Jelena Dokic: “Firstly, I just want to thank you for this opportunity because it’s something different for me, to be like a contributing editor, and to interview you is fantastic. I’ve covered all your matches, all the previews, so I’m really honoured to be able to do this with you.”
Ajla Tomljanović: “Oh, well, likewise. Thank you, I really appreciate it.”
JD: “You were born in Croatia so I’d like to start by talking about your childhood. Tell me what that was like.”
AT: “I was born in Zagreb, Croatia, and early on I spent four years in Switzerland because my dad was playing handball there. I don’t remember much, but from home videos I know that was where I started seeing tennis a lot because my parents would play together.
“Then we moved back to Croatia just before I started school. It’s weird because when I look now, I mean I’m 29 and I’ve spent the past 15 years in America, but so much of my life I really remember was in Croatia. It was so influential. I had a really old coach and he taught me my technique and how I see the game. It was the place where I figured out I wanted to be a professional and that this was my passion.”
JD: “How old were you when you started playing tennis?”
AT: “I was about six or seven.”
“Same with me. So how did it come about for you to play for Australia? I know that it was a few years back and you
