Melbourne, Jan 24 : Jelena Dokic thanked the Australian public for their support, and admitted that she was still haunted by the events of seven years ago when she walked out on her adopted country, at the behest of her father Damir Dokic, while at the height of her powers and ranked No. 4 in the world.

Dokic prepares to climb another step from oblivion to the top of her sport; she could be confronted by her worst nightmare - her father Damir, The Courier Mail reported.

Dokic will carry the hopes of her adopted nation when she takes on the 11th seed, Danish glamour girl Caroline Wozniacki on Rod Laver Arena tonight.

Australia has watched Dokic's tragic plight, as teenage stardom was followed by estrangement from the brutal Damir, but never before has the victim shared her grief so publicly with her fans as she did at Melbourne Park this week.

"I came back, I think two or three years ago, to Australia and obviously I didn't expect the crowd to be on my side and to understand what happened seven years ago," she said.

"But you know, each year it has got better and better. I will regret the decision I made. I can say I made it under the influence of my dad, but I will regret leaving for the rest of my life. It will always be the mistake that I made," Dokic added.

But the expected re-emergence of her brutally controlling father has cast a dark cloud over what has become the feel good story of this year's Australian Open.

The fiery Serb, who has a long history of run-ins with tennis officials, is trying to sell his mansion and acreage in the Serbian countryside for six million dollars to fund his own academy.

"I'll return to the successful period when I was working with Jelena and she was the fourth-best player in the world," he vowed. (ANI)