Dokic finds shots to deal with Dechy
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Your support makes all the difference.If Jelena Dokic could kill off matches as ruthlessly as she slays questions about her personal life, she might have a prayer of reaching the later stages here. After a straight-sets win over Nathalie Dechy yesterday, which sets up a glamour fourth-round meeting with Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, she was asked about romance.
"There have been reports linking you to the Formula One racing driver, Enrique Bernoldi. Any truth in those?" probed one journalist. As enquiries go, it was a reasonable volley. The No 7 seed paused for a moment to draw breath and then lashed it back at her inquisitor. "If I wasn't a tennis player you wouldn't be talking to me right now," she said. "So why don't you think of a question that is your business?" Game, set and match to the 19-year-old Yugoslavian.
She was considerably less clinical on Centre Court, where Dechy was defeated 7-5, 6-2. It was an entertaining match, with some decent rallies, but it was frustrating at times. Dokic spurned a staggering nine set points before sealing the first set with a 10th. In the second set she made heavy weather of her serve at times, double-faulting frequently. But when she did find her shots, they proved decisive.
"I'm not playing bad," she said. "I'm happy. I've gotten better with every match. Today was a tougher test for me, so to win it in straight sets is great. Hopefully I can keep going." Asked if she was pleased to be moving on to a contest that will draw attention simply by dint of its attractive participants, she added: "We're both going to go out there and compete and try to beat each other. If you can be attractive and look good and people think that, that's great."
Hantuchova, the No 11 seed, progressed yesterday past Maja Matevzic of Slovenia in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Her game, mentally, seemed rushed, which resulted in 30 unforced errors that highlighted her vulnerability. On the plus side there was composure while serving. The 19-year-old's 44-inch legs could almost make the journey from deuce court to advantage court in a stride but she took her time and it paid dividends, winning almost 80 per cent of her first-serve points.
The winner of Dokic versus Hantuchova will meet either Serena Williams or her fourth-round opponent, Chanda Rubin, who beat Russia's Tatiana Panova yesterday, 6-4, 6-1.
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