By Joe Winson
June 17 2003

YUGOSLAVIA's Jelena Dokic would have been hoping to put an indifferent year behind her at this years Eastbourne, but instead turned in an utterly abject performance against qualifier Saori Obata to go down 6-3, 6-1. Questions must now be asked about Dokic's new style of play under her new coach, which has rendered little success, and on the evidence of this performance has made her take steps back rather than forward.

Her opponent who qualified on the monday against American Lindsay Lee-Waters made Dokic's time on the court even more of a misery playing controlled tennis, and committing little errors.

Dokic on the other hand was erratic and at times thoughtless with her play, attempting to go for winners on every ball rather than craft opportunities out. It didn't work.The World Number 11 lost her first service game and despite breaking back proceeded to lose the first set
6-3.

If Dokic's first set showing was poor, her second set showing was woeful.Her opponent, 76 places below her in the world rankings raced to a 5-0 lead, as the 6th seed ran out of ideas, her attempst to mix up the play with drop shots all ended in failure.

Dokic did avoid a bagel by breaking in the sixth game and was given some encouragement by the crowd, but despite going 30-0 up in the seventh game, it was to be her last at Eastbourne this year, capitulationg to a 6-3, 6-1 defeat, which will have certainly dented her Wimbledon preperations.

"It's the same story it's been all year. I just haven't played well," Dokic said.

"The reason, I don't know. If I knew I would try to fix it. My game in practice is fine. It's different in matches. My confidence is quite low," she said.