Dokic lost in wilderness Leo Schlink 22jun06 JELENA Dokic is resigned to a long stay in the tennis wilderness after botching Wimbledon qualifying. Ranked 685th in the world, former All England Club semi-finalist Dokic had the chance to close out a first-round win over theatrical Alexandra Stevenson, but choked with a trio of double faults. Serving for the contest at 6-4 5-3, Dokic imploded. The former world No. 4 eventually lost an ill-tempered affair 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 as her decline continued. Contesting only her fourth tournament since the Australian Open in January, Dokic attracted a curious band of onlookers, but lacked the killer instinct which once separated her from the pack. "I think I didn't play badly until then but I think I got nervous," she said. "It's a lack of match play. I played perfect until then, I couldn't have asked for anything more and I just had to serve it out. "I beat myself, not her beating me, which is disappointing, maybe if I had a few more matches I may have got through." She admitted contesting Wimbledon qualifying and the memories of beating world No. 1 Martina Hingis in the tournament's main draw seven years ago were "like two worlds apart". "It's a different story completely, all the way up and then all the way down," she said. "I have a long way to go. I would like to come back still. I just need to play some smaller events and get back on track. "It's difficult when you have been so far up and you have come down and expect to play well again. "It took me hundreds of matches to get there so it won't take just one or two now to come back. There are no goals. I just have nothing to lose, every match I win I can only gain. "I will play smaller ITF events and try to get some matches there and that will help me mentally as well and help my confidence and try to work my way up." Working with French Open winner Iva Majoli's brother Dado, Dokic said she had rejected Tennis Australia's offer to work with Fed Cup captain David Taylor. She said part of the deal involved her living in Australia. She continues to reside in Monte Carlo and Croatia. But Dokic said she wants to play Fed Cup for Australia next year after serving a two-year qualification period. Dokic no longer has any endorsements. She used a Head racquet, wore a Fila skirt, donned an adidas top and visor -- and wore Nike shoes. Stevenson, who found infamy amid unsubstantiated claims of racism in tennis, was given an audible obscenity warning for screaming: "That was f...... out, that was the biggest hook." Queensland veteran Nicole Pratt, 33, downed Briton Amanda Keen 7-5 6-5 to create a meeting with promising American Jessica Kirkland. "It's been 10 years since I was last here," Pratt said. "I knew it would be tough, but from the word go I prepared myself mentally to go in thinking I was at the beginning of my career rather than at the end of it. "I played solid tennis and didn't drop serve once. I was down six or seven break points but held each time which showed that I was competing well, so I'm pretty happy." Wayne Arthurs reached the third round with a 7-6 (13-11) 6-2 win over Peter Luczak, while Robert Smeets and Alun Jones lost to Kenneth Carlsen and Stefano Galvani, respectively. --

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