Jelena Dokic's place in national team not subject to form at Australian Open

Regardless of how Jelena Dokic fares during next month's Australian Open, she is certain to be named next week as Australia's No 2 singles player for the vital Fed Cup tie against Spain in early February.

Fed Cup captain David Taylor said no one knew if Dokic could again pull off her heroics of last January, when as a wild-card she fought her way past three seeds to get to the quarter-finals in Melbourne, slashing her world ranking from No 187 to 91.

But what he does know is that the former world No 4 is not a one-hit wonder.

"I don't think she's a one summer player," Taylor said. "She's back for a while and as long as she's healthy for a whole 12 months, she can get to a pretty high ranking.

"She proves it every time she is healthy."

Dokic is now back in Australia from her home in Monte Carlo and has been training with coach Borna Bikic at Melbourne Park.

Taylor will link up with her when she travels to Queensland on Friday for the start of the Brisbane International on Sunday.

"I've been in contact with her coach and things seem very positive there that everything is going well," Taylor said.

And that's the news he wanted to hear as he has to name a four-member Fed Cup team for Australia's World Group II tie against Spain at Adelaide's Memorial Drive on February 6-7.

Victory would promote Australia back into the elite eight-nation World Group in 2011 for the first time since 2004. Australia has been languishing in the Asia-Oceania group for several years.

Dokic made her return to the Australian side last February, helping to secure the win over Switzerland in Perth to cement a World Group II spot for 2010.

Although Taylor has not seen Dokic play for several months, he wants her experience, mental strength and arsenal of shots in his squad.

"At this stage it would be fair to say her and Sam (Stosur) are the two preferred singles players at the moment," Taylor said.

"I'm expecting her to play in Adelaide. It would be wrong to assume otherwise."

The 26-year-old had a mixed year after her Australian Open charge to the finals. She was struck with a chronic fatigue illness and missed all of April, before a lower back injury forced her withdrawal from four tournaments in July-August.

Dokic regained her fitness and made three ITF finals in Europe during September-October, winning two in Athens and Poitiers.

Although she did not reach her Australian Open heights in the remaining three Grand Slam events of the year, falling in the second round at the French Open, and the first round at Wimbledon and the US Open, she ended the season at No 57.

Illness and injury notwithstanding, Dokic had to deal with the prosecution and jailing of her father Damir in Belgrade, which stemmed from a magazine article in Australia in which Jelena made reference to the physical abuse she suffered from him.

Last summer Dokic spoke openly of her estrangement from her father and her attempts to patch up her relationship with her mother, Liliana, and brother, Savo.

The 2009 Australian Open was her first Grand Slam in almost three years. She had missed 11 in a row as she dealt with a lack of motivation, weight gain, and starting from scratch away from her family.

It is this type of grit that Taylor believes makes Dokic a dangerous player.

"She had an amazing start to the year and good finish to the year and some hefty challenges in between both on and off the court," Taylor said.

"She dealt with it all very well. It's a real credit to her that she maintained a top-50 ranking."

After confirming Stosur, Dokic and doubles specialist Rennae Stubbs, Taylor has a real dilemma for his fourth player.

Alicia Molik, Casey Dellacqua, Anastasia Rodionova and Jarmila Groth are all contenders.