Just as the Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley hinted, Jelena Dokic has been awarded a wildcard into the main draw of the 2011 Australian Open. Tiley considers that Dokic deserves a wildcard because of the determination and good form she showed during the playoffs, which she lost in the final to Olivia Rogowska.
Here’s how Dokic commented on her last week’s form:
I had a pretty good playoff considering I didn’t play a match in over two months, it was a good practice run for me and I’m very happy to receive the wildcard. I did play well and I got better with each match.
Dokic, who made a stunning run to the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2009, believes that surprises can always happen, especially in the beginning of the season:
Obviously the [Australian Open] draw will be very tough. You’ve got to go match by match, you never know what can happen. There’s always been kind of underdogs that have come [through], especially early in the year as everyone still coming off their breaks, their off-seasons. My goal is not to just do well at the Australian Open, it’s to play well.
(source: Australian Open, photo: © Neal Trousdale)
Very happy! Hope Jelena can perform well at the Aussie Open in 2011 😀 And hoping for a 2009 repeat or maybe even further time 🙂
Hopefully Jelena will not only be able to perform well in Australia but get good results in the other 3 slams also and cement her position in the 100!