Time is on my side, says Dokic

Yugoslavia's Jelena Dokic believes she still has plenty of time to move further up the women's WTA rankings having broken into the top 10 this year.

"Time is on my side. It has been a great season for me and I've learned so much out there," she told reporters in Belgrade on Tuesday after climbing to eighth place in the WTA rankings.

"I didn't expect to make it into the top 10 this season but it's a great feeling. However, staying there is the harder part," she said.

The 18-year-old is confident of playing at an even higher level once she overcame problems posed by the physical demands of the game.

"I should play even better tennis in the future once my serve improves. The game is based more on sheer strength and less on technique these days and it is a bit of a problem for me," she said.

Dokic won three singles titles this season and lost as many finals -- two to world number one Lindsay Davenport of the United States and one to Davenport's Yugoslav-born compatriot Monica Seles.

Dokic, who has lost all six of her head-to-head clashes with Davenport, said she had found it very hard to cope with the American's strength.

"She is the most difficult opponent I've ever played against. Her physical power is hard to counter, but I think I will gain in both strength and maturity with time."

Davenport most recently defeated Dokic in back-to-back finals in Zurich and Linz last month, and brushed her aside in the second round of the WTA Masters in Munich last Thursday.

Dokic, who competed for Australia after moving there with her family in 1994 but then switched nationality back to Yugoslav earlier this year, said she would stay in Belgrade until February to train on her favourite hard court surface in a bid to break into the top five.

"The hard court is my favourite surface and next season is my big chance to move even higher up the scale. I think there will be no new names in the top 10 next season but their order will change," she said.