Former world number-four women's tennis player Jelena Dokic has arrived in Auckland, New Zealand to begin preparations for her comeback at the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old native of Serbia and Montenegro, who expressed her desire to again represent her adopted homeland of Australia, has received a wild card entry to next week's Auckland Open tennis tournament.
The Auckland event will be Dokic's first full tournament in five months and her first on the WTA Tour since May. She says her goal is to play several matches to help her prepare for the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. After reaching her career-best number-four in 2002, Dokic has dropped to 349th in the rankings.
Dokic is now estranged from her controversial father Damir. His claim that the draw for the 2001 Australian Open was rigged against his daughter led to her acrimonious departure from Australia and her return to representing Serbia and Montenegro.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
