SYDNEY, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- A deceased and convicted Melbourne drug trafficker loaned women's tennis star Jelena Dokic $60,000 last year, the Sydney Telegraph reported Friday.
The report said Dokic is accused of owing the money to John Anthony Giannarelli, who died of cancer late last year.
Giannarelli's family wants more than $50,000 of her Australian Open purse, the newspaper said.
Dokic allegedly turned to Giannarelli during the depths of her emotional torment in early 2007, and his friend, Ben Cousins, says he paid for Dokic and her Croatian boyfriend to live in a high-rise Melbourne apartment for months after Giannarelli became her manager.
His uncle, Max Novelli, told the Telegraph Thursday that Dokic had an agreement with Giannarelli to repay him $60,000 once her international career was back on track.
"Johnny did a hell of a lot for her," Novelli said. "…(But) it's not about the money. The point is she's got to do the right thing."
