Jelena Dokic is in a desperate fight to save her tumultuous tennis career after suffering yet another body blow at the US Open.

In her first match since Wimbledon, an underdone Dokic faded to a 6-3 6-4 first-round loss to Belgian Kirsten Flipkins before revealing her concerns about possibly suffering from side effects after being bed-ridden for two months with mononucleosis.

“I didn’t feel great physically on court and my power and my endurance and my movement is not even close to where I want it to be,” Dokic said.

“I rely on that; I hit a lot of winners in my matches and I play pretty physical … hopefully that will get better.

“It was not easy at all and I have a long way to go, but I have to just try not to be too disappointed.”

Dokic had hoped her captivating wildcard run to the Australian Open quarter-finals in January would prove a “life-changing” experience and spark a return to the world’s top 10.

Instead, 2009 has turned into another nightmare season for the luckless 26-year-old.

First she was forced to retire in tears from the French Open when crippled mid-match with a back injury while poised for a second-round victory over world No.4 Elena Dementieva.

Then her controversial father Damir landed in jail and was subsequently sentenced to 15 months in a Belgrade prison for possessing illegal weapons and threatening Australia’s ambassador to Serbia.

Damir had been outraged over a magazine report which suggested he physically abused his now-estranged daughter during her junior days.

Dokic was then diagnosed with the debilitating mononucleosis virus after capitulating to a first-round defeat at Wimbledon.

“It’s tough because I think I could have had a much better year,” Dokic said.

“I was still playing well around Miami time and at the French Open as well, but then after that things went down hill.

“It’s so unlucky. Some people just have it that way and get injured all the time. Some people get sick.

“I think it counts how many times you get up. Not how many times you fall down.

“So hopefully I can try to do it one more time and hopefully I won’t have to do it again.”

Now ranked 83rd in the world, Dokic plans to contest a stack of low-level claycourt events in Europe to hopefully regain a fitness base, restore her confidence and avert sliding out of the top 100.

“I just need to a lot of work,” she said.

“But it’s okay, I have to look forward to next week. I have a tournament (in Italy) so I have to just grind it out now and hopefully I can still have a couple of matches this year and then hopefully I’ll be healthy the whole of next year.

“The toughest thing is staying positive mentally.”

© AAP 2012

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