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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There’s a special affinity champions feel with the Centre Court. It’s hard to quantify but there are elements of affection, familiarity and a desire to relive those most special moments of your career. To me it was apparent throughout nearly all of Venus Williams’ very impressive passage through to the second week — and a potential sixth Wimbledon singles title.

From the evidence so far it will take a very good player to beat her. Apart from a few minutes at the start of the second set she was in complete control against Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro, who initially was obviously more than a little overawed by the experience of playing her first match in the famous arena.

I remember the way I always felt out there. It was as though I knew every blade of grass personally and the confidence that awareness gave me was so important. I’ve never asked Venus whether she feels the same but I know plenty of ex-champions that do; Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Roger Federer.

Suarez Navarro might have come from behind to knock Venus out of the Australian Open in January but there’s a world of difference between the feelings you get on Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena and Wimbledon’s Centre Court. There’s a hush, a reverence, everything seems so much closer. Whether that’s by design or simply good fortune, I cannot tell you, but when you have touched a trophy out there, the unique atmosphere always seems to spur you on to do it again.

Unfortunately it never happened again for me after winning in 1987 but Venus has done it three years out of the past four. To me she is one of the finest female athletes who has ever picked up a tennis racket, and she’s perfectly equipped to perform on this surface. Look at the length of those arms and you realise the reach she can call upon to pick off the wide passing shots. Witness those long legs that take her around the court in massive strides.

The 6-0 6-4 win against Suarez Navarro was a walk in the park for Venus. The quickness of the surface, particularly yesterday when the sun made the ground hard, suited her style. Anything dropped a fraction short was picked off in ruthless fashion. Then add into the equation that playing an increasing amount of doubles alongside her sister, Serena, means that Venus had pepped up her volleying skills, she presented an awesome sight at the net to her increasingly demoralised opponent.

Admittedly, I was concerned when I saw Venus walk out with all that strapping around her left knee. But her mobility did not appear to be compromised as she bounded around with the same enthusiasm she showed as the teenager that first made such an impression on the women’s game 12 years ago.

Venus’ next opponent could prove a lot harder. After a tricky time over the past few months, Ana Ivanovic seems to be recapturing the sort of game that took her to the semi-finals in 2007 and to the French Open title last year.

Three matches, three wins in straight sets. It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to anyone but things are most certainly going the champion’s way.

Courtesy of Pat Cash….The Times.

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Monday June 29

(All times BST)

Centre: 13:00 (13) Robin Soderling (Swe) v (2) Roger Federer (Swi), (1) Dinara Safina (Rus) v (17) Amelie Mauresmo (Fra), (3) Andy Murray (Gbr) v (19) Stanislas Wawrinka (Swi)

Court No 1: 13:00 (3) Venus Williams (USA) v (13) Ana Ivanovic (Ser), (7) Fernando Verdasco (Spa) v (22) Ivo Karlovic (Cro), (20) Tomas Berdych (Cze) v (6) Andy Roddick (USA)

Court 2: 12:00 Elena Vesnina (Rus) v (4) Elena Dementieva (Rus), Daniela Hantuchova (Svk) v (2) Serena Williams (USA), Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) v (23) Radek Stepanek (Cze)

Court 3: 12:00 (8) Victoria Azarenka (Blr) v (10) Nadia Petrova (Rus), Dudi Sela (Isr) v (4) Novak Djokovic (Ser), Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spa) v (8) Gilles Simon (Fra)

Court 4: 12:00: (29) Igor Andreev (Rus) v (24) Tommy Haas (Ger), (9) Caroline Wozniacki (Den) v Sabine Lisicki (Ger),

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It’s not easy being a woman, you know, sometimes,” said the Serbian sixth seed after she was beaten in the third round by American Melanie Oudin, a teenage qualifier ranked outside the world’s top 100.

“I had some women’s problems. All these things happen. What can I do? I tried my best. I’ve never had problems like that with my monthly cycle in the past. That was a first experience for me.” PMT was the last thing that the former world No 1 needed.

 In the end, there was no need for a 999 call, but Jankovic did go out of the tournament, losing 6-7 (8-10), 7-5, 6-2.

Somehow Jankovic won the first set against Oudin. Jankovic then took a medical time-out on the court. Ice-packs were put on her neck and legs, as a doctor and a physiotherapist examined her.

“I was like a ghost, you know, white in the face,” Jankovic said. “I didn’t know where I was. The physiotherapist came out and she asked me, ‘Do you know what your name is?’ I just saw blurry.

“I didn’t know. It was a really strange feeling. I was scared and started to cry. But what can I do? These kind of things happen.”

Players expect heat-related difficulties at Melbourne Park, at the Australian Open, but not at Wimbledon. Grey skies have traditionally been the problem at the All England Club, not blue skies.

“Conditions were quite tough,” Jankovic added “It was very warm out there. After the first set, I felt really dizzy, and I thought I was just going to end up in hospital. I started to shake. I was losing consciousness.

“I didn’t know. I was really going to lose it, to fall down and maybe call the ambulance and leave the court. But I came back. Like I started to feel a little better. But, you know, I was feeling quite weak. I had no power.

“I wasn’t the same player. I didn’t have the power in my shots. I felt really tired and exhausted out there.”

This wasn’t an easy situation for Oudin to be in; many young players would have struggled to have dealt with everything that was going on with Jankovic. But Oudin kept it together.

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Czech Tomas Berdych finally broke his hoodoo against Nikolay Davydenko, taking just 107 minutes to crush the Russian No.12 seed for the first time in nine meetings. He will face Andy Roddick on Monday who cruised past Austrian Jurgen (YER-gin) Melzer, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-3.

Roddick had 33 aces Saturday, the final one on match point. He improved to 9-0 against Melzer, and he’s 22-3 this year in tiebreakers.

 Of course, this was the perfect place for Berdych to reverse those fortunes. As a reliable performer at Wimbledon in recent years – he was a quarter-finalist in 2007 – he would have been confident that he could find the tactics to send the Russian packing in Wimbledon’s first week for the seventh time in eight years.

And so he did, with an impressive all-court game which had the Russian rattled. Of course, Davydenko’s error-strewn and lethargic display also had a lot to do with it.

Berdych, the 20th seed, looked impressive from the outset and secured an early break to lead 3-1 after a baseline exchange ended with a forehand winner down the line. While cruising on his own serve, he was also asserting his dominance on his opponent and picked off returns at ease.

The towering Czech player also showed a volleying competence which could be a force in the second week of The Championships.

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Svetlana Kuznetsova suffered a shock 6-2 7-5 third round defeat against unseeded teenager Sabine Lisicki on day six of Wimbledon.

The French Open champion was thumped in the first set and although she mounted a comeback in the second, it was just too late for the Russian.

The fifth seed has previously reached the quarter-finals three times at Wimbledon but will not make the second week this time.

Lisicki, aided by a big serve, convincingly took the first set and raced out to a seemingly unassailable lead in the second.

However, she came unstuck when serving for the set then passed-up three match point chances in the next game as Kuznetsova threatened to force a tie-break.

The 19-year-old broke her opponent at the crucial time, however, as the two-time grand slam winner sent a backhand wide on Lisicki’s fifth match point.

After the match, the young German revealed that she had not placed any pressure on herself going into the match, allowing her to swing freely.

“I just told myself to play one point at a time because I had nothing to lose,” she said. “It’s a huge win for me because before I came to this Wimbledon I hadn’t won a match on grass.”

Lisicki will face fellow teenager Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round of the tournament.

The 18-year-old ninth seed stormed into the last 16 with a 6-2 6-2 thumping of Spanish world number 20 Anabel Medina Garrigues.

Wozniacki, who recently triumphed on the grass at Eastbourne, dominated with ferocious groundstrokes throughout the match, never giving her opponent a chance.

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The 16-year-old Australian, who lost in the semi-final last year, is favourite for the title, and displayed the variety and skill in his game to overcome Morgan, a tough competitor and one for the future, 7-6, 6-2.

It was clear that despite the early start, there was going to a lively atmosphere, given the abundance of British flags and yellow-and-green T-shirts. Among the crowd the watch Morgan were Greg Rusedski, Laura Robson, Roger Draper, head of the LTA, and Paul Annacone, the head coach of the British men’s game.

Both boys started the match well with Morgan matching Tomic blow-for-blow and even settting up two break chances. But Tomic kept his cool and held serve.

“I am suffering with a virus and in the first set I was struggling. Nothing was going in my favour. I don’t know much about Morgan but he’s a good player and played well at the start,” the No.1 seed said afterwards.

Tomic battled his way to a tie-break, having been denied a set point in the 12th game by the intelligent Morgan. The set was won by being patient in the long rallies with the Brit and earning a few cheap points on his big first serve hitting six aces and 14 winners. The British charge capitulated in the tiebreak as Tomic seized that 7-1. From there on in, the Australian controlled the match with much greater ease.

“I think I was more experienced and knew what I had to do in the tiebreak and it worked out well for me,” said Tomic.

It only took the third game in the second set for the Australian to steal the first of three break points that was enough to stop the more aggressive game plan of Morgan desperate to strike back and claim a famous victory.

But Tomic was able to exploit the spaces in the court and frequently wrong footed Morgan with cleverly disguised shots as he forgot about his virus for the duration of the second set and maintained the high percentage of first serves from the 6ft 4in teenager.

“Being the only Australian in the draw it was great to see the fans turn up in the morning to support,” said Tomic. “It made up for my lack of energy out there early on. Hopefully I can build from here, I came close last year. I want to win this one as it would be great to win two junior Grand Slams.”

“I know I’m there, I have lots of confidence playing well over the last six months. Australian Open second round was a great experience for me, and my preparation on grass at the Wimbledon qualifiers has helped me on my way to build something special.”

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Former world number one Jelena Jankovic was sent crashing out of Wimbledon’s third round by 17-year-old American Malanie Oudin. The victory ranks as the biggest upset by an American woman player since Venus won at her first Wimbledon appearance.

The sixth-seeded Serb was attempting to reach the last 16 for the fourth consecutive year but was thwarted by heat exhaustion and an inspired opponent, eventually losing 6-7 7-5 6-2.

Jankovic’s serve deserted her throughout the match and the US Open finalist was fortunate to win the first set after a dramatic tie-break.

The Serb then called for a medical timeout where she had icepacks applied to her legs and neck while a doctor and physiotherapist evaluated her.

Oudin showed dogged determination to win the second set after coming out on top in many protracted baseline rallies.

Jankovic then collapsed in the final set and the teenager from Georgia, who lost to Laura Robson in last year’s junior tournament, was given a clear path to victory.

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