Ex-tennis star Jelena Dokic: Father beat and spit at her

SYDNEY » Former tennis star Jelena Dokic says from a young age her father regularly beat and kicked her. He would pull her hair, spit in her face and belittle her with vile insults.

Dokic, once ranked No. 4 in the world and a Wimbledon semifinalist, writes of her ordeal with Damir Dokic, also her coach, in an autobiography to be released this week.

After losing to Lindsay Davenport in the Wimbledon semifinals in 2000 at age 17, Dokic said her father refused to acknowledge her following the match and when she finally reached him on the telephone. He told her not to return to the hotel where the family was staying. She was so distressed she attempted to sleep in the players’ area at Wimbledon before officials contacted her agents and arranged for her stay with them. Damir Dokic is living in Serbia and had no comment for Australian media. — The Associated Press