News

25/06/10

15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 continued today and the Semifinalists of both Main and Consolation Draw are known. At 4:00 PM the Semifinals will be played and at 6:00 PM "Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl teams will be presented

15^th Smrikva Bowl 2010 Draws and Results (till Semifinals)

Main Draw Semifinalists:

BOYS
Karlo Suevich (CRO)
Andrei Taica Radu (ROM)

Nicola Kuhn (ESP)
Yshai Oliel (ISR)

GIRLS
Neli Šunjić (CRO)
Paula Arias Manjon (ESP)

Kristina Novak (SLO)
Jovana Vuković (SRB)

Consolation Draw Semifinalists:

BOYS
Manuele Micca (ITA)
Jan Kupčič (SLO)

Bodin Žarković (SRB)
Ewan Lumsden (SCO)

GIRLS
Adela Joldić (BIH)
Emma Zakordoniec (POL)

Tamara Dlačić (SRB)
Donia Abdel Aziz (ENG)

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.

24/06/10

15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 continued today and the Quarterfinalists of both Main and Consolation Draw are known. At 6:00 PM the Tennis Talents project was presented by Luca Appino

15^th Smrikva Bowl 2010 Draws and Results (till Quarterfinals)

Main Draw Quarterfinalists:

BOYS
Karlo Suevich (CRO)
Kosta Petrov (SRB)

Tomas Machac (CZE)
Andrei Taica Radu (ROM)

Nicola Kuhn (ESP)
Micha Lanz (SUI)

Yshai Oliel (ISR)
Edoardo Cecere (ITA)

GIRLS
Neli Šunjić (CRO)
Irina Cantos Simers (BEL)

Paula Arias Manjon (ESP)
Lucie Kankova (CZE)

Kristina Novak (SLO)
Karla Kilić (CRO)

Rafaela Slišković (CRO)
Jovana Vuković (SRB)

Consolation Draw Quarterfinalists:

BOYS
Andrej Đurić (BIH)
Manuele Micca (ITA)

Jan Kupčič (SLO)
Lancelot Carnello (SWE)

Cameron Kerr (SCO)
Bodin Žarković (SRB)

Karim Najia (LEB)
Ewan Lumsden (SCO)

GIRLS
Adela Joldić (BIH)
Irma Ustavdić (BIH)

Emma Zakordoniec (POL)
Joanne Züger (SUI)

Kiran Dhull (IND)
Tamara Dlačić (SRB)

Donia Abdel Aziz (ENG)
Lucija Lebo (CRO)

THIRD DAY STARTED AGAIN WITH FIRST SEED PLAYER OF THE GIRLS DRAW AND WAS FOLLOWED BY MANY TOP LEVEL MATCHES...

Neli Sunjic from Split, native town of Goran Ivanisevic, Mario Ancic, Niki Pilic and Zeljko Franulovic, played with Dalila Said from Egypt in the third round. It was a nice match were both girls showed a very high level of the game.

Rafaela Sliskovic, a Croatian player from Solin, on the picture below, defeated another very strong player from Poland – Ana Hertel. Rafaela played with heart her game and was very brave. Later on speaking with Rafaela’s mother I learned that she loves tennis and this love is coming from her.

On the picture below, on the right side to Rafaela, you can also see Olga Danilovic from Belgrade another very promissing girl.

Jovana Vukovic Joka, second seed and last year Smrikva Bowl finalist, played with #1 girl from Makedonia – Marija Elenova and it was another match I had opportunity to enjoy. They are both physically strong girls with powerfull strokes and ability to build the game.

On the picture below you can see Edoardo Cecere with his coach from Italy that defeated Riccardo Perin, also from Italy, and this winter Lemon Bowl winner. I am pleased to recall that Riccardo donated to our library a book about Potito Storace that signatures of people that worked with Storace to build his career make very special.

Edaordo is one of the few players that play one hand beckhand on this year Smrikva Bowl and is in Smrikve with other two nice friends Filippo Moroni and Manuele Micca.

Tomas Machac from Czech Republic and Tennis Club Sparta Praha also did well and enter the quarterfinals. He played with Yannick Skinneger from Switzerland that also, such as Riccardo Perin, made this winter the top result on Lemon Bowl.

I am pleased to recall that Tomas Machac is the player who donated to Smrikve signed Smrikva Bowl cap with many top World players. On the picture below you see him with the family.

AFTER A LONG DAY AT 6 PM WITH HAD A PLEASURE TO HEAR ABOUT LUCA’s EXPERIENCE AND HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT TENNIS TALENTS...

Luca Appino dedicated important part of his time to the talents scouting. He took under contracts various young and unknown players from 11 to 15 years old and later on four of them reached the #1 position in the ATP and WTA: Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters and Dinara Safina. Among other selected, many of them entered the world tennis elite.

Luca tried to explain the vision of Tennis Talents project and he explained how difficult the path is and how mutch of knowledge is required to limit the errors.

Statistically, worldwide, not more than 10 to 12, both males and females, for each year of birth, reach the professional TOP 50 ranking in the world.

He pointed out how the results obtained as juniors are important but not decisive and how is fundamental to consider these results only as road steps but never as arrival point.

Today one of the most experienced coaches present on this year Smrikva Bowl that started to play tennis in 1953 talked to me about his methods and about his passion towards tennis and I enjoyed listening to him.

He is from Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and he brought few players from his school to the tournament in the past. The word he used to describe Smrikva Bowl was that for him Smrikva Bowl is a developing experience for kids, and I liked his observation to think that maybe this experience could help these kids to express the most of their potential – and not only in tennis.

TOMORROW AT 6 PM THE “LITTLE MO”/SMRIKVA BOWL TEAM PRESENTATION IS SCHEDULED...

On Sunday 27th of June, the Smrikva Bowl finalist will play with the players selected by MCB Tennis Foundation that will represent the US and “Little Mo” team. This year the 9th annual will be played.

The first “Little Mo” player that already arrived in Smrikve is Claire Liu on the picture below.

Many good mathes were played today and hopefully will be also the case tomorrow. Tomorrow both the quarterfinals and semifinals are played.

22/06/10

15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 continued today and at 6:00 PM the players were nominated Ambassadors and planted their Olive Tree

Second day of the 15th annual it was a long day with a lot of nice and strong matches that concluded at 6 PM with the Ambassadors Nomination Cerimony and planting of a traditional Olive Tree.

During the cerimony each brought book for the Smrikva Bowl Library was presented and after the nomination we can say Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors reached 49 countries and all the continents

Here below is the draw till the 3rd round of the 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 and also you will find the results of the first matches that were concluded of the Consolation Draw.

15^th Smrikva Bowl 2010 Draws and Third Round Results

THE DAY STARTED WITH FIRST SEED PLAYER OF THE GIRLS DRAW THAT JUST FEW DAYS AGO CELEBRATED HER BIRTHDAY – NELI SUNJIC...

Neli played last year Smrikva Bowl but since last year she was able to continue to progress in her game. It was nice to enjoy her clean tecnique and smart play…

The second seed and last year finalist, Jovana Vukovic – Joka, played around 12:00 PM against a promissing player from Slovenia Anja Gal.

Also Jovana made significant progress in her game that was already extraordinary last year when she played. Jovana is currently ranked #1 in under 12 age group in Serbia.

Each of the first four seeded player has passed the second round: Neli Sunjic, Jovana Vukovic- last year Smrikva Bowl finalist, Kristina Novak – this year Lemon Bowl winner, and Lucie Kankova – last year Smrikva Bowl Consolation Draw winner…

IN THE AFTERNOON THE BOYS MAIN DRAW WAS PLAYED...

There are many strong players in the Boys Main Draw and like in the Girls Draw all four seeded player passed into second round: Karlo Suevich – last year semifinalist, Riccardo Perin – this year Lemon Bowl winner, Nicola Kuhn and Andrei Taica Radu…

Nicola Kuhn played against a young Croatian promissinig player, Duje Ajdukovic, that conquered girls’ hearts in just few days of his presence on the tournament.

Yesterday night Duje played doubles just for fun with Mihaela from Romenia against Neli Sunjic and Andja Claudia Karanusic. It was 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...

AT 6 PM THE AMBASSADORS NOMINATION CERIMONY STARTED... IT IS ALWAYS AN IMPORTANT SMRIKVA BOWL MOMENT...

It is the Ambassadors word that over the years helped Smrikva Bowl to grow and spread in so many countries, and it is a moment when every player receive a little gift that Smrikva Bowl Sponsors allowed to prepare for them…

It is also the moment for a little story and this year it was a moment to see all the books they brought…

We had a special guest on Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors nomination day – Luca Appino that together with Toni Nadal run the Tennist Talents project.

Luca is credited for founding many talented players when they were kids or still very young players out of which four of them reached the #1 ranking in the World: Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijster and Dinara Safina...

Historically Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors were helping us to attract new talents and they are pleased to continue to do so.

A new duty the Ambassadors and their families are in charge since last year it is to spread the word of the Region they visited as Cultural Tourism Destination, and Istria from Smrikve is a virtual book that every Ambassadors is invited to visit in exchange for the book he brought and donated to the Smrikva Bowl Library.

...CULTURAL E-BOOK “Istria from Smrikve“ aims to provide Smrikva Bowl players and their families with useful information about the places that should be visited in the Istria region. Here they find information about: architecture, history, people, music, museums, major cultural events, cuisine, top restaurants and the best olive oil and wine producers.

In the following picture you can see Mihaela that played doubles with Duje while she signs the picture and become the Smrikva Bowl Ambassador….

After the signing of picture since last year we play a big team tennis… :)

and with the tree that receives the names of each player and the players that receive a bottle of Smrikva Bowl Olive Oil we close the cerimony…

Tomorrow the third round matches start at 8 AM and a lot of good matches are expected. I noted over the years that from the first day the quality of the Smrikva Bowl matches is comparable to a second week of a Grand Slam Tournaments.

22/06/10

15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 started today at 8:30 AM with "Rondo" dancing group.

The balet dancers from the group “Rondo”, the former World Champions, danced for the Smrikva Bowl players.

There are many players with 2, 3 or 4 passports thus 9 new countries will have new Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors: India, Sweden, Belgium, Malta, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Lebanon and Israel.

With this new countries Smrikva Bowl has reached 49 countries represented on the tournament over the years, and on the 15th annual there are over 30 countries represented.

The draws are ready and the first matches started.

Tomorrow at 6 PM 15th Smrikva Bowl players will be nominated Ambassadors and will plant as per tradition an Olive Tree.

The creation of the Smrikva Bowl Library started last year and the Smrikva Bowl players brought new books representing the culture of the places they are coming from and tomorrow at 6 PM each book will be presented.

22/06/10

15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 players list

World in Smrikve ... there are nine new countries from which we expect to have new Ambassadors nominated this year: Malta, India, Sweden, Argentina, Lebanon, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Belgium and Israel thus with the new countries Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors will be spread in almost 50 countries and all the continents.

The level of the players is expected very high. There are many talented players among 109 registered participants.

The creation of the Smrikva Bowl Library started last year and the Smrikva Bowl players brought new books representing the culture of the places they are coming from. Thank you all!

I am pleased to announce this year names of the players that honoured us with their arrival:

Girls

Neli Šunjić (CRO)
Camilla Ceppellini (ITA)
Adela Joldić (BIH)
Ema Šiljić (CRO)
Ksenija Krstić (SRB)
Dalila Said (EGY)
Irina Cantos Simers (BEL)
Martina Pavoković (CRO)
Yosra Hegy (EGY)
Irma Ustavdić (BIH)
Costanza Traversi (ITA)
Paula Arias Manjon (ESP)
Olga Danilović (SRB)
India Britland (ENG)
Emma Zakordoniec (POL)
Lea Jurković (CRO)
Alexandra Hunter (SCO)
Joanne Züger (SUI)
Mila Mejić (SRB)
Tina Cvetkovič (SLO)
Vesna Savić (SUI)
Lucie Kankova (CZE)
Kristina Novak (SLO)
Isidora Smiljanić (SRB)
Armina Izić (BIH)
Anđa Karanušić (CRO)
Aylin Abdioglu (TUR)
Kiran Dhull (IND)
Mia Cajkovsky (AUT)
Karla Kilić (CRO)
Carlotta Romito (ITA)
Tamara Dlačić (SRB)
Mihaela Marculescu (ROM)
Donia Abdel Aziz (ENG)
Rafaela Slišković (CRO)
Lian Benedejčič (SLO)
Lara Husagić (BIH)
Benedetta Ivaldi (ITA)
Ania Hertel (POL)
Marija Elenova (MAK)
Lorena Gavrić (CRO)
Giulia Peoni (ITA)
Anja Gal (SLO)
Lucija Lebo (CRO)
Jovana Vuković (SRB)

Boys

Karlo Suevich (CRO)
Andrej Đurić (BIH)
Mattia Bellucci (ITA)
Odissey Gyuney Kavak (TUR)
Tom Ašić Kovač (SLO)
Karim Bendjamaa (SRB)
Arslan Kellou (FRA)
Andreja Petrović (NOR)
Andrea Leonardi (ITA)
Nico Hornitschek (GER)
Dario Montes Khaghani (ESP)
Manuele Micca (ITA)
Kosta Petrov (SRB)
Rafael Izquiredo Luque (ESP)
Vinicius Nogueira (BRA)
Tomas Machac (CZE)
Ahmed Zaid Fahmi (KSA)
Karol Paluch (POL)
Gregorio Maracchioli (ITA)
Matija Volarević (CRO)
Yannick Skinneger (SUI)
Jan Kupčič (SLO)
Rimpei Kawakami (JPN)
Matic Podlipnik (SLO)
Lancelot Carnello (SWE)
Tuna Kaan Ayman (TUR)
Tomas Curras Abasolo (ESP)
Alen Mujanović (BIH)
Riccardo Di Nocera (ITA)
Andrei Taica Radu (ROM)
Nicola Kuhn (ESP)
Alessandro Bussini (ITA)
Duje Ajduković (CRO)
Cameron Kerr (SCO)
Elliot Lamprecht (RSA)
Berke Eser Coskun (TUR)
Kiro Paul Barra (GER)
Mark Keki (HUN)
Filippo Cabano (ITA)
Efe Bora (TUR)
Borna Šeatović (CRO)
Filip Kolasinski (POL)
Andrea Moro (ITA)
Micha Lanz (SUI)
Bodin Žarković (SRB)
Yshai Oliel (ISR)
Yigit Oflaz (TUR)
Tommaso Carnevale (ITA)
Jorge Garcia Sanz (ESP)
Filippo Moroni (ITA)
Benjamin Farrugia (MAL)
Karim Najia (LEB)
Damien Wenger (SUI)
Ewan Lumsden (SCO)
Edoardo Cecere (ITA)
Almir Joldić (BIH)
Lovro Suevich (CRO)
Andrin Saner (SUI)
Vladimir Popović (SRB)
Riccardo Perin (ITA)

“Little Mo” team that will play in the 9th „Little Mo“/Smrikva Bowl:

Kimani Bates – Portage (Michigan – USA)
Max Motlagh – Richardson (Texas – USA)
Claire Liu – Thousand Oaks (California – USA)
Alexa Butera – Johnston (Iowa – USA)

The openning cerimony is scheduled for 8:30 AM this morning while, tomorrow at 6PM 15th Smrikva Bowl players will be nominated the Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors that will be followed by the cerimony of the centuries old Olive Tree planting.

21/06/10

Novak Kristina, last year Smrikva Bowl player and this year Lemon Bowl winner, surprised me today during the registration with the most beautiful hand made bread I've ever received

Today the Smrikva Bowl player of the 15th annual have arrived in Smrikve and they are completing the final registration process.

Every player to register for the tournament brought a book of the town or country he or she is from thus this year Ambassadors are contributing strongly to the creation of the Smrikva Bowl Library. The books received are many and beautiful.

Few days ago Tomas Machak surprised me with the signed Smrikva Bowl cap and today Novak Kristina from Slovania with the following :).

It is a bread made at home and has a tennis racket, the roses, and some other lovely creations.

Thanks Kristina!

Tomorrow morning the list of the accepted players will be published on line.

20/06/10

Arrival of the 15th Smrikva Bowl players started together with new donation of the books for the Smrikva Bowl library. Tomas Machak from Tennis Club Sparta Praha surprised me with a special Smrikva Bowl cap

Few days ago the first Smrikva Bowl player of the 15th annual started to gather in Smrikve and day after day more and more players are arriving.

Yesterday we started the registration process and every player to register for the tournament bring a book of the town or country he is coming from thus contribute to create the Smrikva Bowl Library.

More and more families with the book for the library bring also other small gifts, and every gift is a little surprise. Yesterday Tomas Machak surprised me.

I was surprised when Tomas Machak mother took from her bag a bottle of Becherovka and the last year Smrikva Bowl cap with many signatures on it. The first thing I thought was that it must have not been easy to collect all those signatures.

I was not able to read the signutures but Tomas brought with a cap the list of the players that signed his cap and I still was not understanding that he brought this cap as a gift to Smrikve.

I read the small piece of paper where it was written:

Czech republic tennis player + Jelena Dokic
Bohdan ulihrach
Lukas Dlouhy
Lucie Hradecka
Radek Stepanek
Jelena Dokic
Karel Novacek

Tomas’ father told me that also the signature of Cetkovska is on the cap.

When Tomas told me that this cap was his gift to Smrikve my first reaction was to say that for me it was hard to take it because he must have made a lot of effort to callect all the signatures and many kids are inspired by their top players in the country, but he answered with smile that he collected them for Smrikve.

Tomas’ mother Daniela and father in Czech language explained to me the way he was collecting the signatures and how he asked top players of his country visiting Tennis Club Sparta Praha to sign the cap.

The only thing I was able to think in that moment was to give him another Smrikva Bowl cap from 2009 thus he can have it for memory to remember his last year participation.

The kids are really able to surprise… thanks Tomas!

18/06/10

15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 Press Release for the local media

SVIM MEDIJIMA

Pula, 18. lipanj 2010.

Poštovani,

Tenis klub „Smrikve“ iz Pule, Štinjanska cesta 91, na svojim terenima od 22. do 27. lipnja 2010. godine organizira tradicionalno međunarodno sportsko natjecanje – 15.ti „Smrikva bowl“ 2010 – međunarodni teniski turnir za djevojčice i dječake do 10 godina, na kojem će sudjelovati talenti iz 30-tak zemalja svijeta. (http://www.smrikve.com/smrikva-bowl/)

Od osnutka turnir je uspio privući preko 1.000 talentiranih igrača iz skoro 50 zemalja i sa svih kontinenata. Danas slovi za jedan od najprestižnijih teniskih susreta do 10 godina u svijetu.

Dana 27. lipnja 2010. godine također u organizaciji Tenis kluba „Smrikve“ održat će se 9. „Little Mo-Smrikva Bowl“ na kojem se natječu finalisti „Smrikva bowl-a“ s finalistima „Little Mo“ – prestižnog turnira koji se održava u SAD-u.

Godinama, igrači Smrikva Bowl-a postaju ambasadori turnira, i kao abasadori Smrikve pomažu u okupljanju talenata.

Od prošle godine ambasadori Smrikve počinju širiti riječ o Istri kao kulturnoj turističkoj destinaciji. Prošle godine je pokrenuto stvaranje biblioteke Smrikva Bowl-a te svako dijete pri upisu donosi poklon knjigu iz svoje zemlje ili grada, a igrači se pozivaju da posjete kulturni vodič „Istra from Smrikve“ koja se nalazi na internet stranicama Smrikvi. (http://www.smrikve.com/istria/)

Razvoj Smrikva Bowl-a potpomažu brojni volonteri i prijatelji. Posebne zahvale idu ovogodišnjim sponzorima: igračima i rekreativcima Tenis kluba Smrikve; tvrtkama: Ronzio Oleodinamica, Sergio Tacchini, Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, Wilson, Komot, Shake, Duravit, IZO, Puljanka, Svijet biljaka, Ledo, Intersport, Fotokeramika, Via Ing, Kon – 2K5, Product Imex; restoranima Oaza i Gardelin; plesnim grupama: Balun iz Vodnjana, Rondo i Pirueta iz Pule, te TZ Pula i Savezu sportova Istarske Županije.

TENIS KLUB SMRIKVE

Kontakt: Miodrag Božović

Press: Rossana Matejčić – Miljević

17/06/10

Novak Djokovic donated signed Sergio Tacchini t-shirts and caps to the 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 finalists thanks to Zdravec - Golden Honorary Smrikva Bowl Member - from Ljubljana

Today Zdravec visited Smrikve and brought some gifts he was able to get from Nole in Miami and Belgrade during the last year.

Zdravec is a Golden Honorary Smrikva Bowl Member and for several years has been supporting Smrikva Bowl and spreading the word of Smrikva among his friends in tennis world.

This year Nole started to play with Sergio Tacchini and this famous Italian brand, with whom several tennis legends used to play, is also Smrikva Bowl sportswear sponsor thus I hope that Smrikva Bowl finalist will enjoy this gift.

Novak Djokovic is today one of the best tennis players in the World and his funs are spread all over the World. I am pleased and honoured that he signed and donated his t-shirts and caps for the 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 finalists and for the Smrikve Tennis Club.

I am sure that Smrikva talented boys under 10 will love Nole’s gift and I wish that this gift may inspire tham to do better and better in tennis.

I like Nole as player and person. Nole grew up with Niki Pilic and I had the opportunity to hear nice stories from Neven Krivokuca’s parents about Nole in Niki Pilic Academy.

With this year gift Nole is becoming the Honorary Smrikva Bowl Member.

Thanks Zdravec and to Nole best wishes for the following Grand Slams! :)

17/06/10

Ajla Tomljanovic - 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up - lost in the second round of Wimbledon qualifacations against Kaia Kanepi

Ajla Tomljanovic played Smrikva Bowl twice. She was runner up when she was 9 years old in 2002 and she ranked 3rd when she was 10 in 2003.

This week she played Wimbledon qualifications. A month ago Ajla turned 17 and is also currently the best ranked Smrikva Bowl player after Petra Martic on WTA ranking list – #175 WTA.

Ajla Tomljanovic’s road towards the third round of the Wimbledon qualification draw was the following:

1st round: Ajla Tomljanovic – Kristina Kucova (SVK) 1:6, 6:4 6:1
2nd round: A.Tomljanovic – Ekaterina Dzehalevich (BLR) 6:4, 6:3
3rd round: Ajla Tomljanovic – Kaia Kanepi (EST) 1:6, 2:6

The ranking of the players Ajla played or will play is the following:
Kristina Kucova (SVK) – #135 WTA
Ekaterina Dzehalevich (BLR) – #186 WTA
Kaia Kanepi (EST) – #79 WTA

I met Kaia Kanepi last summer in Portoroz and Kaia is an experienced player, former #18 WTA, and I am sure in the near future people will hear more and more about Ajla.

Congratulations!

The following video was registred while Ajla was playing Junior Wimbledon today she is playing the Championship with professionals.

13/06/10

For the 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 players: new directions for the Smrikve Tennis Club and Villa Smrikve if you arrive by car…

Istrian highway “Y” is under construction and some viability changes have been made recently thus the players arriving by car please take note of the following indications.

From the highway that goes towards Pula you need to exit the highway following the directions *Pula Istok*… than drive another 5 km straight forward (on your right side you will see for few kilometres commercial centres starting with Mercator and following some car dealers)... when you arrive to a gasoline station on a small hilltop called Veli Vrh turn left following Fazana (Brijuni) directions… drive another 1 km and turn left towards Stinjan… after 500 meters you will reach the Smrikve Tennis Club.

13/06/10

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

IN 1996 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM ISTRIA AND KVARNER

1996 – 1st Smrikva Bowl

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

GIRLS
Natali Zuliani, 1st Smrikva Bowl 1996 winner, from Croatia.

IN 1997 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM CROATIA

1997 – 2nd Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Zeljko Peric, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, from Croatia.

GIRLS
Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #203 on WTA list. Ivana’s best ranking was #95 on WTA list in June 2006.

IN 1998 SMRIKVA BOWL STARTED TO BE INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT

1998 – 3rd Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Filip Kovacic, 3rd Smrikva Bowl 1998 winner, from Croatia.

GIRLS
Mateja Horvat, 3rd Smrikva Bowl 1998 winner, from Croatia.

1999 – 4th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Borko Mudronja, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 winner, from Croatia.
Deni Zmak, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 runner up, from Croatia. Deni’s best ranking was #961 on ATP list in May 2010. In October 2009 he had an accident with motorcycle and for some time he will be forced to stay out of the courts.

GIRLS
Astrid Besser, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 winner, from Italy, is ranked #673 on WTA list. Astrid’s best ranking was #356 on WTA list in March 2009.

2000 – 5th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Adelchi Virgili, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, from Italy.

GIRLS
Tereza MRDEZA, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, from Croatia, is currently ranked #321 on WTA list.

2001 – 6th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Marin Draganja, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #1235 on ATP ranking list.
Dino Marcan, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #988 on ATP ranking list.

GIRLS
Petra MARTIC, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #77 on WTA list.
Indire Akiki, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #622 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 #480 on ATP list.
Giacomo Miccini, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Italy, was ranked #1430 on ATP list in May 2009.

GIRLS
Martina Caregaro, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner, from Italy, is ranked #536 on WTA ranking list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #179 on WTA list.
Ema BURGIC, ranked 3rd on 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #517 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 #12 on ITF ranking list.
George MORGAN, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Great Britain, is ranked #45 on ITF ranking list.
Ciprian PORUMB, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Romenia, is ranked #248 on ITF ranking list.

GIRLS
Jennifer Ren, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Great Britain, was ranked #958 on WTA list.
Silvia NJIRIC, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Croatia, is currently not ranked on WTA list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Croatia, is ranked #179 on WTA list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Emmett EGGER, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #130 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 #1119 on ITF ranking list.
Miki JANKOVIC, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #93 on ITF ranking list.

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #85 on ITF ranking list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Mitchel POLNET, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #640 on ITF ranking list.

Blair SHANKLE, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #282 on ITF ranking list.
Anna MAMALAT, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #813 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 #480 on ITF ranking list.
Laslo DJERE, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #1085 on ITF ranking list.
Gianluigi QUINZI, ranked 3rd on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005, from Italy, is ranked #914 on ITF ranking list.
Nikola MILOJEVIC, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 Consolation tournament winner, from Serbia, is ranked #279 on ITF ranking list.

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #85 on ITF ranking list.
Olga IANCHUK, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Ukraine, is ranked #847 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 #914 on ITF ranking list.
Filip Kraljevic, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #150 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

GIRLS
Eleanor DEAN, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Great Britain, is ranked #816 on ITF ranking list.
Dina PAOCIC, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #134 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Daniel Maese, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is not ranked in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Aries Wong, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #116 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 #238 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 #363 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 #180 in Europe in under 14 cathegory*.
Sergiu Bucur, ranked 4th on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Romania, is ranked #329 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 #57 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Nina POTOCNIK, ranked 3rd on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Slovenia, is ranked #60 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Eduardo NAVA, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #36 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Tommy PAUL, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #2 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Ndindi NDUNDA, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #4 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Domonique Garley, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #106 in the USA in under 12 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 #172 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Maia Lumsden, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 runner up, from Scotland, is ranked #272 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Viktoria Kuzmova, ranked 3rd on 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008, from Slovakia, is ranked #260 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 #113 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
William Blumberg, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #96 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Ingrid NEEL, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #117 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Paulina Ferrari, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #201 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 #39 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Alex Gee, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #554 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Michaela GORDON, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #140 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Ashley LAHEY, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked *#148 in the USA in under 12 cathegory*.

11/06/10

Petra Martic, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, reached the quarterfinals in Marseille 2010 - USD 100.000 worth tournament

Petra Martic, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, is the best ranked former Smrikva Bowl player on WTA list and is the best Croatian tennis player on WTA list.

Petra is currently ranked #77 on WTA list and this week she is playing USD 100.000 worth tournament in Marseille (France).

Petra Martic road to the quarterfinals is the following:

1st round: Petra Martic – Kristina Kucova (Svk) 6:2, 6:2
2nd round: Petra Martic – Masa Zec-Peskiric (Slo) 6:4, 6:0
Quarterfinals: Martic – Johanna Larsson (Swe) 2:6, 6:2, 4:6

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

Kristina Kucova (Svk) – # 139 WTA list
Masa Zec-Peskiric (Slo) – # 126 WTA list
Johanna Larsson (Swe) – # 102 WTA list

On the following video you can see Petra’s ability to play tennis in a match against Wickmayer at OPEN GDF Suez in Paris.

10/06/10

Three top Smrikva Bowl players - Vladica Babic, Francesca Palmigiano and Irina Maria Bara - reached the quarterfinals of 46th Trophy Avvenire in Milan (Italy) - one of the most prestigious under 16 tournaments in the World

Three top Smrikva Bowl players – Vladica Babic, Francesca Palmigiano and Irina Maria Bara – are in the quarterfinals of 46th Trophy Avvenire in Milan (Italy).

Torneo Avvenire is considered one of the most prestigious under 16 tennis tournaments in the World.

Vladica Babic is from Montenegro and she played her Smrikva Bowl in 2005 and reached the quarterfinals. Irina Maria Bara is from Romania and she also played her Smrikva Bowl in 2005 reaching the quarterfinals, while Francesca Palmigiano is from Italy and she played Smrikva Bowl in 2004 and also reached the quarterfinals.

Vladica Babic’s road to the quarterfinals at 46th edition of Avvenire in Milan was the following:

1st round: Vladica Babic – Sara Castellano (ITA) 6:2, 6:4
2nd round: Vladica Babic – Benedetta Fasciani (ITA) 6:1, 6:4
3rd round: Vladica Babic – Nina Stojanovic (SRB) 6:2, 7:6
Quarterfinals: V.Babic – Mai El Kamash (EGY) 6:1,6:7,7:5

Irina Maria Bara’s road to the quarterfinals at 46th edition of Avvenire in Milan was the following:

1st round: Irina Maria Bara – Camilla Rosatello (ITA) 6:4, 6:2
2nd round: Irina Maria Bara – Francesca Sella (ITA) 6:4, 6:1
3rd round: Irina Maria Bara – Giada Clerici (ITA) 6:1, 6:2
Quarterfinals: I.M.Bara – Nastassia Rubel (BLR) 4:6, 4:6

Francesca Palmigiano’s road to the quarterfinals at 46th edition of Avvenire in Milan was the following:

1st round: Francesca Palmigiano-Chiara Volejnicek (SUI) 6:1,6:1
2nd round: Francesca Palmigiano – Katrin Tebaldini (ITA) 6:3, 6:0
3rd round: Francesca Palmigiano – Tena Lukas (CRO) 6:1, 6:3
Quarterfinals: F.Palmigiano-M.I. Deheza (AUT) 1:6,7:5,7:5

The other top former Smrikva Bowl players in the Girls Draw reached the following results:

Janna Fett (CRO) – 3rd round, Nina Stojanovic (SRB) – 3rd round, Giorgia Marchetti (ITA) – 2nd round, Tena Lukas (CRO) – 3rd round, Giulia Pairone (ITA) – 2nd round, Belinda Bencic (SUI) – 1st round, Giada Clerici (ITA) – 3rd round, Camilla Rosatello (ITA) – 1st round.

In the boys Main Draw former Smrikva Bowl players reached the following:

Luka Ilic (SRB) – 2nd round, Alberto De Meo (ITA) – 1st round, Marin Suica (CRO) – 3rd round, Antonio Masterlia (ITA) – 1st round, Karlo Skvorc (CRO) – 2nd round, Laslo Djere (SRB) – 1st round.

Congratulatsions Smrikva girls and boys!

08/06/10

Ariana Rabac won the under 14 Rovinj Open tennis tournament

This weekend Ariana Rabac won the under 14 tennis tournament that was played in Rovinj at TK Sunny. Ariana is 13 years old Smrikve Tennis School player and she is currently the best junnior player in our Tennis School.

She started to play tennis when she was 9 years old and her motivation and love for tennis is allowing her to continue to progress year after year.

In round robin Ariana played with Mirta Uljar and Loriana Poropat:

Ariana Rabac – Mirta Uljar 6:1, 6:2
Ariana Rabac – Loriana Poropat 6:3, 6:2

In the Main Draw her road towards the victory in Rovinj was the following:

Quarterfinals: Ariana Rabac – Ena Barkovic 6:1, 6:2
Semifinals: Ariana Rabac – Sara Petric 6:2, 7:5
Finals: Ariana Rabac – Julijana Versic 6:3, 6:4

The ranking of the players Ariana played with is as follows:

Mirta Uljar – # 109 under 14
Ena Barkovic – # 70 under 14
Sara Petric – # 52 under 14
Julijana Versic – # 27 under 14

Congratulations Ari!

07/06/10

Luca Appino and "The World of Rafael Nadal - secrets of his success"

Luca Appino is a long term Smrikva Bowl friend and Golden Honorary Member. In his long term carrier he had to track down talents and Rafa is among the talents he was able to recognize when Rafa was still a young boy.

Luca met Rafael Nadal in 1998 when the future number one was aged 12 and they naturally became very close to each other.

Yesterday Rafa won his 5th Roland Garros title and today he reached again the position #1 on ATP ranking.

After the victory I took again the book Luca Appino wrote on Rafael Nadal and I had a pleasure to read some parts it. The World of Rafael Nadal – secrets of his success was published last year but is written in a manner that will be actual over time.

On page 81 of the book Luca describes a situation occured in Monte Carlo in April 2006 where Uncle Toni is advising Rafa how to play Federer… all the book is written in the same style where a situation is described and Luca’s comment on a particular case – situation. One of the stories I enjoyed a lot is the following…

“An hour before the beginning of the final against the Swiss, Roger Federer, Rafa is a little worried about which strategy to use in order to overpower the world number one, who’s been going from strength to strength on clay courts.

Logically, as before any big due, he talks it over with Toni: “Roger’s serve is better than yours, he has a better forehand, a better backhand not to mention his volley…”

Surprised by these remarks, Rafa interrupts his trainer and replies: “If you present the situation like that you’re not helping my confidence or making things any easier for me, quite the contrary”.

Toni isn’t surprised by this reaction just a few moments before the first big date of the season on clay, Rafa’s favoured surface, especially against the world number one. “You’re wrong Rafa, you can win because you can be stronger than him in a lot of other areas which are just as important in a duel between two champions of your caliber; determination for example, concentration as wel. When you go out onto the court, keep one idea in mind; give it your all. Do not hold back, fight for each ball, fight for each point and above all make the most of each and every situation where you can gain the upper-hand. If you follow this line of conduct, this strategy, you’ll have no regrets and you’ll have given it your best shot.” At the end of a superb final, Rafa prevails in four sets (6:2, 6:7, 6:3, 7:6), signing his second consecutive win on the Monegasque rock.”

After telling this story Luca comments is: “To respect your opponent is also to admit that he might be better than you. Nevertheless, it’s always possible to win. You should keep this in the frefront of your mind, and your prime objective should be to do everything within your power to succeed.”

Luca Appino 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. It was in 1998 that he came to work for the head office of Babolat (having previously been a consultant for them on the Italian market). He became their sports marketing director and his brief was, among other things, to track down new talents.

Luca is credited for signing contracts with Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Dinara Safina, Carlos Moya, Nadia Petrova, Aravane Rezzai, and many others.

If you are interested to learn more about Rafa I invite you to read the book.

In 2009 Luca Appino decided to start in collaboration with Toni Nadal the sharing of his over 20 years long top level tennis experience through TENNIS TALENTS advisory service. The service is focused on helping junior talented players, their parents and their coaches in building and evaluating the path of potential professional tennis career.

The webiste adress where you can learn more on TENNIS TALENTS and order Rafa’s book is:

www.tennis-talents.com

31/05/10

Silvia Njiric - 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up - reached the semifinals of Junior Roland Garros

Silvia Njiric is one of the top Croatian junior players and one of the top junior players in the World that currently ranks #28 on ITF ranking list and was also ranked #6 on ITF ranking list.

Silvia played Smrikva Bowl in 2003 by reaching the finals thus represented the Smrikva Bowl team on 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl that was played in the US that year.

Silvia Njiric road towards the semifinals of Junior Roland Garros was the following:

1st round: Silvia Njiric – Paula Kania (POL) 7:6, 6:3
2nd round: Silvia Njiric – Daria Gavrilova (RUS) 6:7, 7:5, 6:3
3rd round: Silvia Njiric – Amandine Hesse (FRA) 6:3, 6:3
Quarterfinals: Silvia Njiric – Monica Puig (PUR) 6:0, 3:6, 6:3
Semifinals: Silvia Njiric – Elina Svitolina (UKR) 3:6, 2:6

The ranking of the players with whom Silvia played and will play on this year Roland Garros is the following:

Paula Kania (POL) – #662 on WTA ranking list
Daria Gavrilova (RUS) – #775 on WTA ranking list
Amandine Hesse (FRA) – #1062 on WTA ranking list
Monica Puig (PUR) – #713 on WTA ranking list
Elina Svitolina (UKR) – #1096 on WTA ranking list

In the following you tube video you can see Silvia Njiric on last year Junior Wimbledon double finals awarding cerimony.

In the boys draw Miki Jankovic, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, and Dominic Thiem, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, both lost in the first round.

Congratulations Silvia!

29/05/10

Javier Marti - 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 - recently reached a historical ranking as a Smrikva Bowl player on ATP ranking list

Javier Marti – 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner – recently reached his best ranking of his carrier – #527 on ATP list, which is a historical result for the Smrikva Bowl too.

Few months ago when Javier’s father Koki wrote to me supporting Dario Montes candidacy for this year Smrikva Bowl he informed me about Javier’s final played in Croatia on F3 tournament where he gained 10 ATP points.

In May Javier won an F2 tournament in Bulgaria gaining other 18 ATP points and with this victory he jumped for 90 positions on ATP list thus reaching his best ranking of the carrier and with this ranking he is today the best ranked former Smrikva Bowl player on ATP list ever.

The following video was registered in 2008 at Palafrugell in Spain at the Future Slam Tour. It was the final match between Javier and Andrea Collarini from Argentina.

Congratulations Javier!

26/05/10

Neven Krivokuca brought to Smrikve fresh news from Maribor: Ana Konjuh - 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 runner up - won BERGANT MEMORIAL 2010 - ETA under 14- in Maribor, while Marin Suica won in the under 16 age group

Yesterday afternoon Neven Krivokuca, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 player, who lives in Germany and trains with Nikola Pilic arrived in Smrikve from Maribor to hit a little bit with Miro Hrvatin while taking a few day rest before returning to Munich this week end.

Neven Krivokuca started to work with Niki Pilic a year ago and is one of the very few lucky young players to have the opportunity to work on daily basis with Niki – a living tennis legend.

Neven grew up a lot since last summer when I saw him last time. He is left hand player like Pilic, with good serve and good forehand, and everytime he returns in Smrikve it is easy to see his progress.

He explained to me that he just arrived from Maribor where he played 3 sets in the third round with the finalist of the under 16 age group player Evan Hoyt from UK.

I asked him if some other Smrikva boys were in Maribor and Neven told me that he met Luka Ilic, who played his Smrikva Bowl.

I checked this moring the results of Bergantov Memorial 2010 and found out that Ana Konjuh – 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 runner up – won in under 14 age group, while Marin Suica, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 player, won the under 16 age group.

On the picture below you can see Ana Konjuh during her Smrikva Bowl when she was 10 – Ana is in the middle of the picture.

Ana Konjuh’s road towards the victory of Bergantov Memorial 2010 under 14 was the following:

1st round: Ana Konjuh – Simona Rejc (SLO) 6:4, 6:2
2nd round: Ana Konjuh – Greetje Minnen (BEL) 6:3, 6:1
3rd round: Ana Konjuh – P.Smetak (GER) 6:2, 6:3
Quarterfinals: Ana Konjuh – Lara Kralj (SLO) 6:4, 6:2
Semifinals: Ana Konjuh – L.Reichel (AUT) 6:3, 6:0
Finals: Ana Konjuh – Alannah Griffin (GBR) 6:4, 7:5

Nina Potocnik and Margita Sunic, both Smrikva Bowl players, reached the quarterfinals in girls under 14 age group.

In under 16 girls draw Jasmina Stor reached the semifinals.

Jasmina Stor, use to train in Smrikve when she is in Pula. She trains with Elio Macan and just few weeks age she played the finals of Kvarner Open in Rijeka with Vladica Babic – Jasmina is on the right side on the picture.

Jasmina’s road towards the semifinals of Bergantov Memorial 2010 under 16 was the following:

1st round: Jasmina Stor – Beatrice Kight (GBR) 6:3, 6:1
2nd round: Jasmina Stor – Eva Rihtarsic (SLO) 6:0, 6:2
Quarterfinals: Jasmina Stor – S Koelliker (SUI) 4:3 ret.
Semifinals: Jasmina Stor – K. Sharifova (SLO) 4:6, 6:7

Marin Suica road towards the victory of under 16 age group in Maribor was the following:

1st round: Marin Suica – Matic Spec (SLO) 6:0, 6:0
2nd round: Marin Suica – Michael Spegel (GER) 6:1, 6:3
3rd round: Marin Suica – Jose Tinoco (POR) 7:5, 6:2
Quarterfinals: Marin Suica – H.Wagner (GER) 7:6, 1:6, 6:3
Semifinals: Marin Suica – G. Loureiro (POR) 6:3, 6:1
Finals: Marin Suica – Evan Hoyt (GBR) 1:6, 6:2, 6:1

Luka Ilic reached the semifinals.

Congratulations boys and girls!

23/05/10

Petra Martic - 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner - lost in the first round of the Main Draw against Elena Dementieva (Roland Garros - Grand Slam Tournament)

Petra Martic – 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner – currently with Ajla Tomljanovic and Silvia Njiric is one of the best young Croatian tennis players.

Petra played in the Main Draw of Paris (Roland Garros – Grand Slam Tournament) against Elena Demetieva (#5 WTA) and lost 6:1 6:1.

Petra Martic is currently ranked #68 on WTA list and last year on Roland Garros Petra won 3 qualification matches and than in the first round of the Main Draw defeated Mara Santangelo and in the second round lost to Aleksandra Woznaik.

This year, thanks to her over 120 places jump on WTA list, Petra played directly in the Main Draw. She played 10 years older Dementieva but the experience made the difference. Hopefully next year in Paris Petra will do better!