Tennis stars Jelena Dokic and Alicia Molik will rekindle a rivalry which has been dormant since their junior days when they meet in the semi-finals of the Australian Open wildcard tournament. Molik and Dokic both battled to win their matches in three sets on day three of the play-offs, with Molik beating Canberra’s Alison Bai 3-6 6-3 6-1 and Dokic outlasting Victorian Tammi Patterson 7-5 2-6 6-3.

Molik, 29, and Dokic, 27, travelled as juniors together but have not met in a senior tour event. “We haven’t played for many years now. I can’t remember the last time,” Molik said. “We’ve practised so many years together and been on so many junior trips together, it’s all a bit of a blur but the junior rivalry will come back out on Saturday, I’m sure. “We always had a pretty healthy rivalry so it should be a really good match.”

Molik recalled Dokic’s stirring run to the Australian Open quarter-finals two years ago, but warned even experienced players could become apprehensive. “She’s a fantastic ball striker, no doubt about that,” Molik said. “Everyone saw her form two years ago in the Australian Open – but there’s a lot up for grabs (and) it’s amazing what nerves can do in a match.”

Andy Roddick has opted to return to the United States Davis Cup team next season after missing the 2010 event. The world number eight said: “I have always said that Davis Cup is something you should commit to for the entire season and not when it is convenient.” The United States and new coach Jim Courier will play at Chile in the first round on 4-6 March on clay in Santiago.

Courier, who replaced Patrick McEnroe, added: “Having Andy commit to the 2011 campaign is huge for our team.” Roddick has an impressive record in Davis Cup singles matches – winning 31 and losing 11 – and has the second best record of all American players behind John McEnroe (41). The 2003 US Open champion, 28, added: “Trying to win the Davis Cup again is a top priority for me in 2011. Nothing compares to the atmosphere of playing a Davis Cup match and representing your country.”

He will be playing under new coach Courier after the former world number one overcame the likes of Todd Martin to get the post left vacant when McEnroe stood down in September.

 Venus is sheduled to play in a warm-up exhibition in Hong Kong in January, which she has done for the past couple of years prior to the Australian Open, but this year there is some doubt about her participation. Sister Serena has already announced that we should not expect to see her on court until late spring. Does late spring mean the end of May? This will coincide with the clay court season, a surface she is not comfortable on, and it is possible that she will stay off the court until the end of June to make a dramatic comeback at the 2011 Wimbledon. After all drama-queen is her self imposed nickname.

Both sisters have issued statements regarding their desire to participate in the 2012 Olympics in London. Serena is supposed to play with Andy Roddick in the mixed doubles, and Venus might play with the aging US stalwart, James Blake. 2012 is a long way off, and the Olympics have some tough qualifying requirements that must be met.

It is my hope that both sisters take the time to reflect on the glory they have brought to the Women’s game over the past 10 years, and that if their health and performances are anything less than 100%, they both gracefully retire. Their status, and the records they have set, will remain for ever, and to have to witness them in sub-par performances because they are out of shape and rusty is not the way their fans will want to remember them.

Kim Clijsters was voted Player of the Year for the second time in her career, having first earned the accolade in 2005. The Belgian, 27, had a terrific 2010 season, highlighted by winning her third US Open. “It’s really nice to win the Player of the Year award just one year after making a comeback and while I didn’t think it would come so quickly, I am thrilled with the news,” Clijsters commented. “To be honored by your fellow players with the Player Service award means so much to me because I believe the social contact with the rest of the players is very important. This year I met a lot of new girls and it was very nice that so many of them had positive reactions to my daughter Jada as well. I want to thank my fellow players and the media who voted for me and I look forward to seeing everyone again in Australia.”

Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta earned Doubles Team of the Year. While the competition in doubles was fierce in 2010, Dulko and Pennetta, who were the No.1-ranked team in the world at year-end, won seven titles, including the WTA Championships – Doha 2010. Earlier in the season, they compiled a 17-match win streak – the longest on the WTA in over three years –