Former world No.4 Jelena Dokic made her comeback to tennis big when she reached the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2009. However, she hardly built up on that, and despite winning five ITF titles, no substantial results can be pointed out from the two-year period. The situation has changed today, when the Australian fought back from a set down to defeat fifth seed Lucie Safarova in the final of the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur.

Today's tough 2-6 7-6(9) 6-4 victory ended Dokic's nine-year title drought. Her previous five career titles came in 2001 and 2002. The 27-year-old's run to the title included a win over top seed and world No.5 Francesca Schiavone in the first round. Victories over Kurumi Nara, Bojana Jovanovski, Michaella Krajicek and finally Lucie Safarova followed.

The world No.91 Dokic earned $37,000 by winning the International-level event, while Czech Safarova earned $19,000 as a runner-up. (photo: Malaysian Open)

At the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, Jelena Dokic advanced to her first final in seven years and will try to win her first WTA title since 2002. Her opponent will be fifth seed Lucie Safarova.

The former fourth-ranked Dokic rolled to a 6-2 6-3 victory over Michaella Krajicek in the semifinals. Krajicek was once ranked 30th in the world, but the young Dutch player, still only 22, played her last WTA semifinal in 2006, the year in which she also won two WTA titles. After that year, her last notable result was a Wimbledon quarterfinal in 2007.

Safarova prevented an all-Australian final at the Malaysian Open, beating fourth seed and wildcard Jarmila Groth 6-2 3-6 6-3. Safarova is looking for her first WTA title since 2008 Forest Hills.

World No.91 Dokic and and world No.35 Safarova have a 1-1 head-to-head record. Their single 2011 meeting in Paris Dokic won 4-6 6-3 6-4. (photos: Stephane Martinache, © Neal Trousdale)

World No.91 Jelena Dokic won the promising quarterfinal with eighth seed Bojana Jovanovski to advance to the semifinals of the Malaysian Open where she will play Michaella Krajicek, who had upset third seed and defending champion Alisa Kleybanova in the second round, before taking out Anne Kremer in the quarters.

Australia's Dokic started the match and it went with serve all the way to 4-4, when the rising Serbian star Jovanovski earned a break to serve for the set. But it was not to be that simple. Dokic broke back, and even though Jovanovski repeated the feat and served for the set once again, leading 6-5, Dokic forced a tiebreak and won it 7-4. The first set alone lasted 1 hour 3 minutes.

The second set was much shorter, though, as Dokic broke the 55th-ranked Jovanovski in the fifth and seventh games to record a 7-6(4) 6-2 victory. Dokic served a total of seven aces, compared to Jovanovski's one. (photo: twenty90seven)

Former world No.1 Dinara Safina, who is not even in the Top 100 anymore, is yet to win two matches in a row this season, even though it’s already March. Actually, Safina hasn't won back-to-back matches since September 2010 and Seoul.

At this week’s Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, Safina managed to win her first match of year 2011 by defeating 125th-ranked Han Xinyun of China, but the Russian failed to go one step further and lost to Lucie Safarova in the second round. Safina fought back from a set down, but didn’t keep the momentum and the world No.35 Safarova won 6-3 4-6 6-3.

The $220,000 Malaysian Open is Safina’s fourth tournament of the year. In Auckland she lost to Yanina Wickmayer, in Hobart to Marion Bartoli, and in Melbourne she was double bageled by eventual champion Kim Clijsters.

Safina is still alive in Kuala Lumpur doubles though, and will play the semifinals against Shuko Aoyama and Chan Chin-Wei partnered with Galina Voskoboeva. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Bojana Jovanovski has recorded her second thrilling victory over Urszula Radwanska in just two weeks. En route to qualifying for the last week's Qatar Ladies Open, the 55th-ranked Serb defeated the younger Radwanska sister 4-6 6-1 7-6(11), and today at the Malaysian Open, a 1-6 7-5 6-4 win over the Pole led Jovanovski into the quarterfinals.

The Malaysian Open is somewhat special tournament for Jovanovski, as her first WTA main draw appearance happened there last year. Then she lost to the now retired and eventual Kuala Lumpur runner-up Elena Dementieva in the second round. This time the 19-year-old Jovanovski has not only come to Kuala Lumpur seeded, at No.8, she improved her result by reaching the quarters and will even have a chance to give extra flavor to her Malaysian campaign if she takes out former world No.4 Jelena Dokic of Australia in her next match.

The 91st-ranked Dokic advanced to the last eight with a 3-6 7-6(6) 6-2 victory over Japan's Kurumi Nara. In the first round she upset top seed Francesca Schiavone. (photo: Johan Rivera)

It's not that there are no other things happening in the tennis world, a match won by Dinara Safina really is big news – unfortunately, the Russian hadn't done so in months, since September 2010.

Today at the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, the former number one Safina even posted a bagel, against a 125th ranked player that is, but considering that Safina is world number 113 right now, it's not a small deal. With a 6-2 6-0 victory over 20-year-old Han Xinyun, Safina advanced to the second round of the $220,000 International-level event and put an end to a six-match losing streak.

Safina's next opponent will be fifth seed Lucie Safarova.

Three seeds advanced to the second round on Tuesday: No.2 Marion Bartoli beat Maria Elena Camerin 6-0 6-1, No.3 and defending champion Alisa Kleybanova defeated Lu Jing-Jing 6-1 6-1, and No.8 Bojana Jovanovski took out Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-0 6-1. Seventh seed Kimiko Date Krumm fell to Anne Kremer 4-6 6-2 7-6(5). (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Jelena Dokic recorded her first Top 5 victory in eight years by coming from a set down and beating fifth-ranked Francesca Schiavone 2-6 7-6(1) 6-4 in the first round of the Malaysian Open. The former world No.4 Dokic has actually retained her perfect record against the Italian, but their last meeting before today's one was ten years ago in Moscow. Dokic is 3-0 head-to-head against Schiavone now.

The 27-year-old Dokic, currently world No.91, had played six WTA events in 2011 prior to Kuala Lumpur and never won more than one match in the main draw except for the Paris Open where she reached the quarterfinals, beating Top 20 and Top 30 players on the way. She fell to Kim Clijsters then, who became No.1 by winning the match.

The Australian is grateful for her current form and is looking for a steady improvement:

I'm still not as consistent as I want to be - there are still some weeks where I don't play up to my high standard. But this year I'm playing WTA events every week and it's making a difference. Thank God, no injuries… my body is great and hopefully it will stay that way.

(source: WTA Tour, photo: Tidalist)

Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova overcame both a rain delay and top-seeded compatriot Elena Dementieva to win her first WTA title at the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur.

The fourth-seeded Kleybanova survived some tough matches prior to the final, but in the title match she dominated one of the best players at the moment and cruised to a 6-3 6-2 victory.

Prior to the clash with heavy-hitting world No.29 Kleybanova, the seventh-ranked Dementieva hadn’t dropped a set in Kuala Lumpur and actually lost only an average of less than two games per set.

Before the 2010 Malaysian Open, Kleybanova’s best career singles results were semifinal finishes at Fès, Toronto and Moscow. (photo AP via Yahoo)

Fellow tennis blogger, HCFoo from Malaysia, was privileged to attend surprise birthday bash for China's Li Na.

Together with line judges, ballboys and ballgirls, media and organizers, HCFoo sang a birthday song for the 28-year-old Li, both in Malaysian and in English.

The bouquet of flowers you see in front of Li Na is from our fellow blogger.

Happy birthday from Women’s Tennis Blog as well. We're wishing you to advance further within the Top 10!