Mandula Has Last Laugh

Hungary 2, Jelena Dokic 0.

After Dokic lost to Rita Kuti Kis of Hungary, ranked No. 89, in the first round of the 2000 Australian Open, she disappeared for a few hours and emerged to read a classless statement. Dokic ripped Kuti Kis as someone who has “never been a player and I guess probably never will be.”

The statement wasn’t forgotten, and Petra Mandula, another Hungarian who plays doubles with Kuti Kis, has no problems with her memory. On Friday, Mandula had the chance to do something about it at the French Open, defeating the 15th-seeded Dokic, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the third round.

A smiling Mandula admitted the victory was especially satisfying in light of Dokic’s comments about her friend. Mandula got nervous, squandering six match points in the eighth game of the third set, and two more in the 10th before winning when Dokic hit a backhand wide.

“I don’t know what she said about me, but I hope it’s not the same,” Mandula said. “I spoke to Rita before the match, and she gave me some good advice. I hope she doesn’t have the same opinion about me. I’m sure she already changed her opinion about Rita.”

The 20-year-old Mandula, a qualifier ranked No. 131, has never advanced past the second round of a Grand Slam event. She will play Rita Grande of Italy in the fourth round.

Such is life in the lower half of the women’s draw, ravaged by injuries and unexpected results. For Dokic, who won her first career title last month at the Italian Open, the loss was especially bitter. The upheaval in the draw meant she had a decent shot at reaching the final, as the only other seeded players in her half were No. 12 Kim Clijsters and No. 14 Justine Henin of Belgium.

“It was a player I shouldn’t have lost to,” said Dokic, a Yugoslav who used to compete for Australia. “I just think there was too much going on. I should have concentrated on my match, not worried too far ahead.”

Dokic took the first set and was up in the second before losing focus. She didn’t give Mandula much credit, however.

“She doesn’t do much,” Dokic said. “I didn’t keep any balls in. I played like a player that’s outside the top 100, 200 today. It’s disappointing especially for a Grand Slam because I’ve played well this year, especially the last couple weeks.

“It’s very hard to get through today. It won’t get my confidence down, but I’ll be disappointed today. If I had lost to someone like a top 10 player, it would have been a different story.”