TENNIS in DEPTH.

You’ve got to feel sorry for Jelena Dokic. After a long struggle to achieve some success in her comeback, she finally appeared to be turning the corner with a convincing win in the first round of the French Open. Pitted against #4 Elena Dementieva in what would appear to be a dauntless task for Jelena, she played her best tennis to take the first set and go ahead in the second when disaster struck.

Elena Dementieva advanced to the third round of the French Open when Jelena Dokic retired with a back injury while leading 6-2, 3-4 Thursday.

Dokic turned for a backhand during the fifth game of the second set, grimaced in pain and called time. She then reached toward the lower part of her back and gingerly walked toward her chair to call for a trainer.

She returned to the court and broke Dementieva to take a 3-2 lead, but then cried into her towel during the changeover. After losing the next two games, Dokic stopped.

The fourth-seeded Dementieva has reached at least the semifinals at every Grand Slam event. She lost in the finals of the 2004 French Open and U.S. Open.

Bookmark It