I came for YU passport
From a Belgrade's Sports Journal, translated by Marko for the Jelena Dokic mailing list - November, 2000
Six years ago she went from Belgrade as 11 years old girl and yesterday she came back as tennis star.
"I came back for yugoslavian passport" she says. From 1994. she is Australian citizen, but now she wants to be what she is in her heart. Yugoslavian.
She landed on Surchin Airport (International Airport in Belgrade) whit her mum Ljiljana. In Saturday they went from Kuala Lumpur, where she played her last tournament in this season, in Monday in London she get visa for Yugoslavia and now she is waiting last act of returning to Yugoslavia - getting a passport.
"I will stay in Belgrade at least a week, and probably even more, until I finish all that is necessary" says 26. player on WTA. In Australia she wont be going before great tournaments in January - next time she seat in a plane it will be to Florida where Dokic family have house.
When we spoke to her four months ago, she said the she is Yugoslavian in her heart. Now she will be on a paper too. "I want to have sojourn in Belgrade so I can be here when I am playing in Europe. It is too far to travel all back to Australia. My second residence will be in US."
Six years out of fatherland - is it too long? "I wanted to come even sooner, that was always my biggest wish. Now that wish finally come true."
She is born in Serbian Krajina, now Croatia, in Osijek. But she does not understand why in her WTA bio says she is born in Belgrade.
You left serbian part of Croatia in 1991?
"War was not started yet but we felt the presure by Croats. Simply, it was the time to go.Then we came to Sombor (it it the city in north Serbia) and I kept playing tennis. It is interesting that we left
Osijek on June 21, 1991, and Serbia to Australia on June 21, 1994.In Sombor it was nice, I advanced in tennis, but I lost my links whit Sombor. I dont now will I have time, but someday I will go there.
You started a year as 43. player and now you are 26?
"Yes, but, if I did won some few matchs I could be now in forst 20, you know. Like it was the match whit Monika in Rome and some others.I learned something from that kind of matchs and it will be easier next year.In this moment my goal is to be in first 15. Until I am 18 I can play only on 13 tournaments a year. So from April I could play how much I want.However, because I used most part of this quota, until April I will play only Australian Open and Key Biskeyn." sorry if I misspelled)
Free time she will use for training.
"I want to correct my service and to tacticly go more often on net so I can reduce points. This year I fixed my play but I want more." Do you know anything about yugoslavian tennis.
"Well, whit Dragan Zaric I were on Kuala Lumpur tournament, and whit Sandra Nacuk I played in double on Zurich tournament. I don't speculate about representation yet because I could not play for Yugoslavia three years ahead. I meat Darko Madjarovski and Janko Tipsarevic on French Open."
Jelena is atractive for world medias whit since Day 1, but very often the speculate about her father, Damir.
"They inflate every bauble. I dont revolve about that since the day I realized that. I am very stable in a court and that dont bother me." Two years in a row she play best on Wimbledon. First quarterfinals than semifinals...
"Next year final. I like grass as ground to play on. It suits me." Whit Jelena Dokic Yugoslav tennis will have brace whit top tennis that we lost when Slobodan Zivojinovic left tennis and when Monika took US citizenship. We have again for who to chear on world tournaments.
Monika achieved greatest success whit YU passport and hopefully Jelena will too.
"I like Belgrade very much, I would not go anywhere from here" she said after first walk through city.
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