Aussie sport fans and stars react with horror after seeing how Jelena Dokic suffered abuse from her dad in confronting documentary
Australian sports fans have reacted in horror after seeing the shocking level of abuse former tennis star Jelena Dokic suffered at the hands of her father Damir.
Dokic, 41, is being widely lauded for her bravery and courage after Channel Nine screened her documentary ‘Unbreakable’ on Wednesday night – giving many Aussies their first look into how she suffered during her career.
Social media lit up with messages of support for the former world number four, who confirmed she was once knocked unconscious by her father following an on-court defeat.
AFL legend Brendan Fevola labelled Dokic’s story ‘horrific’, while former Uzbekistan tennis star Denis Istomin declared she had the potential to be as good as tennis great Serena Williams.
Other tennis fans praised Dokic for her strength and resilience, with another supporter stating his belief that she would have ‘won multiple grand slam titles’ if she ‘had normal people around her’.
Dokic’s tennis career peaked when she made the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 1999 and semi-finals in 2000, followed by the 2002 French Open quarter-finals.
Retired tennis star Denis Istomin felt Jelena Dokic was good enough to compete with Serena Williams at her peak
AFL great Brendan Fevola labelled Dokic’s story ‘horrific’ and added she is an ‘inspiration to every Australian’
This tennis fan lauded Dokic as an ‘amazing human’ and admired her courage in telling her story
Tennis fan Collin Wood felt Dokic would have won multiple Grand Slams if she had ‘normal people’ around her’
Another supporter criticised those on tennis circles for ‘turning a blind eye’ when it came to Dokic’s abuse
But the controversial decision to turn her back on Australia – a demand from her father – to represent Yugoslavia at Melbourne Park in 2001 saw local tennis fans savage her.
‘I would take 100 years of abuse if I could take back not playing for Australia for a few years,’ she told the Carrie & Tommy radio show.
‘He [Damir] took that away from me, something I loved so much.
‘He’s sitting in a hotel room watching, while I’m getting booed by 15,000 people. I just wanted to kind of drop into the ground and disappear and never come back.
‘I would take any abuse, anything in this world to not go through that personally.
‘It took 10 or 15 years until my book came out for them [fans] to know the truth and just how much I really love Australia.’
Last year in a trailer for Unbreakable, Dokic recalled how she felt immense pressure to win as her father would inflict regular beatings.
‘I’m 16 years old here. I was playing the [world] number 1 Martina Hingis and I knew if I lost the consequences were catastrophic,’ she says when looking at the vision.
In recent years, Dokic has turned her attention to commentary, where she has excelled (pictured, at the Brisbane International)
According to Jelena, Damir Dokic (right) has never apologised for his actions – the pair also haven’t spoken in years (pictured, at Wimbledon)
‘One day after I lost I knew what was going to happen… I was starting to feel really broken inside.
‘[Hours later] there was not an inch of my skin that wasn’t bruised.’
Remarkably, Dokic told media identity Jessica Rowe she doesn’t despise her father.
‘I don’t hate anyone. Hate is a very strong word,’ she said.
‘For whatever reason the universe gave me that [abuse] and I have to accept the circumstances.
‘I don’t hate him, but I don’t forgive him.’
