It's no wonder Jelena Dokic has a few issues. I can't even imagine what it was like growing up in this atmosphere.
From The Australian: Damir haunts Jelena with mad kidnap plan
LIKE a character in a B-grade movie, Damir Dokic has returned to haunt his tennis-playing daughter just as she thought she had escaped his clutches.
In an interview with a Serbian newspaper, Mr Dokic is quoted threatening to have the "brainwashed" Jelena kidnapped by war criminals.
He muses about killing at least one Australian in revenge for his daughter having returned to play in Australia and of wiping out Sydney with a nuclear bomb because of a supposedly bad linecall in her comeback match at the Australian Open on Monday.
In a level-headed response, Jelena yesterday said it was not the first time her father had threatened her wellbeing and she would resist his attempt to again disrupt her life.
While Mr Dokic claimed the article in Belgrade's racy tabloid Kurir was misconstrued and "a bunch of lies", he also said he did not care what his daughter thought about the comments.
Speaking to Melbourne's Nova radio station, Mr Dokic said he was "not interested at all, it doesn't bother me" what Jelena thinks because her boyfriend is Croatian.
Mr Dokic was reported by Kurir as saying "Australia with the help of Croatia and the Vatican have brainwashed my daughter"...
Jelena was keeping a low profile in Melbourne yesterday, refusing all interview requests.
"This is not the first time he has made threats publicly to my wellbeing so I am not going to allow this latest episode to disrupt my future happiness and I wish to distance myself totally from his reported views," she said in the statement.
"This has proven to be yet another unfortunate distraction around my return to Australia and competitive tennis. I have spent my life recovering from events such as this.
"I will continue to work very hard on getting back to the top of my game and putting comments like these firmly behind me.
"I have been overwhelmed by the support and friendship I have been shown by the Australian public since I returned in early December which has proven to me that the decision to come back was the right one."
But the Women's Tennis Association expressed concern for the 22-year-old's safety.
"The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour is concerned about the welfare of Jelena Dokic and will continue to support her comeback in every possible way," a spokesman said.
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