Dokic back with a bang

Jelena Dokic is definitely the new comeback kid on the block though she may be out of the Australian Open or in the semi-finals by the time you get to read this. Either way, her story, both on and off the court, makes compelling reading.

Dokic came into the Australian Open via a wild card playoff, was ranked 187th in the world and was given as much chance of progressing into the second week of the Australian Open as an amateur mountaineer would have got to climb Mt Everest on roller skates.

But the 25-year-old has persevered with one painstaking victory after another to write a new chapter in her tennis saga. Her three-set victory on Sunday over Russian 17th seed Anna Chakvetadze (7-5, 5-7, 8-6) in the fourth round after being a break down in the decider and slightly twisting her ankle must rate as one of the best fightbacks in recent times.

Add this fairly tale run to her troubled past and what we get is a story of courage, of patience, of self-belief and, above all, of a strong will to succeed under adversity. All this made possible not by family members but friends - boyfriend Tin and coach Borna Bikic and a legion of fans from her adopted country Australia.

Dokic's story is perhaps destined to be wild. If the past is filled with problems like persecution, poverty and family discord, the journey since has traversed such pitfalls as depression, financial constraints and emotional setbacks.

Even at her most joyous moment in a long time and on the cusp of a historic achievement, controversy is not very far behind. The latest sordid incident, as reported in a section of the media, involves allegations that she borrowed £29,000 (BD14,986) from an underworld source who died at the end of last year.

Dokic's story matches that of Jennifer Capriati's for controversy, drama and, of course, comeback. Capriati fell from the pinnacle to the pits and was involved in drugs and even a minor misdemeanour case was registered against her. But the American came back strongly and scaled the summit again, even winning the same Australian Open which Dokic hopes to match this week.

Can Dokic do a Capriati? There will be another story in it for sure irrespective of the end result.

The story of Andy Murray at the same Australian Open contrasts sharply with that of Dokic's. The Scot was in peak form having scored back-to-back victories over the top two of men's tennis - Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer - heading into Melbourne.

Murray was also tipped to break a 73-year-old jinx and become the first Briton to win a Grand Slam since Fred Perry. The 21-year-old lived the script through the first week scoring straight set victories in his first three matches.

Murray was in such irresistible form and played so robustly that the official website predicted he would win his fourth round match against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in straight sets. After all, Murray had a 5-0 record against his opponent and in the middle of a hot streak.

But, on Monday, it was a different story as Verdasco, who had also progressed into the fourth round without losing a set, including allowing just four games in his previous match against Radek Stepanek, a fact conveniently forgotten by many, broke the heart and mind of the great British hope.

Murray clearly looked second best as Verdasco combined power and panache to deadly effect and peppered his opponent on the baseline and sidelines with perfectly controlled shots. Though the match went into five sets and was his first defeat of the season, it is a match which Murray, and a lot of Britons, would not bother to remember.

In many ways it was also a strange match. Murray won 138 points to Verdasco's 137. He also made less unforced errors - 40 to Verdasco's 50. Murray also had his chances, like a couple of break points in the fifth set to take the lead, but could not seize them.

All in all, Murray may have made another strong point but there is no doubt that he's yet to make a career-defining statement.