TENNIS in DEPTH.

Still pale and glum after being dumped out of Wimbledon in a first-round match that was hers for the taking, the 26-year-old Australian said the ordeals of her painful private life and rocky tennis career had equipped her to bounce back from this latest disappointment.

“You know, honestly, two years ago this time, I wasn’t even playing and I was thinking about quitting, so I think I’m still in a good position,” Dokic said after her surprise 3-6 7-5 6-2 defeat by 101-ranked German qualifier Tatjana Malek.

“I was at a point where … I don’t know if I could have gotten any lower than that.

“When you’re battling depression, when you’re overweight, you haven’t touched a racquet for whatever, six months or a year, you really don’t care anymore. That’s the stage that I was at.”

Her father Damir’s physical and emotional abuse may have derailed the career that took off with her spectacular debut at Wimbledon 10 years ago, when she beat the top seed Martina Hingis in the first round, but it made difficulties such as losing a tennis match seem perfectly manageable.

“I think I handle situations like this — losses — very well,” Dokic said yesterday. “I’m able to pick myself up and go on.”

The dizzy spells and loss of focus and energy that hit Dokic after she had won the first set yesterday may have been caused by a virus, nerves, poor mental and physical preparation or a combination of all four but her frustration was exacerbated by the fact that this was her first appearance in the main draw at Wimbledon after five wasted years.

Asked if she ever wondered what might have become of her career with more benign guidance when she was young, Dokic avoided self pity.

“I think you can always say, “What if?’ I wasn’t lucky in that sense. I had some unfortunate things, but you can’t pick what happens. And it happened. I think it was unfortunate that I had it so early on in my career. I was so young when things were going on, even here at this tournament when I was 16.

“I still feel fortunate, though, that I was able to give myself another chance and get back in the top 100 and give myself a chance maybe to do better.”

And this time around she can actually enjoy her tennis and whatever success comes.

“I don’t think I enjoyed it when I was younger. It was a completely different kind of pressure when I was younger. I obviously had other stuff going on off the court so I couldn’t enjoy it as much.

“I played a quarter-final and semi-final here two years (1999 and 2000) back to back (but) I don’t think I even knew how big that was. I don’t think I knew how to enjoy it.

“The Australian Open, when I did well this year, it was a completely different kind of experience. And now, you know, it’s not easy to lose a match like today, but I will (only) be disappointed a little bit. I still enjoy tennis.

“You cannot play well every day. That’s the whole point of this sport.

“And you get a chance every week. Every week is a new opportunity to do well. And if I’m able to come back and be in the top 30, or top 20, or top 10, great. If not, I will know that I’ve tried. I can’t change what has happened and what will happen, but I will try my best, you know, until the rest of my career and see how well I can do.

“I’m just gonna have to, you know, go back to the drawing board from here and just get myself together and try to get some matches under my belt, as many as I can, and try to get back on track.”

Dokic first got back on track with her triumphant march to the quarter-finals at this year’s Australian Open. Then she made a promising start at the French Open before withdrawing in tears with back pain while leading world No4 Elena Dementieva 6-2 3-4.

Dokic was in a similar position this time around when her game fell apart against Malek, but she insists it was not a back problem, although she did appear to be wincing and flexing her back between points.

The injury at the French Open disrupted her preparations for Wimbledon, and she entered the tournament with no serious lead-up on grass and well below her normal fitness.

“I played four or five matches in three sets in Australia, in the heat, and didn’t struggle,” she said yesterday. “That’s why today’s disappointing, because I think today is an exception. Maybe something else is going on inside,” she said, adding that she might have some sort of virus.

“I knew it would be tough going into Wimbledon without any (lead-up) matches. I haven’t played that much tennis on grass in the last five years.

The loss at Roland Garros “maybe actually took more out of me mentally, and I wasn’t able to recover. So maybe that just had an effect”.

She could still improve her world ranking from 76 into the top 50 or higher, she said.

“Why not? Things can turn around in one tournament, in one Grand Slam. They did at the Australian Open. I probably have my favourite part of the season coming now with the hardcourts, indoors, even some clay events following Wimbledon.

“There’s still a lot of tournaments and tennis I can play, so hopefully I can turn it around and get some consistency.”

Her Wimbledon outing drew a crowd packed with Australian supporters and Dokic said she hoped they were not supporting her just out of sympathy over her personal problems.

Sick of being asked about the latest news reports on her father, or gossip suggesting a family reunion, she is adamant that she does not want to answer questions about her father.

“I’ve said it a million times: I have absolutely nothing at all to do with him,” she said.

“So I don’t see why people would think that I would reunite with my Dad when every single question I answer is about me not doing that.

“There were reports I was there (in Serbia) during (the warm-up event in) Eastbourne, and I was practising three times a day at Eastbourne in front of players and people. I don’t understand where all these articles come from.

“Now and forever, there is nothing. No way that I would ever reunite with him or ever have a relationship with him.”

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