MELBOURNE, Jan 24: Jelena Dokic’s fairytale comeback at the Australian Open has been soured by claims she is being chased over an alleged $39,000 debt to a dead convicted Melbourne drug trafficker.

Serbian-Australian Dokic, who is in the fourth round of the Australian Open, has become the darling of the tournament after bouncing back from severe depression and family feuds.

The former world number four is accused of owing the money to John Giannarelli, who died late last year after a battle with cancer, the Melbourne Herald Sun said in a front-page story.

According to the newspaper, an overweight and desperate Dokic allegedly turned to Giannarelli at the depths of her emotional torment in early 2007.

It said Giannarelli took on her management duties and allegedly paid for Dokic and her Croatian boyfriend to live for months in a Melbourne apartment.

He also allegedly footed the bill for meals, massages, transport and the services of dietitians and an acupuncturist.

Giannarelli pleaded guilty in 2007 to importing more than 34,000 pseudoephedrine tablets from Malaysia, commonly used in the manufacture of methamphetamines and outlawed by many sports bodies.

His uncle Max Novelli claimed Dokic had an agreement to repay Giannarelli the money once her career was back on track.

“Johnny did a hell of a lot for her and there’s no reason for her to do the wrong thing,” Novelli was quoted as saying. “We were going to wait until she was finished [in the Open] to see what her intentions are.

“But it’s not about the money. The point is, she’s got to do the right thing.”

A friend of Giannarelli’s, Glen Schirmer, added that “she arrived out here broken and penniless and Johnny was the one who took the punt on Jelena.”

“At his own expense he housed, fed and trained both her and her boyfriend for months,” he added.

Dokic’s management company IMG reportedly said it knows nothing of the allegations.

The 25-year-old burst to prominence aged 16 when she made the semi-finals at Wimbledon and reached number four in the world.

But under the influence of now estranged father Damir she fell out with Australian officials and returned to Serbia and her star waned.

After a series of poor results in 2004-05 she virtually dropped out of the game, suffering depression. Her weight ballooned and she eventually broke off all contact with her family.

However, she has since left Serbia and returned to Australia, winning back the nation’s heart with a series emotional victories here.

She apologised on court Friday after her match for “being a pain.”

“I know I’ve been difficult at times and I want to apologise for that,” she said.—AFP