Australian tennis star Jelena Dokic has reunited with her volatile father, Damir, eight years after severing ties because of his bizarre behavior.
“I would like to confirm media reports that I have reconciled with my father Damir Dokic,” she said in a statement.
“My partner, Tin Bikic, and I have visited my father at his home to finally put an end to our disagreement,” the statement said.
The Serbian-born Dokic stormed onto the international scene at Wimbledon in 1999 when she pulled off a major Grand Slam shock, beating world No. 1 Martina Hingis in the first round.
She soared up the rankings to No. 4 in the world in 2002, but struggled for years to escape the notorious influence of her father, slipping into the 600s during her well-documented split from him.
The family rift followed a series of bizarre episodes, including Damir being banned from the All England Club at Wimbledon and at one point claiming his daughter had been kidnapped.
In 2009, he was charged with threatening the Australian ambassador to Serbia and illegal possession of firearms, and served a year in jail.
Dokic managed to piece together a second stage of her career, reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals in 2009, capturing the public imagination as stories emerged of her being penniless and sleeping on a friend’s floor.
She is currently ranked 72.
“I initiated the meeting as I want to reunite my family and allow us all to get on with our lives and be happy. This has gone on too long,” Dokic, 28, said in comments carried by the Sydney Daily Telegraph yesterday.
“I am in a very positive and confident frame of mind in my life, and I really wanted to do this, because I believe it is the right thing to do both for me and for all of my family,” she said. “My father was very receptive and I believe he has changed greatly. He understands that I am my own person who makes my own decisions.”
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