News

09/10/10

Smrikve c Code

Smrikve c Code is a new section in the Smrikva Bowl Tournament section… it is inspired by both the Smrikva Bowl players ability to use rackets and The Star Wars knights to use lightsabers… it is the kids’ story of the ligthsabers and rackets management :)…

Smrikve, October 2010

The Star Wars “Return of the Jedi” is the first film I remember seeing with my dad at the cinema… it was 1983 and I was 10… the cinema was named “Istra”… I was the same age as the Smrikva Bowl players we host every year in Smrikve :)…

In the introduction of this article I would just underline that I like the way Jedi use the lightsabers and I like the way Smrikva Bowl kids use their rackets :)… Smrikve c Code is a story about virtue created by training and wish to learn…

My dad was pilot and for me watching The Star Wars with him at the cinema was a particular experience … I had many questions and he, as usual, with smile and pleasure answered to each of my questions…

Dad used to take me with him on the airport when I was little… and I remember him entering the cockpit of the plane with pilot helmet watching towards me and giving me the sign that he was ready to fly… than he turned on the engine of the plane and watched towards me again with smile in his eyes…

I stayed about 100 meters from the airplane with his colleagues and watched him taking his plane towards runway…

From the place where I stayed only part of the runway was visible because of the wood and he took the plane in the area that was invisible to me to prepare for the takeoff… I was able to hear the force of the engine… and when the sound of the force started to increase I knew that my dad will be visible soon… his colleagues were telling me “be ready soon your dad will come”… and when he started to be visible on the back of the plane there was the fire… almost half length of the airplane had the fire extension formed by his engine and I just noticed his helmet in the cockpit and followed by my kids eyes his airplane reaching the sky…

The Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe bound to a code of morality and justice and are trained in the use of the light side of the force. They learn to use the Force, and weapons, known as lightsabers, which emits a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, to serve and protect their Republic and the galaxy from conflicts or government instability…

Since long time ago I started to note the ability of Smrikva Bowl kids using the racket and thinking at the same time on Jedi’s ability to use the lightsaber :)…

Some of my students use Wilson’s ying & young damper… known as Tao sign… they like the symbol but are still too young to have an idea about it ;)… I will try to use this symbol to help me explain how little the difference could be in forming a balance in anything we do… every action has a reaction in our World… in the first classes of physics we learn Newton’s third law…

Tao is an abstract concept found in Taoism, Confucianism, and more generally in ancient Chinese philosophy and East Asian cultures.

While the word itself translates as “way”, “path”, or “route”… it is often used philosophically to signify the fundamental nature of the World we are used to living on Earth… it is often referred to as “the nameless”, because neither it nor its principles can ever be adequately expressed in words.

While the Tao cannot be expressed, Taoism holds that it can be known, and its principles can be followed. Much of Taoist writing focuses on the value of following the Tao – called Te (virtue) – and of the ultimate uselessness of trying to understand or control Tao outright. This is often expressed through yin and yang arguments, where every action creates a counter-action as a natural, unavoidable movement within manifestations of the Tao.

I used the above short explenation to introduce the Codes used in the Star Wars universe…

As in the Tao symbol there were knights trained to use the dark side of the force and the light side… this is the way how mankind functioned since the human written memory goes back…

For new ideas people have to go beyond… out of the known patterns by using their imagination… the kids are many times Master in this…

DARK SIDE (The Sith Code)

• Peace is a lie. There is only passion.
• Through passion, I gain strength.
• Through strength, I gain power.
• Through power, I gain victory.
• Through victory, my chains are broken.
• The Force shall free me.

LIGHT SIDE (The Jedi Code)

• There is no emotion, there is peace.
• There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
• There is no passion, there is serenity.
• There is no death, there is the Force.

The Jedi Code was rewritten by Grand Master Luke Skywalker upon reestablishing the Jedi Order:

• Jedi are the guardians of peace in the galaxy.
• Jedi use their powers to defend and to protect.
• Jedi respect all life, in any form.
• Jedi serve others rather than ruling over them, for the good of the galaxy.
• Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training.

Smrikve c code is the code…

I am pleased to close this article with Dire Straits and their Brothers in Arms song… starting with the sound of the thunder… The concert was made in 1988 to honour Nelson Mandela…

*BROTHERS IN ARMS *

These mist covered mountains
Are a home now for me
But my home is the lowlands
And always will be
Some day you’ll return to
Your valleys and your farms
And you’ll no longer burn
To be brothers in arms

Through these fields of destruction
Baptism of fire
I’ve whittnessed your suffering
As the battles raged higher
And though they did hurt me so bad
In the fear and alarm
You did not desert me
My brothers in arms

There’s so many different worlds
So many different suns
And we have just one world
But we live in different ones

Now the sun’s gone to hell
And the moon’s riding high
Let me bid you farewell
Every man has to die
But it’s written in the starlight
And every line on your palm
We’re fools to make war
On our brothers in arms

Miodrag Bozovic

Please visit www.smrikve.com to learn more about Smrikve, Istria from Smrikve, Smrikva Bowl, one of the most important under 10 tennis tournaments in the World, and Villa Smrikve, for your accommodation with swimming pool in Stinjan (Pula – Pola) if you decide to spent your holiday in Istria, Croatia.

04/10/10

Deni Zmak and Tomo are the winners of the 4th Smrikva Rekreacija 2010 Tournament

In 2009 we established the Spring and Autumn Smrikve Tennis Club Tournament for the recreational players and this weekend the Autumn edition was played. It was scheduled for 18th of September but because of the rain it was played this week end.

26 Smrikve Tennis Club members participated in the 4th Smrikva Rekreacija 2010 and over two days, starting Saturday morning, there were many nice and competitive matches in a lovely club atmosphere.

On Saturday we had grill day and the master of the fireplace was Miro… Miro was out of competition this time but next time if he starts to play with left hand we should challenge also Miro ;)

The key assistants to Miro were: Dario and my mother… while on Sunday we had nice “marenda with bakalar” for launch and other staff because my sister’s birthday cakes were tasted very late in the evening…

The Swedish table for the dinner for the people that gathered to cheer in the finals…

GATHERING STARTED ON SUNDAY MORNING WHEN THE DRAWS WERE MADE…

Igor Dobranovic was the 1st seeded player while Deni Zmak was 2nd seeded player and this was the final in end :)...

I could state also that this was the strongest Smrikva Rekreacija we ever had because of Deni Zmak – although he is just starting to learn to play tennis with left hand.

In end the winner of the Main Draw was Deni Zmak, 3rd Smrikva Bowl 1998 and 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 runner up, former #1 in Europe in under 16 age group category and with his best ranking on ATP list #961 ATP that a motorbike interupted just when he started to enter the professional word…

Deni defeated in the finals Igor Dobranovic, 2nd Smrikva Rekreacija 2009 winner, with the result 6:3, 6:2. Igor is by far our Club strongest recreational player.

The winner of the Consolation draw was Tomo who defeated in the finals Sole 9:4… Sole is a great fighter and he never give up but my dad is a great fighter too ;)…

It was the second time my father and Sole met in the Smrikva Rekreacija final. The first time they played in the Main Draw this time it was “Consolation” that Sole do not like because sound “sad” to him :) thus we may think to change the name of this draw for the next time ;)... something like Group 1 and Group 2…

WHY DENI WAS A SURPRISE?...

IT WAS HIS FIRST TOURNAMENT AFTER A YEAR ALTHOUGH RECREATIONAL…

A week before the tournament Sinisa asked me if Deni could play the tournament too. I knew very well the injury Deni suffered and I was happy to hear that he is holding again the racket in his hands…

Deni is right handed but after the injury he is starting to learn to play tennis with his left hand…

Sinisa is the best physical trainer that I know and he trains and trained several professionals, among which also Deni is… Sinisa also work in team with Miro with top former Smrikva Bowl players when they come to practice during the summer and kids enjoy him the way they enjoy Miro…

A year ago Deni suffered a hard motorbike accident and he broke both hands… his right wrist was broken in 28 parts and two surgeries were made to fix the wrist but he is aware that he should search also some new solutions to preserve the heritage of 16 years he already invested in the game he loves thus he started to use his left hand…

and Sinisa told to my father “he plays with left hand but is good you know”… I was happy to hear that and I know how Sinisa likes his work and likes to work with Deni… I also thought about Andre Agassi coach Gill words when he accepted to coach Andre when he said:

“I’m not one of those people who expresses or articulates feelings very well, but from now on, just know this: It’s on, man. It is on.

You know what I’m saying? We’are in a fight, and you can count on me until the last man is standing. Somewhere up there is a star with your name on it. I might not be able to help you find it, but I’ve got pretty strong shoulders, and you can stand on my shoulders while you’re looking for that star. You hear? For as long as you want. Stand on my shoulders and reach, man. Reach.”

This few days Deni was our star of the tournament thanks to Sinisa… as Deni said “it is his fault that I am here :)” and I was pleased for Sinisa’s fault ;) and looking at Deni’s face he enjoyed being in Smrikve too…

I remember Deni when he was 5 years old and started to play tennis in Smrikve…

It was year ago when this accident happened… it was the time when also my dad was in the hospital because of the injuries Pumba provoked to his legs… and when I went to visit my father Deni was on the bad close to him…

On Saturday morning Deni played his first match right with my father :)

What everyone enjoyed from Deni during the tournament is his attitude… and I recalled before giving him the trophy another moment of his career…

It was 2005 when he participated on the 7th Olimic Youth Festival in Lignano Sabbiadoro in Italy when he received the Prize for the Sport and Fair Play.

During the match several times he corrected the judge’s decisions in his disadvantage. In end he lost that game but he won in my eyes.

Deni’s attitude should be an example. He showed several times the kind of boy he is. It is nice that young people can be taken as examples and Deni showed that various times.

Thanks to each member who played over the weekend for the nice tournament and congratulations to the winners and finalist of this Autumn edition!

And special thanks to Alen for providing the “BUKALETA” trophies!

03/10/10

Petra Martic, 6th Smrikva Bowl winner, reached the semifinals of USD 50.000 worth tournament played in Greece while Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, won the finals of USD 25000 worth tournamanet played in France

Petra Martic, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, reached this week the semifinals of USD 50.000 Athens 2010 tournament without playing the semifinal mach because of the injury she suffered in the quarterfinals match.

Petra is currently ranked #146 on WTA list and is the fomer Smrikva Bowl player who reached the best ranking ever on WTA ranking list – #63 on April 12th, 2010.

Petra Martic road to the semifinals of USD 50.000 Athens 2010 was the following:

1st round: Petra Martic – Eirini GEORGATOU (GRE) 6:3, 6:1
2nd round: Petra Martic – Cagla BUYUKAKCAY (TUR) 6:2, 6:2
Quarterfinals: Petra Martic – Kristina BARROIS (GER) 6:3,6:7,6:0
Semifinals: Petra Martic – Laura POUS-TIO (ESP) wo

The ranking of the players that Petra played in Athens is the following:

Eirini GEORGATOU (GRE) – # 229 WTA list
Cagla BUYUKAKCAY (TUR) – # 199 WTA list
Kristina BARROIS (GER) – # 81 WTA list
Laura POUS-TIO (ESP) – # 132 WTA list

Congratulations Petra!

Another top former Smrikva Bowl player: Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, won the finals of USD 25.000 Clermont-Ferrand 2010 tournament.

Ivana is currently ranked #370 on WTA list and is the second best fomer Smrikva Bowl player on WTA ranking list with her best ranking ever #95 reached on June 12th, 2006.

Ivana Lisjak road to the semifinals of USD 25.000 Clermont-Ferrand 2010 was the following:

1st round: Ivana Lisjak – Annalisa BONA (ITA) 6:2, 6:3
2nd round: Ivana Lisjak – Elixane LECHEMIA (FRA) 6:2, 6:1
Quarterfinals: Ivana Lisjak – Natalia ORLOVA (RUS) 7:5, 6:2
Semifinals: Ivana Lisjak – Audrey BERGOT (FRA) 6:4, 6:4
Finals: Ivana Lisjak – Iryna KURYANOVICH (BLR) 6:4, 6:1

The ranking of the players that Ivana played in Clermont-Ferrand is the following:

Annalisa BONA (ITA) – # 369 WTA list
Elixane LECHEMIA (FRA) – # 507 WTA list
Natalia ORLOVA (RUS) – # 378 WTA list
Audrey BERGOT (FRA) – # 272 WTA list
Iryna KURYANOVICH (BLR) – # 216 WTA list

Congratulations Ivana!!!

28/09/10

Jovana Vukovic JOKA - 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 winner - trained for a week at Mouratoglou Tennis Academy

I just received a letter from Jovana Vukovic family, from the mother of JOKA, 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 winner, that thanks to the Smrikva Bowl victory had the opportunity to train for a week at Mouratoglou Tennis Academy (MTA) in Paris.

Joka, her trainer Deki and Joka’s parents spent a week living as tennis professionals at MTA.

One of the very prestigious Smrikva Bowl prizes for the winners is the training week at Mouratoglou Tennis Academy. MTA is considered one of the top tennis academies in the World and Jovana Vukovic – JOKA just returned to Serbia from France and Italy and sent me some photos that I am pleased to share with Smrikva Bowl community.

After spending a week at Mouratoglou Academy Joka went to Aosta to meet Luca Appino – Golden Smirkva Bowl Honorary Member. Also Krisitna Novak, 15th Smrikva Bowl semifinalist, was in Aosta. Joka and Kristina are becoming good friends and I am sure they enjoyed staying together.

Joka’s family sent me a short overview of the experience they lived and I am pleased to post part of their letter in Serbian where she congratulate the professionality of the trainers and the way Joka and they were treated in the Academy.

Dragi nas Mimi,

Znamo da sa nestrpljenjem ocekujes nas email, ali dani prosto kao da lete. Vikend smo proveli u Arandjelovcu, kod nasih baka, a tamo nemamo internet, pa se sve malo oduzilo. Nemoj nam zameriti.

Zato da neduzim previse, nego cu odmah preci na kratak size Jokinog putovanja.

Kao sto smo i rekli jos u Puli, Joka je u Mouratoglou Akademiji bila sa svojim trenerom. Deki je veoma mlad i njemu je takodje veoma znacilo iskustvo boravka u akademiji. Rasko i ja smo bili smesteni kod nasih prijatelja, ali smo svaki dan dolazili i pratili Jokin rad.

Ljubazno osoblje nam je priredilo topao docek, gde je Joka na poklon dobila i knjigu Patricka Mouratogloua “EDUCATE TO WIN”. Smestaj je u kucicama za tenisere koje su prikladne i udobne. Pogled na terene je predivan, a u cilju fokusa na mesto.

Joka je radila sa trenerom po imenu Clemon. Prva dva dana, program koji su pripremili za Joku, nije bas ispunio njena ocekivanja. Zelela je da im stavi do znanja da ona zna i moze vise nego vecina desetogodisnjaka. Mislim da je to i uspela, tako da su joj organizovali sparing maceve sa starijim igracima (15-19 god.), koje je i dobila, sto je privuklo paznju i glavnog Head coach-a, a i samog Patricka..

Joka je bila odusevljena fitnes treninzima i trenerom Sebastien Durand. Ona jos uvek neradi na kondicionim i fitnes treninzima, pa su joj kao nesto novo bili veoma zanimljivi. Pokazala je odlicne rezultate, sto je uz igru koju je pokazala, bila pravo malo cudo ili kako su oni rekli “bist”.

Od budjenja u 7 i 30h, dorucka u 8h, zagrevanja i prepodnevnog treninga, pa rucka u 12h i fitnesa u 14h, do poslepodnevnog treninga od 15-16 i 30h, vecere u 19 h, Joka je vec uveliko spavala u 20 i 30h. Jedan dan mi je rekla:”Znas mama,sinoc sam legla u pola devet, a jutros u pola osam mi je falilo jos jedno sat vremena da spavam.”

Sve u svemu, jedno sjajno iskustvo. Osetiti ambijent i biti sa drugim igracima (narocito starijim), podeliti misljenja, su u osnovi bili nas a i Jokin cilj ove posete.

Pariz, kao predivan grad, je takodje bio Jokin cilj. Ajfelova kula, Trijumfalna kapija i naravno Rolan Garos. Na samom Philipe Chatrier stadionu, Joka je rekla:”Pa ovaj teren i nije tako veliki”.

Put ka Italiji nas je proveo pored najviseg vrha Evrope, Mont Blana. Predeo je predivan i ostavlja jak utisak.

Sledeca dogovorena destinacija je bila Aosta i susret sa Lucom Appinom. Utisak iz Smrikve koji smo stekli o njemu, posle pohadjanja Tennis talents, se samo potvrdio. Luca je izuzetno prijatan, dobronameran covek i sto je najvaznije iskusan u davanju saveta. Rad sa njim je Joku izuzetno radovao. Tu su bili i Kristina Novak sa roditeljima. Nama je veoma vazno bilo da Luka upozna Dekija, i da da savet za dalji rad sa Jokom.

Sve je brzo proslo, ali iskustvo koje smo stekli ce biti od velike koristi za dalji Jokin rad….

P.S.Ovo je samo deo slika koje ti saljemo,ali se nadamo da ces i iz ovoga videti koliko nam je bilo lepo.

Nadamo se da poplave ,koje cujemo da su oko Fazane,vas nisu ugrozile.

Iskreni pozdravi od Joke i porodice VUKOVIC

27/09/10

Neli Sunjic, 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 semifinalist, and Duje Ajdukovic, also Smrikva Bowl player born in 2001, won the Croatian National Master under 10

Today I received an e-mail from Neli’s father Misel who informed me that Neli won the under 10 Croatian National Master. I was pleased to see on the pictures received few other Smrikva Bowl faces such as: Duje Ajdukovic and Karla Kilic.

I am glad to read about Smrikva Bowl players progress and I am also glad for Neli that will play several tournaments in the US in the following months. Currently, she is preparing for: “Little Mo” International under 10, Orange Bowl under 12 and Eddie Herr under 12 that will all be played in Florida in the following months.

Neli’s brother Max is still very young but is also playing tennis and hopefully one day he will also play his Smrikva Bowl as his sisters Neli and Marghita did.

Best wishes Neli and I hope Wilson rackets will further bust your game ;)!

This morning I received an e-mail from Duje’s mother and she confirmed to me that Duje won the boys draw. Duje is 9 years old, born in 2001, and is eligible to play also next year Smrikva Bowl.

Duje won the National Master without loosing a set.

My memories when I think of Duje goes to the doubles night on this year Smrikva Bowl when Duje played just for fun with Mihaela from Romenia against Neli Sunjic and Andja Claudia Karanusic. It was realy a lovely double.

Duje has a Dalmatian accent when he speaks and he was giving all of him self to play well this match and every time Mihaela was hitting a good ball he was saying…”bravo mala...”. It was a fantastic, funny and relaxing tennis doubles evening…

In the following picture you can see young Duje in action in his match with Nicola Kuhn – this year Smrikva Bowl winner…

Congratulations Duje and best wishes till the next year Smrikva Bowl!

23/09/10

Paula Arias, 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 runner up, recently won TTK MASTER NACIONAL and classified for TTK WARRIOR INTERNACIONAL that will be held in Barcelona

Just few days ago, after the announcement of the Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors Day, I received several e-mails from the Smrikva Bowl families spread around the World and, among others, also the news that Puala Arias, this year Smrikva Bowl finalist, classified for the TTK INTERNATIONAL that will be played in Barcelona.

Felicitaciones Paula!

Jovana Vukovic – JOKA, 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 winner, completed her trainig program at Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Paris (Smrikva Bowl prize) and she also spent some days, together with Kristina Novak, this year Smrikva Bowl semifinalists, with Luca Appino in Aosta following a tailored Tennis Talents programme.

21/09/10

Smrikva Bowl Ambassador's Day 21st of September - dedicated to civilisation, intergenerational responsibility and tennis

Today is the day that UN declared The International Day of Peace…

I was thinking for some time that Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors should have their day and it could have been any day out of 365/6 days… any day would have been a good day but in end I decided to take the 21st of September – the World Peace Day… From this year this day will also be the Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors day…

To be in line with the Smrikva Bowl cosmopolite idea it will be dedicated to the Civilisation and Intergenerational Responsibility because in my mind these two elements helps to create a friendly environment that can allow kids talents development that all living beings can benefit in most different ways…

Smrikve, September 2010

The International Day of Peace, also known as the World Peace Day, occurs annually on September 21st and this day has been elected to be also the Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors’ Day.

It is dedicated to peace, or specifically the absence of war, such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone. It is observed by many people. For the first time this holiday was celebrated in 1981.

The Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors Day, although celebrated on the same day as the World Peace Day, is dedicated to civilisation, intergenerational responsibility and tennis. Without civil society in a modern world there is no guarantee for peace.

In 1981 the United Nations General Assembly declared, in a resolution sponsored by the United Kingdom and Costa Rica, the third Tuesday of September (the opening day of regular sessions of the General Assembly) as the International Day of Peace devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace and civilisation values.

In 2001, the day was changed from the third Tuesday to specifically the twenty-first day of September. A new resolution was passed by the General Assembly, sponsored by the United Kingdom (giving credit to Peace One Day) and Costa Rica (the sponsors of the original day) to give the Day of Peace a fixed date and declare it as a global ceasefire day.

In 1991, on September 21st, I left Smrikve for Milan, it was the war time in my country, 5 years before, on the same day, in 1986, I sailed with a boat to Dubrovnik with school friends living a nice life time memory experience.

Having our calendar year 365 days if we live for some time and create our own experience we learn that the same day can remind us something nice and something not nice… it is a circle…

Not nice could be compared to a mistake in tennis… we learn from the mistakes. They help us understand what is not good or what we do not do properly…

I am pleased to repeat Shimon Peres note to end this comment. Shimon Peres, the Nobel Prize for Peace, was a guest speaker to one of Ambrosetti’s Young Leader Group meetings. It is a tradition that every guest speaker dedicate few words to the Group and he wrote down the following:

“The future is always in a minority. Yet the history of the future is more important than the history of the past. It is for the old to remember the past. It is for the young to build the world of tomorrow.

Do it! You can build a world without wars. You can build a new humanity.”

Everything around us lives in a delicated equilibrium and with intelligence we should try to understand it and respect it. The knowledge, human curiosity and will to learn are important. They are all parts of the civilisation path.

Shimon Peres used in his note the statement: “Do it!” thus reminded me Yoda’s wisdom words when he shares his knowledge with young Jedi: “Try no. Do or do not ” :)

If people beleive in the future there is future. If people do not beleive in the future there is no future.

Miodrag Bozovic

15/09/10

Today we collected grapes and started the 16th Smrikva Bowl 2011 Malvazija collection wine production

Today we collected grapes and started 2011 Smrikve wine production. It was a long day and several people helped us during the collection process. The grapes were yellow colored and of very sweet taste but the strong winter and rainy spring reduced the quantity of grapes. We will do our best to make good wine as it was in the past years.

Smrikve Malvazija is thanks to the Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors spread in 49 countries and all the continents. Every year we create a limited collection of 200 bottles that represent the gift of our family to the Smrikva Bowl families and to our friends.

Wine and gastronomy are part of a culture and wine bottle that we give to every Smrikva Bowl family is part of our cultural gift that every year we are pleased to make to our guests coming from all around the World.

The wine making is the tradition in Smrikve since 1957…

The wine production is a passion for many Istrian families and my grandfather Mate was a great lower of wine and wine making. The first thing he made in 1957 when he settled in Smrikve was planting the vineyard.

Probably not many Smrikva Bowl readers do know the story how my grandfather agreed to take out a row of vineyard to create the space for the court where today the Smrikva Bowl finals are played.

My father, me and my Uncle continue the wine making tradition in Smrikve…

Several years ago I bought a vineyard close to the vineyard planted by my grandfather and today my father and me are doing our best to get the best from what Malvasia grapes can give.

The first phase of the processing the grapes started today…

We collected the grapes but also separated the juice of the rest to obtain the golden color that usually our Istrian Malvazija (Malmsey) wine has. Now for two days the fermentation will be blocked to allow the wine to start its transformation process cleaner than it is today after the collection.

In Smrikve we produce Istrian Malvazija (Malmsey) and during the Smrikva Bowl we use to give a bottle of wine to every family as a memory to their Smrikva Bowl. Probably one day this bottles might be something special if our kids continue to love tennis game and continue to write the Smrikva Bowl story with their results.

Wine as part of the culture…

In the regions where the wine is produced the wine was always part of the culture of the particular site. Also the wine we produce is part of the Smrikve tradition and this is the reason why we are pleased to give a bottle to every family that come to visit us for the Smrikva Bowl.

There is an old Istrian saying: ”Vino od loze i mliko od koze” and “Kruh je za tilo a vino je za dušu”. The translation from Croatian is difficult because you loose the feel of the language. Goat is the symbol of Istria and the meaning of the first saying would be: ”Wine from the grapevine and milk from the goat” and the meaning of the second would be: “Bread is for the body, wine is for the soul”.

With todays collection as I said we started the process of transforming the grapes into wine for the 16th Smrikva Bowl 2011 edition of Malvazija.

The main Istrian wines are: Malvazija, Terran, Refosc and Muscatel.

The glory of the Istrian wine dates back to over 2000 years ago…

For those who are not familiar with Istrian wine I am pleased to remined the reader that Istrian wine was considered one of the best in the Roman Empire, around 20 centuries ago, and was preferred by Livia Drusilla, also known as Iulia Augusta, the wife of the first Roman Emperor Augustus.

Livia Drusilla’s preferred wine was the Istrian wine Pucinum. Livia is considered one of the most influent women in the beginning of the Roman Empire era. It is not know what wine it was because todays wines were brought in Istria mostly by Venitians.

Todays Istrian Malvazija’s story is related with Serenissima… the Venetian Republic

The story of Istrian Malvazija, cultivated in Istria since the end of the 16th century, is fascinating and it relates to the Venetians.

At the beginning of the 15th century the Venetians occupied Peloponnesus in Greece. In the Peloponnesus region there is a town Monemvassia, also named Malvasia. From this town the Venetians started to import the wine into Venice and the other areas controlled by the Venetian Republic.

This wine was so successful and became so famous all over Europe that Venetians decided to plant huge vineyards on the biggest Greek island, Crete.

Between the 16th and 18th century Malvasia become the most important wine in Europe. In 1570 the Turks conquered Crete and Venetians decided to plant Malvasia vineyards in other areas that had friendly relations with Venice which, at that time, also included Istria.

In end Malvasia is in Istria since the above mentioned period while it is not known the sort of the wine that was preferred by the wife of the Emperor Augustus, Livia Drusilla – Julia Augusta.

Giacomo Casanova in his diary talks about another Istrian sort and another great wine…

Giacomo Casanova visited Vrsar several times and in his diary he describes a good wine Refosc and nice women. Today Refosc is mostly cultivated in the Slovenian part of Istria while in other areas the dominant sort is Malvasia.

Another excellent wine can be found around Momjan area made of Muscatel sort.

On Istria from Smrikve you can learn much more…

To learn more about Istrian gastronomy and wine please visit the E-book about Istrian cultural heritage on www.smrikve.com/istria/ named “Istria from Smrikve” or join Discover Istria from Smrikve group on Linked In.

We try to do our best to get excellent Malvazija…

Sergio Bile is one of the person I do respect a lot because for years he was advising Istrian wine makers how to increase the quality of the Istrian wine.

For years Sergio is giving periodical advises to my father how to continue to improve the wine making transformation process and the words of people from all around the World that tasted our wine are increasing my respect for Sergio Bile knowledge.

I was pleased when Gianni Nunziante, an important Italian wine maker and also the owner of Vignamaggio used three nice words to describe our Malvazija. His wines used to get three glasses mark from Gambero Rosso that is one of the most important authorities for the Italian wines rating. Gianni used the following three words:

• “semplice” – simple,
• “profumato” – sweet – smelling,
• “gradevole” – pleasant.

Vignamaggio is a property located in Tuscany. In 2004, the property celebrated six hundred years of winemaking tradition. The property is also famous for the the daughter of Anton Maria Gherardini. The famous Mona Lisa – “La Gioconda”, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, was born at Vignamaggio in 1479.

14/09/10

Annual PTR Tennis Forum Meeting at Vavassori Tennis Academy - Palazzolo

I spent this week end at Vavassori Tennis Acadmey participating the Annual PTR Italy Tennis Forum which was full of interesting speakers.

Mike Barrell, considered one of the top World experts for the under 10 age group, held a very nice class on how kids learn.

Those who have interest to learn more about Mike and his projects I am pleased to invite you to visit his website: www.evolve9.com

“Children learn to live thus they learn all the time from the surrounding…it is not the message you transmit to kids that counts, but what they perceive…”

Luca Avagnina is one of the best podiatrists at the Global level who assists, among other, many top ATP and WTA players. This class was important to me and in my opinnion is important for every tennis player, coach and family to have an idea about feet importance.

It was a pleasure to hear and see again PTR speakers that I met during other meetings and courses.

PTR gatherings are always growing experiences and opportunities to meet PTR friends.

13/09/10

Top Smrikva Bowl and "Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl players on ATP, WTA, ITF, USTA and European under 14 and 16 ranking lists (update September 2010)

Only top Smrikva Bowl players that reached certain results on the professional ranking list are mentioned below and the top Smrikva Bowl players that are still competing in the junior tennis.

IN 1996 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM ISTRIA AND KVARNER (1st Smrikva Bowl)

BOYS
Vilim Visak, 1st Smrikva Bowl 1996 winner, from Croatia. Vilim’s best ranking was #612 in March 2006.

IN 1997 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM CROATIA (1997 – 2nd Smrikva Bowl)

GIRLS
Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #366 on WTA list. Ivana’s best ranking was #95 on WTA list in June 2006.

IN 1998 SMRIKVA BOWL STARTED TO BE INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT (3rd Smrikva Bowl)

1999 – 4th Smrikva Bowl

GIRLS
Astrid Besser, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 winner, from Italy, is ranked #894 on WTA list. Astrid’s best ranking was #356 on WTA list in March 2009.

2000 – 5th Smrikva Bowl

GIRLS
Tereza MRDEZA, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, from Croatia, is currently ranked #645 on WTA list. Tereza’s best ranking was #279 on WTA list in February 2010.

2001 – 6th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Marin Draganja, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #1149 on ATP ranking list.
Dino Marcan, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #904 on ATP ranking list.

GIRLS
Petra MARTIC, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #88 on WTA list.
Indire Akiki, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #621 on WTA list.

IN 2002 SMRIKVA BOWL STARTED TO BE A EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

2002 – 7th Smrikva Bowl and 1st”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Javier MARTI, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner, from Spain, is currently ranked #409 on ATP list.
Giacomo Miccini, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Italy, was ranked #1412 on ATP list in May 2009.

GIRLS
Martina Caregaro, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner, from Italy, is ranked #393 on WTA ranking list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #160 on WTA list.
Ema BURGIC, ranked 3rd on 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #532 on WTA list.

2003 – 8th Smrikva Bowl and 2nd”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Dominic THIEM, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Austria, is ranked #913 on ATP ranking list.
George MORGAN, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Great Britain, is ranked #919 on ATP ranking list.
Ciprian PORUMB, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Romenia, is ranked #252 on ITF ranking list.

GIRLS
Jennifer Ren, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Great Britain, was ranked #948 on WTA list.
Silvia NJIRIC, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #958 on WTA list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Croatia, is ranked #160 on WTA list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Emmett EGGER, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #136 on ITF ranking list.

2004 – 9th Smrikva Bowl and 3rd”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Ivan Levar, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #1456 on ITF ranking list.
Miki JANKOVIC, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #106 on ITF ranking list.

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #58 on ITF ranking list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Mitchel POLNET, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #445 on ITF ranking list.

Blair SHANKLE, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #266 on ITF ranking list.
Anna MAMALAT, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #643 on ITF ranking list.

IN 2005 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM 3 CONTINENTS

2005 – 10th Smrikva Bowl and 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Matteo DONATI, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, from Italy, is ranked #418 on ITF ranking list.
Laslo DJERE, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #545 on ITF ranking list.
Gianluigi QUINZI, ranked 3rd on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005, from Italy, is ranked #1007 on ITF ranking list.
Nikola MILOJEVIC, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 Consolation tournament winner, from Serbia, is ranked #195 on ITF ranking list.

A young hope, Marin Suica, passed away last Friday, September 10th. Marin lost his life in a car accident on his way to a tennis tournament. He was the best Croatian player in his age group and was among the best players in the World.

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #60 on ITF ranking list.
Olga IANCHUK, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Ukraine, is ranked #845 on WTA list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Jeffrey Schorsch, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is not ranked on ITF ranking list.
Jose GRACIA, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is not ranked on ITF ranking list.
Yale GOLDBERG, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is not ranked on ITF ranking list.

Dorothy Tang, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is not ranked on ITF ranking list.

2006 – 11th Smrikva Bowl and 5th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Gianluigi QUINZI, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Italy, is ranked #1007 on ITF ranking list and #1 in Europe in under 14 cathergory and #6 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Filip Kraljevic, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #205 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

GIRLS
Eleanor DEAN, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Great Britain, is ranked #320 on ITF ranking list.
Dina PAOCIC, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #243 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Daniel Maese, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #376 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Aries Wong, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #29 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

Christina MAKAROVA, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #2 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Gabriella Umoquit, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #74 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

2007 – 12th Smrikva Bowl and 6th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Sacha Merzetti, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 winner, from Italy, is ranked #110 in Europe in under 14 cathegory*.
Bogdan BORZA, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 runner up, from Romania, is ranked #40 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Gonzalo Morell, ranked 3rd on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Spain, is ranked #193 in Europe in under 14 cathegory*.
Sergiu Bucur, ranked 4th on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Romania, is ranked #77 in Europe in under 14 cathegory*.

GIRLS
Virginia PENA, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 winner, from Spain, is currently not ranked in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Ana KONJUH, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #25 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Nina POTOCNIK, ranked 3rd on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Slovenia, is ranked #61 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Eduardo NAVA, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #15 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Tommy PAUL, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #52 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

Ndindi NDUNDA, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #39 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Domonique Garley, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #338 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

IN 2008 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM 5 CONTINENTS AND TURNED INTO A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

2008 – 13th Smrikva Bowl and 7th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Luka Panic, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 winner, from Switzerland, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Mihnea Turcu, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 runner up, from Romania, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Grega Kokalj, ranked 3rd on 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008, from Slovenia, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Andrea Guerrieri, ranked 3rd on 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008, from Italy, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

GIRLS
Katarina Jokic, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 winner, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #115 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Maia Lumsden, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 runner up, from Scotland, is ranked #168 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Viktoria Kuzmova, ranked 3rd on 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008, from Slovakia, is ranked #266 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Estela Perez Somarriba, ranked 3rd on 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008, from Spain, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Justin LEE, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #25 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
William BLUMBERG, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #5 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Ingrid NEEL, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #32 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Paulina Ferrari, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #43 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

IN 2009 SMRIKVA BOWL HAD 6 NEW COUNTRIES AND 1 NEW CONTINENT THUS REACHED THE TOTAL OF 40 COUNTRIES AND 6 CONTINENTS THAT PARTICIPATED IN THE TOURNAMENT SINCE ITS FOUNDATION

2009 – 14th Smrikva Bowl and 8th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Alvaro Regalado Pedrol, 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 winner, from Spain, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Samuele Ramazzotti, 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 runner up, from Italy, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Karlo Suevich, ranked 3rd on 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009, from Slovenia, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Alejandro Davidovich, ranked 3rd on 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009, from Spain, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

GIRLS
Katie Swan, 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 winner, from United Kingdom, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Jovana Vukovic, 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 runner up, from Serbia, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Inci Ogut, ranked 3rd on 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009, from Turkey, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Arianna Capogrosso, ranked 3rd on 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009, from Italy, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Noah SCHACHTER, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #6 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Alex Gee, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #113 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Michaela GORDON, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #153 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Ashley LAHEY, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked *#116 in the USA in under 12 cathegory*.

IN 2010 SMRIKVA BOWL HAD 9 NEW COUNTRIES AND REACHED THE TOTAL OF 49 COUNTRIES THAT PARTICIPATED IN THE TOURNAMENT SINCE ITS FOUNDATION

2010 – 15th Smrikva Bowl and 9th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Nicola KUHN, 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 winner, from Spain, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Karlo Suevich, 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 runner up, from Croatia, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Yshai OLIEL, ranked 3rd on 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010, from Israel, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Andrei Taica Radu, ranked 3rd on 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010, from Romania, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

GIRLS
Jovana VUKOVIC, 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 winner, from Serbia, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Paula Arias Manjon, 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 runner up, from Spain, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Neli Sunjic, ranked 3rd on 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010, from Croatia, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Kristina Novak, ranked 3rd on 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010, from Italy, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Max Motlagh, played 9th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #899 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Claire LIU, played 9th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #104 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Alexa Butera, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked *#675 in the USA in under 12 cathegory*.

08/09/10

Gianluigi Quinzi - 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner - currently ranked #1 in Europe under 14, won this summer BNP Paribas Cup in Paris and won the European Championship in Pilzen

Few days ago I received a nice e-mail from Gianluigi Quinzi’s father Luca and among other he remembered me that Gianluigi this summer one of of the most prestigous under 14 tennis tournaments in the World – BNP Paribas Cup in Paris and he crowned him self the European Champion in Pilzen.

BNP Paribas Cup first took place in 1991 and gathered 6 countries and 180 entrants. In 20 years, it has become the best tournament on earth-beaten floor in the world in its category (in 2008 it gathered 65 countries and 7.000 entrants).

Many young players who took part in this event became European Champions, Junior World Champions, winners of the Grand Slam or won Olympic medals…

Gianluigi Quinzi is one of the most talented players in the World in his age group and I was pleased to read Luca’s e-mail. He’s road towards the victory in Paris was the following:

1st round: Gianluigi Quinzi – Mounir FERCHICHI (Tun) 6:0, 6:0
2nd round: Gianluigi Quinzi – Joseph GUILLIN (Fra) 6:1, 6:0
3rd round: Gianluigi Quinzi – Isaac STOUTE (Gbr) 6:0, 6:0
Quarterfinals: Gianluigi Quinzi – Xander VEYS (Bel) 6:2, 6:0
Semifinals: Gianluigi Quinzi – Filippo BALDI (Ita) 6:4, 6:4
Finals: Gianluigi Quinzi – Quentin HALYS (Fra) 6:2, 6:4

Gianluigi Quinzi played few times Smrikva Bowl and he ranked 3rd on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 and was the winner of the 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 edition.

Currently Gianluigi is ranked #1 in Europe in under 14 age group; is ranked #8 in Europe in under 16 age group.

Here below is a video when Gianluigi was 11 years old. Today is 14 and he grew up and currently is over 180 centimeters tall thus is not any more the kid I remember :).

I have very nice memories of Gianluigi and Quinzi family: Luca, Carlotta, Gianluigi’s brother Gianluca, his grandparents, and for those who understand Italian I am pleased to share an article from the end of July in Italian written after Gianluigi became the Europan Champion.

ASPETTANDO GIANLUIGI QUINZI

Il quattordicenne italiano vince il titolo europeo under 14, alimentando le speranze di avere un nuovo campione dopo Adriano Panatta. La storia, la crescita e le prospettive dell’astro nascente del nostro tennis.

By Francesco Ferrando, 29 luglio 2010 (source: www.ubitennis.com)

Chissà se per Gianluigi Quinzi è stato tutto un gioco. Diventare il secondo italiano di sempre a vincere il titolo europeo under 14 (dopo il compianto Federico Luzzi), ritrovarsi tra le mani un trofeo enorme. Alzarlo e sentirlo leggero, sotto il cielo di Pilzen. Più leggero delle aspettative di una nazione tennistica memore di troppe delusioni e che aspetta da tempo un nuovo salvatore. Già, le speranze italiane… Quelle che hanno triturato un discreto numero di promesse non mantenute, come Pietro Ansaldo o Alice Canepa. Oppure mantenute a metà, come lo stesso Luzzi, Gaudenzi e, in fondo, Fabio Fognini.

Ma per Quinzi la storia è diversa, o almeno così sembra. Perché come per tutti i messia che si rispettino, ci sono i segni della predestinazione, segni che altri non avevano. Gli stessi che riuscì a scorgere il suo primo maestro, Antonio Di Paolo, e che qualche anno più tardi lasciarono di sasso Adriano Panatta, quando a Macerata si ritrovò davanti un ragazzino biondo che gli restituiva le palline sotto forma di missili. Aveva sette anni, all’epoca, Gianluigi Quinzi. Una precocità che, parlando di altri sport, ricorda quella di Valentino Rossi o di Antonio Cassano. Forse ancora più stupefacente.

Quinzi nasce a Cittadella il primo febbraio 1996, lo stesso giorno di Gabriel Omar Batistuta e di Buster Keaton. Cresce a Porto San Giorgio in una famiglia di sportivi: la madre, Carlotta, è stata nazionale di sci e pallamano. Luca – il padre – è un ingegnere, proprietario di un’impresa di costruzioni e presidente del tennis club locale, con un passato da discreto giocatore di terza categoria. Il figlio si accosta inizialmente allo sci alpino, arrivando addirittura secondo ai campionati under 10 del Trentino-Alto Adige, ma già a tre anni prende in mano la prima racchetta e a sette arriva in semifinale al Nike Junior Tour under 10. Matura in quel periodo l’idea che il bimbo sia dotato di qualità fuori del comune.

Il padre decide di tentare la via degli Stati Uniti e lo iscrive al Little Mo, il prestigioso campionato giovanile under 10 in Florida. E Gianluigi vince, scrivendo il proprio nome sotto a quello di Roddick e Serena Williams. I talent scout della società di management sportivo IMG lo invitano a uno stage a Bradenton, e la famiglia parte per la corte di Bollettieri. Nick lo nota subito e decide di dargli una possibilità, offrendogli una borsa di studio presso la sua accademia: è il più giovane in assoluto a ottenerne una.

Gianluigi passa sei mesi negli States, altri sei in Italia. Impara l’inglese, fa amicizia con i coetanei dell’accademia provenienti da tutto il mondo, si cala sempre di più nella dimensione propria del tennis internazionale. Ma arrivano anche le prime difficoltà e i primi dubbi, soprattutto da parte dei genitori che si trovano a dover quale scegliere a quale futuro destinare il figlio. Investire la propria vita nello sport professionistico può rivelarsi un buco nell’acqua per un adolescente, figurariamoci per un bambino di otto anni. Questo Luca Quinzi lo sa bene.

Cerca di educare Gianluigi al giusto rigore: al mattino gli allenamenti, al pomeriggio lo studio, con la madre Carlotta a fare da tutor, seguendo un programma concordato con la scuola di Porto San Giorgio. Con buon profitto, pare.

Nel frattempo continua a vincere tutto: diventa il primo nella storia a ottenere il Grand Slam Kids, che raggruppa i più importanti tornei di categoria, tra cui i campionati nazionali americani, vinti lasciando per strada la miseria di quattro game.

Nonostante le pressioni, l’enfant prodige continua a bruciare le tappe in modo incredibile: nel 2005 vince il primo torneo under 12 e si aggiudica le finali del Nike Junior Tour, la più importante manifestazione mondiale per ragazzini tra i dieci e i dodici anni, vinta a suo tempo da Rafa Nadal. Col maiorchino, Quinzi, ha in comune anche il fatto di essere mancino, pur nascendo come destro naturale. Il gioco è però piuttosto diverso, molto esplosivo. Il ragazzino ha una forte propensione offensiva, un buon servizio e il suo colpo migliore è il rovescio bimane piatto, preciso, devastante. E, a differenza di molti suoi predecessori italiani, ha una struttura fisica adatta al tennis moderno: a 13 anni supera già il metro e ottanta di altezza.

A Bollettieri si affianca Riccardo Piatti: Gianluigi, in Europa, frequenta il gruppo del coach a Monte-Carlo, dove mette a punto soprattutto l’aspetto tecnico, pur continuando a frequentare l’accademy di Bradenton. Ma la collaborazione non ha vita lunga e a inizio 2009 il rapporto cessa “in modo amichevole”, come recita il comunicato stampa. Anche se c’è chi parla di screzi tra il coach e la giovane promessa. Entra così nell’orbita di Eduardo Infantino, seguito da vicino da Eduardo Medica nella sua città natale. Il lavoro fisico è finalizzato al potenziamento della parte superiore, mentre sotto l’aspetto tecnico ci si concentra sul diritto – pesante e lavorato, ma non ancora definitivo – e nel cercare di migliorare la confidenza a rete del giovane marchigiano.

Nel frattempo si ritrova tra gli under 14, supera le qualificazioni in due tornei under 18, arrivando ai quarti di finale: a tredici anni è il più giovane giocatore a classificarsi nelle classifiche Itf Junior, mentre è quinto nel ranking under 16. Si arriva così al 2010, con vittoria nel prestigioso BNP Paribas, la prima posizione mondiale under 14 e il titolo europeo ottenuto in Repubblica Ceca: come Tommy Robredo, Mario Ancic, Richard Gasquet, Novak Djokovic e Marin Cilic.

Ora comincia una fase nuova per Quinzi. Dopo il mondiale, a fine agosto, lo aspetterà un mese di duro allenamento prima dell’Orange Bowl e, fine anno, l’esordio nei circuiti Itf Junior e Future.

Insomma, si inizia a fare sul serio e solo il tempo potrà dire quale sarà il futuro di Gianluigi Quinzi. L’astro nascente del tennis italiano ha alle spalle un percorso che forse nessun giocatore ha mai potuto vantare, ma la strada davanti a sé è altrettanto lunga e, nonostante tutto, incerta.

Gli adepti incrociano le dita e fanno scongiuri. Sperando di non ritrovarsi a rimpiangere l’ennesimo talento stritolato dalla pressione. E dall’ansia di intere generazioni, passate ad aspettare un nuovo messia.

07/09/10

George Morgan, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, lost in the second round of Junior US Open

George Morgan reached the second round of the Junior US Open after defeating in the first round Roberto Quiroz from Ecuador with the result 6:4, 4:6, 7:5. In the second round he lost against Filip Horansky from Slovakia 6:3, 6:3. George’s second round was the best result among all the former Smrikva Bowl players.

There are several other Smrikva Bowl players that played this year US OPEN:

Petra Martic, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, lost in the first round of the Main Draw against Elena Baltacha from UK currently ranked #57 WTA.

Ajla Tomljanovic, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, lost in the second round of the qualifications for the Main Draw against Maria Elena Camerin from Italy currently ranked #130 WTA.

Dominic Thiem, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, lost in the first round of the Junior Main Draw against Taro Daniel from Japan.

Blair Shankle, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2004, lost in the second round of the Junior Qualification Draw against Sabina Sharipova from Uzbekistan.

Silvia Njiric, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, lost in the first round of the Junior Main Draw against Sloane Stephens from the US.

Saska Gavrilovska, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, lost in the first round of the Junior Main Draw against Karolina Pliskova from Czech Republic currently ranked #207 WTA.

On the picture below you can see Saska Gavrilovska with her father Ljupce and Jovana Vukovic parents in Smrikve during this year Smrikva Bowl.

Best wishes to all the Smrikva Bowl players for the next year US OPEN!

03/09/10

16th Smrikva Bowl 2011 Presentation Letter

Dear Smrikva Bowl friends!

With this e-mail formally starts the selection of the talents for the 16th annual Smrikva Bowl 2011. 16th Smrikva Bowl 2011 will be held in Pula-Istria, Croatia, from 21st of June till 25th of June 2011. Smrikva Bowl, as some of you may know, is the tournament which boasts the top 10 and under players World-wide.

After 9 years of “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl experience for the first time this year top “Little Mo” Nationals players will have the opportunity to play in the main draw of the Smrikva Bowl.

Since 2002, when “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl competition was founded, Smrikva Bowl has grown from European tournament into a Global one and “Little Mo” National has grown too and the “Little Mo” International have been created thus the special friendship relationship between our tournaments will continue with wild cards for the finalists of the prestigious “Little Mo” Nationals competition.

There is a detailed presentation about 16th Smrikva Bowl 2011 with the application form and other relevant information related with this year edition that is posted on the main page of the Smrikva Bowl website

http://www.smrikve.com/smrikva-bowl/

15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 gathered top players from 32 countries and since the tournament foundation in 1996 over 1050 top players from 49 countries and all the continents have played the event.

In 2009 the cultural tourism guide “Istria from Smrikve” was published and this is my gift to the Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors with wish that a part of helping us in scouting talents around the World our little Ambassadors will also help us in spreading the word about Istria as cultural tourism destination worth visiting.

The same year, as part of the subscription fee, the Smrikva Bowl participants started to bring a book about the culture of the place they are coming from thus we started to create the Smrikva Bowl Library.

Smrikva Bowl mission is to develop and spread Cosmopolitan values. Children, sport, culture and music are part of the Cosmopolitan World. This year the Cosmopolite website has been created and it is another gift to the friends of Smrikve and our Ambassadors. Cosmopolite is a website dedicated to a book describing the importance of civilisation for the talents development.

http://www.smrikve.com/cosmopolite/about/

If you know a good tennis player born in 2001 that deserves to play Smrikva Bowl please let me know. If you would like to help in any way Smrikva Bowl you are welcome, and thank you in advance for spreading the word about Smrikve and Smrikva Bowl in your community.

Regards,

Miodrag Bozovic

P.S. 1
On Linked In – professionals networking website – Discover Istria from Smrikve group has been created where periodically the contents from the cultural tourism guide on Istria are published and if you wish to receive those articles I am pleased to invite you to join the group.

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3071895

If you have problems with the above link and would like to join please send me an e-mail and I will send you the invitation.

P.S. 2
Today we live in the internet era and creating a quality network is an opportunity… If you write personal pages, blog, have your own website or community,… and have some elements in common with the Smrikve story you can evaluate to share it with your readers …

WHAT SMRIKVE.COM CONTAINS TODAY? SPORT: SMRIKVA BOWL, SMRIKVE TENNIS SCHOOL…. CULTURE: “ Istria from Smrikve” and COSMOPOLITE… WINE and OLIVE OIL … VILLA SMRIKVE place for your tennis and cultural holiday… these are only few connection elements that I can think off …

Link pages for the Smrikva Bowl and “ Istria from Smrikve” have been created and you can find them on the following:

Smrikva Bowl:
http://www.smrikve.com/smrikva-bowl/link-to-us/

E-book “ Istria from Smrikve”:
http://www.smrikve.com/istria/books/smrikve/about-istria-from-smrikve/link-to-us/

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT… I am please to let you know that little by little our website visits YTD have passed 100.000!

02/09/10

Bodin Žarkovic and Olga Danilovic - both this year Smrikva Bowl players - won Fratelo kup nada in Banja Luka - international under 10 tennis Championship

I received yesterday an e-mail from Bodin’s father Nenad informing me that Bodin won Fratelo kup in Banja Luka that was played few weeks age in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I was so glad for Bodin because I know that the tournament in Banja Luka is a great experience for kids thanks to Mr. Zoran Racic organisation and I was also glad because Bodin was the winner of this year Smrikva Bowl Consalation Draw.

I remember that during the awarding cerimony I mentioned to Bodin another Smrikva Bowl Consolation Draw winner Nikola Milojevic that played Smrikva Bowl in 2005 and today is one of the best players in the World and this victory is hopefully a small step for Bodin in that direction.

I found a nice article on www.focus.ba website and I found several other top Smrikva Bowl players, especially in the girls draw. All the girls in the semifinals played this year Smrikva Bowl:
Olga Danilovic, Mila Mejic, Adela Joldic and Rafaela Sliskovic.

I remeber all four girls and I am pleased for all of them and for Olga that can play next year Smrikva Bowl because she is still 9 years old.

Congratulations to all the Smrikva Bowl players that reached the semifinals among 170 players: Bodin, Olga, Mila, Adela and Rafaela!

I am pleased to post the article describing 14th Fratelo kup 2010 edition for those who understand Croatian writen by Dragana Matijaš and before the article you can see the picture from this year Smrikva Bowl of Rafaela Sliskovic and Olga Danilovic. Enjoy the article.

Pobjednik Žarković i Danilovićeva

Autor: Dragana Matijaš
www.focus.ba

utorak, 17 avgust 2010 18:17

Pionirka Teniskog kluba Partizan iz Beograda Olga Danilović i njen vršnjak i klupski kolega Bodin Žarković pobjednici su 14. međunarodnog turnira Fratelo kup nada, koji je i ove godine održan u organizaciji TK Meč bol iz Banje Luke, pod pokroviteljstvom “Fratelo trejda”.

Danilovićeva je u finalu ubjedljivo bolja bila od Mile Mejić (Spartak) iz Subotice 9:2, dok je Žarković slavio nad Obradom Markovskim iz Skoplja, 9:4. Pobjedu u utješnom turniru odnijela je domaća takmičarka Sara Kalaba, koja je slavila nad sugrađankom Nikolinom Vicanović (Mladost) 7:3, te Sergej Prtina (Banja Luka), koji je bolji bio od sugrađanina Nikše Pivača, 7:5. Najperspektivnijom pionirkom proglašena je Mia Jelić (Meč bol), a pionirom Nemanja Malešević (Banja Luka). Najmlađi takmičari bili su Aleksej Savičić (Suvenir) iz Čelinca i Banjolučanka Andrijana Dragić (Meč bol), koji su takođe nagrađeni.

Direktor turnira za najmlađe, Zoran Račić, nije krio zadovoljstvo uspješnom organizacijom.

Učešće je uzelo 170 takmičara iz nekoliko zemalja, što govori dovoljno o masovnosti, kvalitetu i značaju koji ovaj turnir ima u okruženju. Pohvale stižu sa svih strana, a na naše zadovoljstvo mnogi takmičari su najavili učešće i naredne godine. Sve je prošlo u najboljem redu i ponosni smo što smo i ove godine bili na visini zadatka – rekao je Račić.

Rezultati:
pioniri, polufinale: Bodin Žarković (Partizan, Beograd) – Nemanja Subanović (Spartak, Subotica) 9:1, Obrad Markovski (MTP, Skoplje) – Dušan Obradović (Ječmenica, Novi Sad) 9:6;

finale: Bodin Žarković – Obrad Markovski 9:4;

meč za treće mjesto: Dušan Obradović – Nemanja Subanović 9:4;

pionirke, polufinale: Olga Danilović (Partizan, Beograd) – Adela Joldić (Srebrenik) 9:1, Mila Mejić (Spartak, Subotica) – Rafaela Slišković (Dalmacija Cement, Solin) 9:8 (7:4);

finale: Olga Danilović – Mila Mejić 9:2;

meč za treće mjesto: Adela Joldić – Rafaela Slišković 9:4;

utješni turnir:
pioniri: Sergej Prtina (Banja Luka) – Nikša Pivač (Banja Luka) 7:5; pionirke: Sara Kalaba (Meč bol, Banja Luka) – Nikolina Vicanović (Mladost, Banja Luka) 7:3.

30/08/10

Matic Podlipnik experience at Bergantov Memorial

Yesterday I spoke with Matic’s father and he told me Matic had a great experience at this year Bergantov Memorial played from 16th till 20th of August.

Matic played this year Smrikva Bowl and is only 10 years old while Bergantov Memorial is one of the most prestigous under 12 tennis tournaments in Slovenia.

Borut was very happy about Matic game while he described me the matches because Matic had to play two qualification rounds to enter the Main Draw.

In the first round of the Main Draw he played against Nejc Lavrencic and if you look at the picture below you can see that there is a big phisical difference but the final score was just 6:3 and 7:6. Lavrencic reached the semifinals and lost to the winner of this year Bergantov Memorial.

Borut told me that Nejc is really big boy and when I received this morning the picture I thought about David and Goliath story :).

Congratulations to Matic and congratulations to Nejc Sitar for the finals who played Smrikva Bowl two years ago!

I’ve got the draws too this morning from Vesna and I recognized several others Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors names: Zaplotnik brothers (Jernej reached the quarterfinals), Nejc Sitar reached the finals, Nik Hribar, Moni Potrc (quarterfinals), Anja Humar, and I recognized this year Smrikva Bowl players: Tina Cvetkovic, Lian Benedejcic, and Kristina Novak still very young for a top result in an under 12 Grade 2 tournament.

28/08/10

Edo and Goranka spent part of their wedding day on the Smrikve Central Court :)

Edo and Goranka are both my students and today is their wedding day… probably one of the most beautiful days for every couple.

Edo trains weekly with me and this summer also Goranka started to learn tennis. I have to say she is very talented and quickly Edo will have a new tennis sparing partner…

Last time when Goranka played I arranged my friend Ana to sparing with her and after the training Goranka and Edo told me that this Saturday they are planning the photo session before the wedding cerimony and that they would like to come to Smrikve to make some pictures.

It is hard to put in writing how I was happy inside me when they expressed that wish. I promissed that I would have waited them at home for the pictures :).

It 2:30 PM when I heard the car horn on our parking. I was in the swimming pool and I run to see if that were newlywed. I took a towel and a straw hat and went to welcome them. My towel was like a Roman tunica… when I saw Edo and Goranka they were shining like the sun of happiness…

Edo was so elegant and Goranka was wearing one of the most beautiful wedding dresses I have ever seen that remined me the stories of the Roman Empire and the Greek sculptures of Goddess…

I run into my room to take my rackets and the camera. In few minutes we were on the court. I promissed them the pictures today thus this one were made by myself :)…

Usually Smrikve Central Court is a theatre stage for the Smrikva Bowl talents gathering from all over the word. Today it was the stage for the beginning of the crowning cerimony of Edo’s and Goranka love…

Edo and Goranka will write their love story on their own and I am so glad that they choose also our Court to remember this important day for them…

I hope you can get at least a partial feeling of their elengance eyes shining of happyness…

Edo is not left handed player but on this picture, as camera professionals asked him, he is taking the racket in his left hand… thus I add it is a hand where the heart is located thus allowed for the photo session :)…

They are ready…

BEST WISHES “MLADENCI”!!! :)

24/08/10

Nice time spent with Ana, Sigi and Loes enjoying tennis and culture in Smrikve, Valbandon, Brioni and Pula

The summer in Smrikve gives you a lot of entertainment oppurtunities because a part of enjoying tennis and the sea there are a lot of various cultural events you can enjoy…

We had different nice guests this year in Smrikve that a part of enjoying tennis and the sea also enjoyed the cultural events.

Last week we had the visit of two girls from Holland that a part of being excellent soccer player and very educated girls are also girls that enjoy learning about different cultures and also girls that started to play tennis in Smrikve :).

I hope that returning back home they will continue to play it… My friend Ana was helping me in the lessons and it was so nice to see Loves and Sigi progress hour after hour.

The evening time was dedicated to culture and a part of enjoying the King Lear performed by Ulyssess Theatre on Brioni Island we assisted to the “Cripnja” competition in Valbandon and cheered Miro’s team.

Several top former Smrikva Bowl players that come back to train in Smrikve knows Miro for his racket skills but some of them also knows about his passion in preparing the food :).

Ulyssess Theatre is a project founded 10 years ago by Rade Serbedzija and Borislav Vujcic, and every year this great actor and manager with his friends creates shows where you can learn something new and enjoy that learning experience…

But “Cripnja” competition in Valbandon with Miro and Milje “theatre group – Grota” was another beautiful experience for me, Ana, Sigi and Loes. Sigi and Loes said that it was the best food they tasted till that day of their vacation thus it is a true compliment to Miro, Milje and Grota team… The day after they went to Alla Beccaccia and that was another eno gastronomic experience.

During the “Cripnja” competition we had the possibility to stay with the team and the experience was even more special compared to the public that was staying outside the competition area.

After the “Cripnja” competition we finished in Pula till late evening and the next day in the morning we were on the courts training at 9:00 AM sharp :)

p.s. “Cripnja” or “Peka” consists of potatoes and meat cooked in a large tray. The food is placed on the fireplace, and covered with an ironcast lid, and then submerged under ambers. Food then cooks in its own juices and is better than any roast prepared in the regular oven.

20/08/10

Luca Appino - Golden Honorary Smrikva Bowl Member - was appointed National Team Manager and Head Coach of the Federation Tunisienne de Tennis

Luca Appino is a long term Smrikva Bowl friend and Golden Honorary Member since this title was established. He was for many years Babolat Director Of Sports Marketing and contributed to built up Babolat from a string company to one of the largest racquet manufacturers in the World. He is also credited for signing contracts with players such as Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Carlos Moya, Dinara Safina, Nadia Petrova, Aravane Rezzai, etc. The new challenge that Luca just few weeks ago accepted is to become the National Team Manager and Head Coach at Federation Tunisienne de Tennis. This is another interesting development project for which I am pleased to wish Luca all the best.

In 2009 Luca Appino decided to start, in collaboration with Toni Nadal, to share his experience through TENNIS TALENTS advisory service. The service is focused on helping junior talented players and their parents in building their professional tennis career.

The first Tennis Talents program for the Smrikva Bowl 2010 players was held in Smrikve on 28th and 29th of June 2010.

I am pleased to confirm that despite the new project Luca started the TENNIS TALENTS Trianing Sessions at Smrikve will be held few times per year to help Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors in their tennis grow and yearly will be done for families during the Smrikva Bowl.

I also hope that next year we can expect few of the best under 10 kids from Tunis at the Smrikva Bowl. It will be the first time to have players from this Mediterranean country.

19/08/10

Zvonimir Babic visited Smrikve

Zvonimir Babic played twice Smrikva Bowl in 2004 and 2005 and usually visit Smrikve with his parents during the summer. Last year it was the first time that Zvonimir visited Smrikve without rackets because of an arm injury.

This year he was back on the courts with racket and he trained with Miro a little bit to prepare for a tournament that will be played this week end in Slavnoski Brod.

Zvonimir’s father Vlado is a traditional Smrikva Bowl sponsor with his company Komot and Vlado is also the person that gave me the idea to plant an olive tree during the tournament. It is always a pleasure to have former Smrikva Bowl players and families in Smrikve.

16/08/10

Chiara, Federica and Gianluca made a short tennis clinic in Smrikve

This week we had the visit of two families from Milan. I knew that one of their children, Gianluca, loves tennis and his desire was to hit with me. We played and did few lessons and after we did few lessons also his sister Chiara and her friend Federica expressed desire to try to play tennis too thus in just few lessons they started to enjoy tennis and hit the ball thanks to PTR method.

Hopefully after this vacation they will become tennis fun and will continue to practice. I am sure Gianluca will do it but also Chiara and Federica might follow him :)

It was a nice class!