured Monica Seles' chances of ever winning a Slam again.

"That was my chance right there," Kournikova said. "I got tired after that. It seemed like whenever I got ahead she played more aggressive and I was more passive."

Dokic added, "I attacked more and was very aggressive. She had been hitting me a lot of kick serves that I was missing and at 5-2 that backhand down the line was big. Then I decided, 'Why not go for another one and it went in.' That's what got her really down."

The 19-year-old Yugoslav then ran off with the third set, as a despondent Kournikova lost all of her spunk and accuracy.

BRING ON THE BIG HITTERS
Dokic will play the winner of Saturday's night's semifinal between top-seed Venus Williams and third-seed Lindsay Davenport. Prior to the Acura, Dokic has reached five finals this year, winning Sarasota and Birmingham. Kournikova isn't sure if Dokic is capable of playing with the likes of the Williams sisters, noting her lack of foot speed. Dokic has a 1-3 record against Venus and an 0-7 record vs. Lindsay.
"She fights very hard and hits hard, but she's not a quick as Serena and Venus, " Kournikova said. "She moves better side to side."

Currently ranked a career high No. 5, Dokic hits as hard off both wings as almost anyone on tour, save for the Williamses and Davenport. She has three major kinks in her game: her lack of straight ahead speed; her erratic serve, which isn't fast enough and which she doesn't put enough spin on; and her lack of mid-match critical analysis, where she doesn't take enough strategic adjustments. Plus, it's hard for Jelena to break down her opponents when she's out practicing, which is why she can't figure why Lindsay crushes her time and again.

"I'm not so disappointed that I'm losing to Lindsay. It's more the fact that that I'm not playing well when I play her," She said. "If I played a good match and lose to her, it's a different story. Against Lindsay, I've never played a completely good match and that's what's disappointing. I'd like to play a good match and see how far I can get. It's tough to play her. She doesn't give you much of a rhythm and it's hard to read where's she going to play."

Part of that arises from the fact that Jelena is all but coach-less right now. She talks to her father and so-called coach Damir a few times a week, but she said that for the most part, they don't talk tennis anymore. "I'm very self dependent and I like it that way," she said.

Being a fiercely independent person is what makes Dokic such a tough competitor, but you would think she could still maintain that part of her personality with a coach that she likes and still improve the parts of her game that need work. Sure, Jelena's already a top-five player, but she is not a top-three player yet and it's the top three (Serena, Venus and Jennifer) who have won the last nine Grand Slams. Jelena knows that, which is why she all but conceded the Acura final to Venus, would she play her.

"She presents all sort of problems for everyone," Dokic said. "Serena's the only one to beat her recently. She has the power and the speed. Maybe if she commits 50 or 60 unforced errors," I'll have a chance."