Dokic forced to fight after lapse in concentration

Women's singles: No 7 seed needs three sets to see off unheralded opponent but Capriati and Serena Williams march on without alarm

If Jelena Dokic had used a little less steam making noises while running into her shots yesterday, the No 7 seed might have won more comfortably over the world No 96, Kveta Hrdlickova, than by the three-set scoreline, 6-0, 4-6, 8-6.

Grunting and groaning are common when players actually hit the ball but time after time the 19-year-old Yugoslavian ran towards it emitting a "Ssshhhh" sound. Had she only added "d-cuff" each time she made contact, it would have provided a passable impersonation of Ivor the Engine.

Making a meal of what should be relatively straightforward matches does not augur well for building on what has generally been a good year. Among other decent results for Dokic, she won a title on grass at Edgbaston earlier this month and was a quarter-finalist at Roland Garros, where losing to Jennifer Capriati was no disgrace.

But with Capriati and the Williams sisters powering through their early games, and the likes of Monica Seles, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin offering a second-tier challenge, Dokic needs to focus more and toughen up mentally. Even playing below vintage yesterday, Capriati advanced to the third round with a straight-sets win, 6-2, 6-1, over Marta Marrero of Spain while Serena Williams saw off a feisty Francesca Schiavone of Italy, 6-3, 6-3. These are players who must be overcome to lift trophies.

Dokic admitted that her concentration went walkabout. "I had a good first set but I made a few mistakes," she said. "And she kept on getting better and better and I was getting too defensive. I was too tight and too nervous."

At one stage in the third, Dokic was two points from defeat after being broken to leave her trailing 6-5 in the decider. "I was really mentally down because I had so many chances in the third set to get up three-love," she said. "But she played three, four very bad points there [when serving for the match], so I was lucky. After that I was top again."

To reach the top here will take some doing. If successful against Nathalie Dechy in the next round, Dokic faces a likely meeting with Daniela Hantuchova in the fourth round. Serena Williams and Capriati would be probable further hurdles, even before the final. "I think the matches [in Grand Slams generally] are getting so much tougher," Dokic admitted. "There's no easy matches, there's no 6-0, 6-0 or 6-1, 6-1. It doesn't exist any more."

It would have been churlish to point out that Seles won 6-0, 6-0 on Tuesday, at the same time as Venus Williams was progressing 6-1, 6-1. "I'm just going a match a time," Dokic added. "See how well I can do."

Should Serena Williams and Capriati do as well as they can, they will meet in the semi-finals. They had contrasting views of their respective performances yesterday. "I wasn't pleased at all with my game today," Williams said. "I don't think I focused enough. Maybe my mind was on too many places. I just kept making a lot of errors. I didn't come up to the net early enough."

She did not dwell on it, however, preferring instead to clarify that the world heavyweight boxing champion, Lennox Lewis, is a "family fan" as opposed to a "family friend" and to opine on the value of hair decorations and earrings. "Accessorise, accessorise, accessorise, you can never have too many accessories," was the Williams pearl of wisdom for the day.

Capriati said she was happy with "pretty much my whole game". She declined to speculate on a semi-final against Williams. "First I have to get there," she said.