MELBOURNE, Australia - A mystery ailment that has plagued Jelena Dokic since Roland Garros has been diagnosed as mononucleosis, according to a statement issued by Tennis Australia, but the world No.76 says she hopes to return to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour as soon as possible.
The Australian player had blood tests after her first round loss at Wimbledon to German qualifier Tatjana Malek - a match she went close to winning in straight sets before fading in the decider. Doctors have now prescribed complete rest for at least a fortnight.
"I am disappointed to have to pull out of a couple of events but I am also relieved to finally know what was wrong," said Dokic, who had been scheduled to play in the Collector Swedish Open Women in Bastad this week.
"It has been so frustrating since the French. My natural work ethic is to get on court and train hard with intensity. I just haven't been able to do that, and until now, I didn't know why.
"This only makes me more determined to get everything right and work even harder as soon as I can get back on court, which will hopefully be in time for a good solid hard court lead up to the US Open," she said.
Since making headlines with her stunning quarterfinal run at the Australian Open, which propelled her back into the Top 100, the former world No.4 hasn't managed to meet expectations of a meteoric return to the elite.
But flashes of her best form were certainly in evidence at Roland Garros when she won the first set against No.4 seed Elena Dementieva, before retiring in tears in the second with a low back injury.
Earlier in the season, Dokic qualified for Memphis but bumped right into top seed Caroline Wozniacki, whom she'd beaten in Melbourne; the 26-year-old then fell first round at Indian Wells and then to Wozniacki again in the second round at Miami, this time in three sets.
As a possible signpost to her current condition, she withdrew from Ponte Vedra Beach and Charleston with sports fatigue syndrome, returning at Warsaw but falling to Romania's Ioana Raluca Olaru.
