a self-fulfilling prophecy. This may function in a benign way to the benefit of the child or, if the expectations are too high, it may have a destructive effect. Nothing will ever be good enough.

What is striking, for example, about Damir Dokic's abusive behaviour is that it seems to have become worse as his daughter's performance improved. Each success generates greater anxiety and the need for greater control. Not only is there more at stake, but the child's success in the mind of the parent may lessen the child's dependency. Each success brings an increased threat of independence. In Damir's case, when he lost his power over Jelena, he seems to have lost his mind.

In these extreme cases, the expectation to create perfection in the child masks a severe sense of inadequacy and failure within the parent. The often vicious attacks against the child who is not performing well enough - and against the child's opponents - are in turn an expression of sadistic rage against imperfection and failure. This rage may stem from the parent's own unconscious anger towards the parent who in turn failed them.

As the myth suggests, Pygmalion needed to create an image of a perfect woman, untarnished by failings and without her own will and her own sexuality as an antidote to his repulsion and disillusion with women whom he associated with prostitution.

The mother who in the child's eyes has betrayed and failed him must be restored on her pedestal. But this can only happen when she is his own creation and possession. Failure in any form takes on a persecutory quality that is then lived out in the parent's need for their child to succeed.

For children like Jelena Dokic who become players in their parent’s internal drama, separation from the parent becomes extremely difficult and hazardous. The child is aware at an unconscious level of the parent's mental fragility and the need to continue to perform for the parent is inextricably linked to their need to keep the parent's mental state intact. As Jelena argues, "You can't expect a 15-year-old not to defend the father of your family."

Criticising her father's behaviour and failing to comply with it meant risking not only the father's sanity but the fabric of the family itself. Jelena gradually broke down in her attempts to perform for her father and it was only when she was able to separate from him that she began to recover and he had a breakdown.

During Wimbledon fortnight, the BBC cameras will as ever pan to the parents of the young contenders. Some will appear overly eager, some just smug. However their pushiness manifests itself, when their expectations exceed what is realistic for the child, and come from their own narcissistic needs, either the child will ultimately crack or they will.