News

21/12/09

Smrikva Bowl players made outstanding results on 3rd "Little Mo" International 2009: Alessia Welti and Ingrid Neel won the under 10 and under 11 age group

Little Mo International – is a tournament organized by aureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation (MCB Tennis Foundation), played in the USA, and dedicated to age groups under 8 till under 11.

3rd “Little Mo” International 2009 was held from December 15-19, 2009. in Club Med Sandpiper in Port Saint Lucie (Florida)

On the following picture you can see Jaeda Daniel & Alessia Welti-Girls’ 10 Finalist & Winner, and Carol Weyman in a white warmup along with Cindy Brinker Simmons and her son, William.

SMRIKVA BOWL PLAYERS and “Little Mo”/SMRIKVA BOWL PLAYERS THAT ATTENDED THIS YEAR EDITION ARE THE FOLLOWING:

Ingrid Neel (USA)
Alessia Welti (SUI)
Neli Sunjic (CRO)
Max Stewart (GBR)
Alex Gee (USA)
Matic Zaplotnik (SLO)
Jernej Zaplotnik (SLO)
Anthony Popyrin (AUS)

Most of them made very good result as follows:

GIRLS

Ingrid Neel from the USA. 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2008 player, was the winner of the under 11 main draw.

Alessia Welti from Switzerland, 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 quarterfinalist, was the winner of the under 10 main draw.

Neli Sunjic from Croatia, 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 player, reached the semifinals of the under 10 main draw.

BOYS

Max Stewart from Great Britain, 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 player, reached the semifinals of the under 10 main draw.

Alex Gee from the USA, 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2009 player won the under 10 consolation draw.

Jernej Zaplotnik from Slovenia, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 player, reached the quarterfinals of the under 11 main draw.

Matic Zaplotnik from Slovenia, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 player, reached the 3rd place in the round robin group of 23 players in the under 10 age group but only 2 players qualified for the main draw.

Congratulations!

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.

20/12/09

Smrikva Bowl players results on 48th Junior Orange Bowl 2009. Ana Knjuh, Eduardo Nava and Borna Coric reached the quarterfinals in under 12 and under 14 age groups.

I was pleased to recognize several Smrikva Bowl players names on this year acceptance list for the 48th Junior Orange Bowl 2009 – International Tennis Championship.

Eddie Herr was a tennis visionary who developed the international junior tournament circuit. In 1947, hoping to provide her with an opportunity to compete over the December school holidays, Herr conceived and organized the first Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships.

Almost every top player played this Championship thus let’s see former Smrikva Bowl players results on the 48th Junior Orange Bowl 2009 edition.

BOYS:

UNDER 12

Nava Eduardo (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2007
1st round: Eduardo Nava – David Alcazar (Gtm) 6:0, 6:1
2nd round: Eduardo Nava – Lucas Taylor (Gbr) 6:4, 6:1
3rd round: Eduardo Nava – Gabriel Pilones (USA) 6:2, 6:2
4th round: Eduardo Nava – Raheel Manji (Can) 6:3, 6:1
Quarterfinals: Eduardo Nava – Spencer Furman (USA) 5:7, 3:6

Bednarczyk Dylan Adam (CAN)
1st round: Dylan Bednarczyk – Lucas Therrien (Jam) 6:0, 6:0
2nd round: Dylan Bednarczyk – Rodrigo Budnik (Chl) 7:6, 6:0
3rd round: Dylan Bednarczyk – Alex Rybakov (USA) 6:3, 2:6, 6:4
4th round: Dylan Bednarczyk – Andrey Rublev (Rus) 6:3, 2:6, 1.6

Paul Tommy (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2007
1st round: Tommy Paul – Anil Kwast (Nld) 6:4, 7:6
2nd round: Tommy Paul – Sora Fakuda (Jpn) 6:2, 6:1
3rd round: Tommy Paul – Cameron Klinger (USA) 4:6, 6:3, 2:6

UNDER 14

Coric Borna (CRO)
1st round: Borna Coric – Andres Alfonzo (Ven) 6:4, 6:2
2nd round: Borna Coric – Justin Roberts (Bhs) 6:2, 6:1
3rd round: Borna Coric – Fedor Andrienko (Rus) 6:4, 6:3
4th round: Borna Coric – Joseph Di Giulio (USA) 7:6, 6:4
Quarterfinals: Borna Coric – M.Mc Donald (USA) 3:6, 1:6

Goldberg Yale (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2005
1st round: Yale Goldberg – Artem Oganesyan (Rus) 6:4, 6:1
2nd round: Yale Goldberg – Eyal Cohen (Isr) 6:3, 6:3
3rd round: Yale Goldberg – Jose Gomez (Mex) 1:6, 7:6, 4:6

Quinzi Gianluigi (ITA) – 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner
1st round: Gianluigi Quinzi – Inkyo Jeong (Kor) 6:1, 6:2
2nd round: Gianluigi Quinzi – Christian Garay (Usa) 7:5, 7:5
3rd round: Gianluigi Quinzi – M.Mc Donald (USA) 6:7, 5:7

Miocic Franko (Cro)
1st round: Franko Miocic – Taiki Hashimoto (Jpn) 6:3, 6:3
2nd round: F.Miocic – Thai Kwiatkowski (USA) 7:6, 5:7, 6:7

Suica Marin (Cro)
1st round: Marin Suica – Adam Nasim (Pak) 6:2, 6:3
2nd round: Marin Suica – Justin Butsch (Usa) 4:6, 3:6

GIRLS:

UNDER 12

Konjuh Ana (CRO) – 12th Smrikva Bowl 2008 runner up
1st round: Ana Konjuh – Monika Kavace (Lva) 6:0, 6:0
2nd round: Ana Konjuh – Hanna Kantenwein (Ger) 6:1, 6:1
3rd round: Ana Konjuh – Priyanka Sundhar (USA) 6:0, 6:0
4th round: Ana Konjuh – Diana Kussainova (USA) 6:2, 6:4
Quarterfinals: Ana Konjuh -Julia O’Loughlin (USA) 6:0,6:7,2:6

Ndunda Ndindi (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2007
1st round: Ndindi Ndunda – Kristel Altman (Cri) 6:0, 6:0
2nd round: Ndindi Ndunda – Qian Ting Yan (Chn) 6:1, 6:2
3rd round: Ndindi Ndunda – Lana Rush (Gbr) 2:6, 6:2, 1:6

Plews Jazzi (GBR)
1st round: Jazzi Plews – Valeria Humpierres (Ven) 6:0, 6:0
2nd round: Jazzi Plews – Kellyn Abbanat (Usa) 2:6, 1:6

Sunjic Margita (CRO)
1st round: Margita Sunjic – Adriana Reami (USA) 6:3, 6:4
2nd round: Margita Sunjic – Patricia Muamba (Can) 4:6, 3:6

UNDER 14

Makarova Christina (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2006
1st round: Christina Makarova – Sasha Aldred (Sgp) 6:0, 6:0
2nd round: C.Makarova – Rasheeda McAdoo (Usa) 4:6, 6:1, 6:2
3rd round: Christina Makarova – Caroline Kallberg (Swe) 6:0, 6:1
4th round: Christina Makarova – Marijana Vlahinic (Cro) 4:6, 0:6

Kandler Caroline (AUT)
1st round: Caroline Kandler – Tracy Dong (Can) 0:6, 0:6

In the following I am pleased to post an article prepared by Jeff Shain and published on Orange Bowl official website because several top Smrikva Bowl and “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl players are mentioned in it, such as: Yale Goldberg, Christina Makarova, Franko Miocic and Tommy Paul.

I put also some pictures from the period when they played “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl in Smrikve in the article with some players mentioned in the article and in the results above.

UPSET HELPS OHIOAN DOUBLE LONG DAY’S REWARD

By JEFF SHAIN

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (Dec. 19, 2009) – Yale Goldberg held his cool through some dicey moments in taking down second-seeded Artem Oganesyan, then won again a little more than two hours later to highlight a marathon session at the 48th Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship. Goldberg (Beachwood, Ohio) began Saturday with a 6-4, 6-1 takedown of Oganesyan in his rain-delayed opening match in the boys 14 and under draw, then defeated Israel’s Eyal Cohen 6-3, 6-3 to join some 50 other entrants to score two-win days. “It worked out well,” Goldberg said after completing his day at the University of Miami Tennis Center. “Both matches went two [sets], so that was nice.”

Picture Note: on the following 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2005 picture Yale Goldberg is the first boy on the right side of the trophy.

After two days marred by heavy storms, the tournament went into overdrive to clear a backlog of more than 250 matches spread out over its four sites. Saturday ended with two rounds completed in all divisions, leaving just one more round to get back on schedule. Accomplishing that, though, required a long day with play finishing underneath the lights. Some second-round matches in the girls 14s were shifted to UM to ease long delays at the Biltmore.

“I was excited for that,” said Christina Makarova (San Diego), whose three-set victory over Rasheeda McAdoo was the next-to-last match to finish at UM. Goldberg provided the day’s biggest wave with his upset of Oganesyan, the big-hitting Russian who came to South Florida ranked sixth among Europe’s juniors.

Picture Note: on the following 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2006 picture Christina Makarova is the girl standing and holding the trophy starting from the left side while Gianluigi Quinzi is the boy sitting and hoding the trophy also starting from the left side.

“I’d never seen him play before,” said Goldberg, who broke Oganesyan’s serve twice late in the opening set. “He was more of a banger – trying to hit through me and hit big serves. I was staying back and playing steady, taking advantage of my opportunities. More [like] counterpunching.”

The victory came with a few heated moments, as Oganesyan was overruled on a couple of line calls and drew a code warning after being spotted talking to his coach during a bathroom break. The line judge later threatened the Russian with a game penalty when a woman persisted in talking to him between points. “It was frustrating,” Goldberg said. “It was hard to stay focused while the line judge has to remind him that coaching is illegal.” Goldberg*’s second match proved less draining, especially considering Cohen had survived a three-set showdown in his opener. Cohen did capture the first two games of the second set, but *Goldberg roared back to win six of the next seven.

The day’s most dramatic match belonged to sixth-seeded Thai Kwiatkowski, who went overtime in all three sets before beating Croatia’s Franko Miocic 6-7, 7-5, 7-6. “I didn’t come out ready to play,” said Kwiatkowski, runner-up at last month’s Eddie Herr tournament in Bradenton. “He came out and started playing well. I didn’t know what hit me. I was getting extremely frustrated with myself.”

Kwiatkowski, a North Carolina native who trains out of the USTA’s Boca Raton training center, began to take a more aggressive approach early in the second set and managed to turn the tide. Miocic, frequently trying to keep himself pumped up, didn’t score a point in the third-set tiebreak. “I think he started getting a little bit nervous and didn’t play as well as he was playing the rest of the match,” Kwiatkowski said.

Makarova also righted some early stumbles to end the lucky loser run of McAdoo, daughter of Basketball Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo who won her first-round match after getting into the field as a replacement for Canada’s Katherine Surin.

Makarova jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but then saw McAdoo roar back to win six of the next eight games. But McAdoo couldn’t sustain the momentum, as Makarova won 11 of the match’s final 13 games. “For some reason I wasn’t winning that many points when I was [hitting] down the line or crosscourt,” Makarova said. “Then I just started lobbing them over her and that’s when I started winning them.”

Nor was it a good day for another offspring of a famous ex-athlete. Alexandra Kiick, daughter of former Dolphins running back Jim Kiick, was a second-round victim to seeded Hedda Odegaard of Norway.

In the 12s divisions, top-ranked Americans Tommy Paul (Greenville, N.C.) and Kenadi Hance (Torrance, Calif.) both reached the third round as did Boca Raton’s Stefan Kozlov and Mariya Shishkina, born in Kazakhstan but now living in Bradenton, Fla.

Picture Note: on the following 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2007 picture Tommy Paul is the boy sitting and holding the trophy on the left side nearby Ndindi Ndunda from the USA and the girl close to Ndindi Ndunda is Ana Konjuh from Croatia.

The Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship has a rich history of bringing some of the world’s most promising young tennis players to South Florida, including reigning U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro (2002 champion in 14U). The roster also has included Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Monica Seles, Chris Evert, Jim Courier and Mary Jo Fernandez.

19/12/09

Smrikve under the snow that has not been recorded in Pula since 1930

This morning I wake up early by the sound of a tunder and although was still night a brighter light than usual was entering the room… it was the morning of unexpected snow. I heard today that according to statistics since 1930 we did not have such a snow in Pula.

The Smrikve tennis courts looked very elegant this morning. The sunshine was light and for many kids in Pula it was the day to enjoy in this unusual snow for our town on the Adriatic sea.

15/12/09

Ana Ivanovic - Smrikva Bowl Honorary Member - about inspiring kids...

Ana Ivanovic recently gave an interview to Montenegro Family, the biggest-selling magazine in Montenegro, and the following is an extract from the Q & A session published on Ana’s website www.anaivanovic.com that I found as words of interest for the Smrikva comunity and decided to publish…

When you were five your wish was to play tennis. Today, you are the main reason why many five-years-old kids want to play tennis. For the children you meet, often you’re seen as an idol. How do you feel while meeting them?

It’s one of the biggest honours, I can tell you that. It’s not something I ever thought about when I was trying to become a professional: you dream about winning tournaments and competing in big stadiums, but this is a whole different side to being a professional. I can see that many children look up to athletes and I take my responsibility very seriously. It’s a great honour for me to maybe inspire some kids to play tennis, and I love spending time with children.

Is it true that the dreams come true if you believe in them, considering the fact that you dreamed of winning a Grand Slam…. and the dream came true. Or is more needed for the fulfillment of a dream?

Believing in your goals is definitely the most important thing. If you don’t believe you will achieve them, you have no chance really. It’s also important to have a good support team around you, starting with your family. I have been lucky in that respect: my parents never pushed me into anything, they always understood me and supported me in the best way possible. My management has also done a great job for me. They help me to focus only on tennis.

What advice would you give to the parents whose children want to practise a sport?

The most important thing is that parents are supporting their children, and that children are playing tennis because they want to play it – not because their parents want them to play. If this is the case then I would encourage parents to support their children, never to push them, and to make sure that the child’s happiness is the overall priority.

Ana’s motto is: “Never Stop Smiling” and what one could wish Ana?… never stop smiling :)

Ana Ivanovic – Smrikva Bowl Honorary Member…

Few years ago Ana Ivanovic started to donate signed t-shirts to the Smrikva Bowl finalists.

Katarina Jokic, Maia Lumsden, Katie Swan and Jovana Vukovic love Ana’s gift and I am also sure that this gift will inspire tham to do better and better in tennis.

On September 17th, 2007 Ana Ivanovic has been officially named the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Ambassador. On that day, in relation with the nomination, Ana said “This is a great honour for me to be invited to be UNICEF Ambassador. I love children, and I relish this opportunity to help them in some small way.”

With the signed t-shirts Ana showed that she loves children and this way she also helps Smirkva Bowl development “in some small way”.

“Sport has the power to change the world, the power to inspire and the power to unite people in a way little else can – it is an instrument of peace.” said Nelson Mandela.

14/12/09

Ajla Tomljanovic reached the semifinals of Dunlop Orange Bowl 2009

Ajla Tomljanovic, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up and third ranked on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, over the last week reached the semifinals of Dunlop Orange Bowl 2009 – one of the most important junior events.

Ajla is the Croatian tennis rising star and although is only 16 years old has been for some time among the best players in her age group in the World. Ajla Tomljanovic is currently ranked #302 on WTA list and considering WTA ranking list there is only one girl in her age group (1993) with better ranking than her thus she is currently #*2 in the World* considering her age group among professionals.

Ajla’s road towards the semifinals of the Dunlop Orange Bowl 2009 was the following:

1st round: Ajla Tomljanovic – Natalija KOSTIC (Srb) 6:4, 6:1
2nd round: Ajla Tomljanovic – Paula KANIA (Pol) 6:2, 6:7, 6:2
3rd round: Ajla Tomljanovic – Yulia PUTINTSEVA (Rus) 5:7,6:0,6:1
Quarterfinals: Ajla Tomljanovic – Heather WATSON (Gbr) 6:2, 6:3
Semifinals: Tomljanovic – Kristina MLADENOVIC (Fra) 6:4,4:6,3:6

Congratulations Ajla!

14/12/09

Top Smrikva Bowl and "Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl players on ATP, WTA, ITF, USTA and European under 14 and 16 ranking lists (update December 2009)

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 and his best double ranking was #370 in February 2009.

GIRLS
Natali Zuliani, 1st Smrikva Bowl 1996 winner, from Croatia, is graduating in architecture.

IN 1997 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM CROATIA

1997 – 2nd Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Zeljko Peric, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player.
Filip Kricka, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 runner up, from Croatia, is not ranked player.

GIRLS
Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #213 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, is not ranked player.

GIRLS
Mateja Horvat, 3rd Smrikva Bowl 1998 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player. Her best ranking was around #800 on WTA list.

1999 – 4th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Borko Mudronja, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player.
Deni Zmak, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 runner up, from Croatia. Deni’s best ranking was #1023 on ATP list as of November 2009. 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 #538 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 is not ranked.

GIRLS
Tereza MRDEZA, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, from Croatia, is currently ranked #288 on WTA list.

2001 – 6th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Marin Draganja, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #1480 on ATP ranking list.
Dino Marcan, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #1024 on ATP ranking list.

GIRLS
Petra MARTIC, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #82 on WTA list.
Indire Akiki, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #641 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 #689 on ATP list.
Giacomo Miccini, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Italy, was ranked #1428 on ATP list in May 2009.

GIRLS
Martina Caregaro, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner, from Italy, is ranked #773 on WTA ranking list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #302 on WTA list.
Ema BURGIC, ranked 3rd on 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #718 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 #171 on ITF ranking list.
George MORGAN, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Great Britain, is ranked #188 on ITF ranking list.
Ciprian PORUMB, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Romenia, is ranked #402 on ITF ranking list.

GIRLS
Jennifer Ren, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Great Britain, was ranked #949 on WTA list.
Silvia NJIRIC, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #892 on WTA list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Croatia, is ranked #302 on WTA list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Emmett EGGER, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #185 on ITF ranking list.
Robert Stineman, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #42 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.

Karen Forman, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #70 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.
Katie Klyczek, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, and is not ranked in under 16 cathegory.

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

BOYS
Ivan Levar, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #1588 on ITF ranking list.
Miki JANKOVIC, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #403 on ITF ranking list and is ranked #3 in Europe in under 16 cathergory.

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #152 on ITF ranking list.
Ecaterina Opriou, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Romenia, is ranked #357 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Mitchel POLNET, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #1087 on ITF ranking list.

Blair SHANKLE, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #317 on ITF ranking list.
Anna MAMALAT, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #826 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 #117 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Gyore Laszlo, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #383 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Gianluigi QUINZI, ranked 3rd on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005, from Italy, is ranked #1029 on ITF ranking list.
Nikola MILOJEVIC, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 Consolation tournament winner, from Serbia, is ranked #667 on ITF ranking list.

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #152 on ITF ranking list.
Olga IANCHUK, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Ukraine, is ranked #99 on ITF ranking list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Jeffrey Schorsch, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #343 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Jose GRACIA, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #74 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Yale GOLDBERG, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #18 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

Dorothy Tang, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #68 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

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

BOYS
Gianluigi QUINZI, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Italy, is ranked #1029 on ITF ranking list.
Filip Kraljevic, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #367 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

GIRLS
Eleanor DEAN, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Great Britain, is ranked #23 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Dina PAOCIC, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #163 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Daniel Maese, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #638 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Aries Wong, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #97 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

Christina MAKAROVA, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #3 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Gabriella Umoquit, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #248 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 too young for under 14 european ranking.
Bogdan BORZA, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 runner up, from Romania, is ranked #158 in Europe in under 14 cathegory*.
Gonzalo Morell, ranked 3rd on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Spain, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Sergiu Bucur, ranked 4th on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Romania, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

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 #190 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Nina POTOCNIK, ranked 3rd on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Slovenia, is ranked #192 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Katie Dayson, ranked 4th on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from UK, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Eduardo NAVA, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #24 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Tommy PAUL, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #1 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Ndindi NDUNDA, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #5 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Domonique Garley, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #102 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 #439 in Europe in under 14 european ranking.
Maia Lumsden, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 runner up, from Scotland, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Viktoria KUZMOVA, ranked 3rd on 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008, from Slovakia, is ranked #413 in Europe in under 14 european ranking.
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 #64 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
William Blumberg, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #121 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Ingrid NEEL, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #38 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Paulina Ferrari, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #267 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 #37 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Alex Gee, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #402 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Michaela GORDON, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #135 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Ashley LAHEY, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked *#180 in the USA in under 12 cathegory*.

10/12/09

Good news from Luka Panic, Lloyd Harris, Ena Delibegovic, Kristina Novak and Grega Kokalj

Over the last few days I received some news from the Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors from Switzerland, South Africa, Croatia and Slovenia.

Luka Panic…

I just received from Switzerland few updates on Luka Panic’s results and his programme for the following months.

Luka was the winner of the 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 and with this victory was awarded with the opportunity to train for a week at prestigous Mouratoglou Tennis Academy near Paris. Luka spent a week with his trainer Boris Grbic in Paris and I am glad that the results obtained after Smrikva Bowl victory continue to prove Luka’s talent.

Luka is also lucky to train at outstanding facilities in Switzerland. He lives only ten kilometres away from the world #1 Roger Federer.

It happened that Roger Federer trained on the nearby court where Luka was traininig last winter and on the picture below you will see Luka with Roger Federer who also watched Luka playing.

I was very glad to hear that several most talented Croatian player such as: Borna Coric, Karlo Skvorc and Marin Suica are sometimes in contact with Luka and I was also very glad that the US boy Justin Lee and Luka still write to each other :).

Luka continues to train and work seriously on his game. Almost two years passed since he was selected as talented player by the Swiss Tennis Federation and his progress is still supervised by the Federation.

I am also pleased to Wilson continue to support and follow Luka’s progress and the Wilson rackets were another gift Luka made to himself by winning the Smrikva Bowl.

There are several tournaments that were on his schedule for the past season and one the most important was the Swiss National Championship where Luka was the runner up.

I was really glad to hear that Luka is very good at school and that a part of speaking Croatian, German and English he is also studying French!

Congratulations Luka!

Lloyd Harrison…

Lloyd was the first African player on the Smrikva Bowl and it has passed almost 3 years since Lloyd visited Smrikve and Pula.

I am glad to read that Lloyd’s tennis is still going very well. He is turning 13 in February and has been the *#1 player in South Africa* in under 12 age group for the last 2 years running.

He is currently number 2 in under 14 age group and representing South Africa for the second time in January.

Lloyd is native from the country of a human rights leader Nelson Mandela and the vision of sport prefered in Smrikve that I like to extend to: culture, music and children is the one expressed by Nelson Mandela – Madiba’s using the following words:

“Sport has the power to change the world, the power to inspire and the power to unite people in a way little else can – it is an instrument of peace.”

Lloyd is very keen to become a professional tennis player and I would like to wish him that one day this dream may become true.

Ena Delibegovic…

Ena played Smrikva Bowl last year and I am very pleased to announce that after obtaining several victories in under 12 age group in Croatia she was awarded with a trip to Barcelona where she will compete in a TTK Championship.

On 19th of December 2009 Ena will travel to Barcelona. I have to say that Barcelona is is one of my favourite towns and I hope she will have the opportunity to enjoy the city and come back again in the future.

I recommended her a good restaurant and an ice cream on the beach in Villa Olimpica and hopefully she will experience and like both ideas :).

Best wishes Ena!

Kristina Novak…

Kristina played this year Smrikva Bowl and is allowed to play also next year and I am very pleased to share with the Smrikva Bowl community the information I got from her progress since last summer.

Kristina ended this year as #1 in under 10 and under 11 age group in Slovenia and is ranked #11 in under 12 age group.

She was also awarded to travel with the National Slovenian team to TTK tournament that will be played in Barcelona from 20th-22nd of December 2009.

After Barcelona trip, at the beginning of 2010, she will play in the under 10 age group of the 26th Lemon Bowl edition in Rome.

Best wishes to Kristina!

Grega Kokalj…

This morning I recevied good news also from Grega Kokalj from Slovenia that played Smrikva Bowl in 2008. He is one of the best Slovenian players in under 12 age group with a lot of good results and victories.

Few days ago he just won a tournament in Maribor and in the last four months he won the Masters in Koper, another tournament in Ljubljana, another one in Rijeka (Croatia), another one in Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and was runner up a month ago in Zagreb (Croatia).

Well done Grega!

08/12/09

LUCA APPINO's TENNIS TALENTS PROJECT WITH RAFA's UNCLE TONI NADAL

Dear Smrikva Bowl friends: Ambassadors, parents and coaches,

I am pleased to share with you a news that one of very good Smrikva Bowl friends started a service that might be of interest to many of you that love the tennis game. I am pleased to introduce you via this letter to Luca Appino and his project, just launched, that he named TENNIS TALENTS.

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.

I am very pleased to share this project with the Smrikva Bowl friends because most of the Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors are the natural candidates that could benefit from TENNIS TALENTS advisory service and I will be pleased to act as a small bridge in introducing to you Luca Appino’s and Toni Nadal’s project.

Smrikva Bowl and Smrikve Tennis School are long term friends with Luca and this news I would like to consider as a small gift to each of you and take the opportunity to wish you and your families all the best in the following year.

The webiste adress where you can learn more about TENNIS TALENTS is:

www.tennis-talents.com

I WILL START THIS LETTER WITH TELLING YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT LUCA APPINO and the underlying idea on which TENNIS TALENTS project is based.

Luca is Italian by birth and in Italy he started his career dedicating for a decade to the tennis schools development in various clubs. A part of important coaching experience later on he became one of the top marketing world-wide recognized professionals gaining experience in companies such as: Alto, Maxima, Dunlop and Babolat.

BABOLAT experience allowed Luca to fine tune his talents discovery FORMULA. The word FORMULA is probably a simplification because some feelings are difficult to encode in a formula, but it is a collection of elements that Luca try to evaluate and which have proved to be successful in the past to understand if there are elements for a high-level tennis path.

Since 1998, as Sport Marketing Director of Babolat (France), Luca worked with best players and coaches of the world. By using the criteria developed on his own, today encoded in FORMULA TT, he dedicated important part of his time to the talents scouting.

I would like to remind you that BABOLAT was above all the strings production company before Luca started to develop the racquets business. He dedicated an important part of his professional life to built up BABOLAT from a string company to one of the largest racquet manufacturers in the World. To make it he needed to scout talents to invest in.

He took under contracts various young and unknown players from 11 to 15 years old. Later on four of them reached the #1 position in the world: Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijesters and Dinara Safina. Among other selected, many of them entered the world tennis elite.

Is the above a simple coincidence? I often hear Luca saying: „a bit of luck“... but when I think of 4 players reaching the #1 position and knowing the probabilities that are close to 0% for an under 10 tennis player reaching the top 100 than I think that you may be lucky once, very few times you can be lucky twice but being lucky four times means that you may have some skills to identify talents.

In 2006 he founded NILEPALA, advisory and sport marketing company. With NILEPALA he collaborated with various world known tennis entities such as: production companies, management companies, players, coaches and academies.

For several years I’ve got the feeling in our conversations that Luca was dreaming about offering his knowledge to the others and TENNIS TALENTS is a result of that long time ago developed idea.

In 2007 he recieved the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) Industry Award for the results obtained in talents scouting and for the development of the tennis industry in general. Some of you may know that PTR is the largest global organization of tennis teachers and coaches dedicating for decades in establishing the best coaching practices.

In 2009, the book „*The world of Rafael Nadal, secrets of his success*“ was published that Luca wrote in collaboration with Toni Nadal who is also the partner of the TENNIS TALENTS project. In this book you can start understanding Luca’s vision of tennis via tips he puts close to life experience he lived together with Rafael Nadal.

While maturing the idea of TENNIS TALENTS, as tennis coach, he brought the Estonian player Kaia Kanepi to her best ranking ever (#18 WTA).

Today via TENNIS TALENTS you can get in direct contact with Luca’s and Toni’s knowledge and establish a constant and periodical relationship as explained in TENNIS TALENTS website.

LONG TERM FRIENDSHIP WITH SMRIKVA BOWL…

Since 2002, Luca has been supporting the Smrikva Bowl development and is the Golden Honorary Smrikva Bowl member since that title was established. He was introduced to me by Marco Girardini, the coach of Martina Caregaro that won 7th Smrikva Bowl in 2002.

As I wrote above Luca Appino is credited for discovering four #1 players such as Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijesters and Dinara Safina when they were kids and I would add that Luca is also credited for supporting Smrikva Bowl when Smrikva Bowl started to become a European tournament and today has developed into one of the most important under 10 tennis tournaments in the world gathering top players from over 40 countries and all the continents. It is always a pleasure when you are not alone to beleive in what you do but when there are also others that beleive in you.

In the last few years, Luca introduced Smrikva Bowl to the most prestigous tennis operators such as: Mouratoglou Tennis Academy (one of the best Academies in the World), Wilson (#1 Brand in Tennis) and Sergio Tacchini (synonymous of style and elegance in the world of tennis thanks to endorsing the greatest tennis champions such as: Mc Enroe, Jimmy Connors, Martina Navratilova, Gabriela Sabatini, Mats Wilander, Pat Cash, Pete Sampras, Vitas Gerulaitis, Adriano Panata, Martina Higins, Goran Ivanisevic and today Novak Djokovic).

I am pleased to have the opportunity to exchange opinions with Luca personally, but both the idea of his book on Rafael Nadal and TENNIS TALENTS PROJECT were born with intention to help other people that are dedicating their time to tennis with some tips related with the improvements in their tennis growth.

After completing the book on Rafael Nadal Luca said: “Every day people ask for my opinion on what they should or shouldn’t do. In this book I offer a number of keys, notably for parents, who tend to worry about their children. It goes without saying that Rafael Nadal is, and will remain an exception, even if it is possible to glean some simple but extremely effective principles from his experiences. ”

I would add that TENNIS TALENTS project is a possibility to have Luca’s collaboration in person and not only via book advise.

Socrates used to say: “I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think”. Translated into modern day English and TENNIS TALENTS spirit I would say: „Talent scouters must recognize and ignite others’ internal engines.“, and here Luca’s project can help: players, teachers, coaches and parents.

TENNIS TALENTS AS SOMETHING MORE THAN JUST TENNIS TALENTS...

Over the years I discovered that Smrikva Bowl players are usually not only talented for tennis but they are also talented for the school. Usually, the kids that are involved in sports activities or in music learn to efficiently allocate their time since the very young age.

Kids learn to become responsible individuals and this is very important for any professional activity they may decide to follow in the future. In particular, in the tennis game there is a need for the kids to solve problems individually and it is a good way to develop positive attitude. Every discovered solution is a small victory, is a learning…

It is important for the parents to bear in mind that as Luca Appino say: „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.“ This are very small probabilities for the professional tennis but on the other side you have to know that there are very big probabilities to make the life champions form your kids if you allow their talents to develop towards other fields they may fall in love and TENNIS TALENTS may be a small part in helping you to identify the path.

With hope that this news about TENNIS TALENTS may be of interest to some fo you I wish you all the best in the New Year,

Miodrag Bozovic

07/12/09

Ajla Tomljanovic (born in 1993) reached #304 position on WTA list

Ajla Tomljanovic, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up and third ranked on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, over the last month reached the finals of USD 25.000 worth tournament played in Mexico and semifinals of another USD 25.000 worth tournament played in Peru thus made a jump in a month of 100 places on WTA ranking list.

Ajla is the Croatian tennis rising star and although is only 16 years old has been for some time among the best players in her age group in the World.

Ajla Tomljanovic is ranked #304 on WTA list and considering WTA ranking list there is only one girl in her age group (1993) with better ranking than her thus she is currently #*2 in the World* considering her age group among professionals.

At the end of 2008 season Ajla Tomljanovic was ranked #*973 on WTA list* and as of December 7th, 2009 she is ranked #*304 on WTA list*.

Ajla was ranked #*4 on ITF ranking list* as of May 30th, 2009 thus considering this year WTA ranking list progress we might assume that Ajla will probably be the third Smrikva Bowl player to crack into TOP 100 WTA and join Ivana Lisjak and Petra Martic.

Petra Martic ended last season as #214 on WTA list and as of December 7th, 2009 she is ranked #83 on WTA list. If we consider only Petra Martic age group she would be #*4 in the World* among professionals.

Ajla Tomljanovic few years ago moved with her family in the USA to train at Chris Ever Academy in Florida.

In 2002 Ajla Tomljanovic and Ema Burgic went to Austin in Texas and played the 1st “Little Mo”/*Smrikva Bowl*. Ajla at the time was 9 years old and although a year younger than the other girls she contributed to the victory of the Smrikva Bowl team and the “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl Trophy.

Ajla is coming from a Croatian sports family and her father Ratko Tomljanovic lead the Croatian team as Captain on the Olympic games in Atlanta when Croatia won the golden medal.

04/12/09

Former Smrikva Bowl players that will compete in the 48th Junior Orange Bowl 2009 - International Tennis Championship

I was pleased to recognize several Smrikva Bowl players names on this year acceptance list for the 48th Junior Orange Bowl 2009 – International Tennis Championship.

SOME FORMER SMRIKVA BOWL PLAYERS THAT WILL COMPETE ON 48th JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL 2009 – INTERNATIONAL TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP

The schedule:

December 14th – 16th, 2009 – Qualiying Draw
December 17th – 23rd, 2009 – Main Draw

Boys:

B12
Nava Eduardo (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2007
Paul Tommy (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2007
Bednarczyk Dylan Adam (CAN)
Keki Mark (HUN)

B12 Q
Capasso Antonio (GBR)
Kawakami Rimpei (JPN)
Lee Justin (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2008
Popyrin Alexei (AUS)

B14
Coric Borna (CRO)
Goldberg Yale (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2005
Miocic Franko (Cro)
Quinzi Gianluigi (ITA) – 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner

B14 Q
Gracia Jose (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2005
Krivokuca Neven (CRO)
Maese Daniel (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2006
Mitak Mladen (CRO)

Girls:

G12
Konjuh Ana (CRO) – 12th Smrikva Bowl 2008 runner up
Ndunda Ndindi (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2007
Plews Jazzi (GBR)

G12Q
Sunjic Margita (CRO)

G14
Boulter Katie (GBR)
Dean Eleanor (GBR) – 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner
Kandler Caroline (AUT)
Makarova Christina (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2006

EDDIE HERR AND JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL…

Eddie Herr was a tennis visionary who developed the international junior tournament circuit. His interest in tennis began in the 1940s, when his daughter Suzanne was ajunior player.

In 1947, hoping to provide her with an opportunity to compete over the December school holidays, Herr conceived and organized the first Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships.

In the years following, he developed a number of other international junior tournaments, including the Sunshine Cup in 1958, and the Continental Cup in 1976.

Over the years, many a young, broke tournament entrant slept on his couch, and ate at his table. He was even known to provide some of his houseguests with spending money out of his own pocket. He simply considered all the players of the tournaments he founded as part of his family.

Best wishes to all the Smrikva Bowl players to play the best they can and hopefully this will be sufficient that some of you make a good result!

01/12/09

Smrikva Bowl players' results on EDDIE HERR INTERNATIONAL 2009... Gianluigi Quinzi and Katie Boulter reached the quarterfinals

Junior Tennis Championships
IMG/Bollettieri Academies,
Bradenton, Florida USA

The schedule:

Main Draw (14’s, 16’s, 18’s): November 30 – December 6, 2009
Qualifying (18’s): November 28 – 29, 2009
Qualifying (14’s, 16’s): November 27 – 29, 2009
12 & Under: November 28 – December 4, 2009 (No Qualifying)

THE RESULTS OF FORMER SMRIKVA BOWL PLAYERS ON EDDIE HERR INTERNATIONAL 2009 EDITION…

Boys:

BOYS UNDER 12

Tommy Paul (Usa) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2007
1st round: Tommy Paul – Robert Popa (Rom) 6:0, 6:0
2nd round: Tommy Paul – Rafael Lessard (Can) 6:3, 6:1
3rd round: Tommy Paul – Stephen S.Madonia (Usa) 6:4, 6:0
4th round: Tommy Paul – Duck Hee Lee (Kor) 4:6, 6:7

Dylan Marian Bednarczyk (Can)
1st round: Dylan Bednarczyk – Sebastian Castillo (Usa) 6:3, 6:1
2nd round: Dylan Bednarczyk – William J.Kirkman (Dom) 6:1, 6:1
3rd round: Dylan Bednarczyk – William M.Archer (Gbr) 6:2, 6:2
4th round: Dylan Bednarczyk – Reilly Opelka (Usa) 2:5, ret.

Alexei Popyrin (Aus) – only 10 years old
1st round: Alexei Popyrin – Andrew Bicknell (Jam) 2:6, 7:6, 4:6

BOYS UNDER 14

Gianluigi Quinzi (Ita) – 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner
1st round: Gianluigi Quinzi – Bye
2nd round: Gianluigi Quinzi – Hugo Di Feo (Can) 6:3, 6:2
3rd round: Gianluigi Quinzi – Nikko Madregallejo (Usa) 6:3,4:6,7:6
4th round: Gianluigi Quinzi – Diego Pedraza (Col) 6:2, 6:1
Quarterfinals: Gianluigi Quinzi – Joseph P.Digiulio (Usa) 3:6, 2:6

Franko Miocic (Cro)
1st round: Franko Miocic – Tommy Mylnikov (Can) 6:3, 6:1
2nd round: F.Miocic – Callum A.Poland-Smith (Gbr) 6:3, 3:6, 6:1
3rd round: Franko Miocic – Thai Kwiatkowski (Usa) 1:6, 5:7

Jose E. Gracia (Usa) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2005
1st round: Jose Gracia – Oleksander Kyrychenko (Ukr) 6:2, 6:2
2nd round: Jose Gracia – Matthew J.Erdman (Can) 3:6, 1:6

Neven Krivokuca (Cro)
1st round: Neven Krivokuca – Kevin J.Carpenter (Mex) 7:5, 6:0
2nd round: Neven Krivokuca – Spencer Papa (Usa) 2:6, 1:6

Mladen Mitak (Cro)
1st round: Mladen Mitak – Jayden J.Novatscou (Aus) 3:6, 6:3, 1:6

BOYS UNDER 16

Dominic Thiem (Aut) – 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner
1st round: Dominic Thiem – Rodrigo I.Encinas (Chi) 6:1, 6:3
2nd round: Dominic Thiem – Alex Pasareanu (Can) 4:6, 6:1, 6:2
3rd round: Dominic Thiem – Luis F.Patino (Mex) 5:7, 3:6

Alexandru Ciprian Porumb(Rom) – 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003
1st round: Alexandru C.Porumb – Filip Tomljanovic (Cro) 6:1, 6:2
2nd round: Alexandru C.Porumb – Thiago Monteiro (Bra) 6:7, 3:6

Girls:

GIRLS UNDER 12

Ndindi Ndunda (Usa) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2007
1st round: Ndindi Ndunda – Amanda Bjorkegren (Swe) 6:1, 6:0
2nd round: N.Ndunda – Veronika Miroshnichenko (Ukr) 7:5, 6:1
3rd round: Ndindi Ndunda – Mia Horvit (Usa) 6:4, 7:5
4th round: Ndindi Ndunda – Tornado Ali Black (Usa) 4:6, 5:7

Margita Sunjic (Cro)
1st round: Margita Sunjic – Gabrielle Rodriguez (Usa) 6:4, 4:6, 6:2
2nd round: Margita Sunjic – Madaline Nedanovski (Aus) 6:4, 6:1
3rd round: Margita Sunjic – Nikki A.Carnovale (Can) 6:0, 6:3
4th round: Margita Sunjic – Diana Kussainova (Usa) 6:2, 4:6, 1:6

Katarina Jokic (BiH) – 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 winner
1st round: Katarina Jokic – Marjorie M.Antohi (Usa) 6:2, 6:0
2nd round: Katarina Jokic – Kellyn Abbanat (Usa) 6:7, 7:6, 6:1
3rd round: Katarina Jokic – Diana Kussainova (Usa) 3:6, 3:6

Ana Konjuh (Cro) – 12th Smrikva Bowl 2008 runner up
1st round: Ana Konjuh – Emerald Able (Usa) 6:4, 6:1
2nd round: Ana Konjuh – Cristina Rovira (Usa) 2:6, 4:6

Jazzi Plews(Gbr)
1st round: Jazzi Plews – Maria Smith (Usa) 1:6, 4:6

GIRLS UNDER 14

Katie Boulter(Gbr)
1st round: Katie Boulter – Paula E.Diaz (Ven) 6:1, 6:4
2nd round: Katie Boulter – Darya Lebesheva (Bul) 5:7, 6:2, 6:4
3rd round: Katie Boulter – Evangeline Repic (Can) 6:4, 4:6, 7:6
4th round: Katie Boulter – Alanna Wolff (Usa) 6:1, 6:0
Quarterfinals: Katie Boulter – Spencer O.Liang (Usa) 2:6, 5:7

GIRLS UNDER 16

Christina Kandler(Aut)
1st round: Christina Kandler – Daniela A.Ampuero (Chi) 6:0, 6:0
2nd round: Christina Kandler – Victoria Duval (Usa) 3:6, 1:4 ret.

GIRLS UNDER 18

Silvia Njiric(Cro) – 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up
1st round: Silvia Njiric – Nour Abbes (Tun) 6:0, 6:3
2nd round: Silvia Njiric – Lou Brouleau (Fra) 5:7, 4:6

Olga Ianchuk(Ukr) – 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up
1st round: Olga Ianchuk – Magda Linette (Pol) 4:6, 2:5 ret.

30/11/09

Several top Smrikva Bowl players will compete this week on EDDIE HERR INTERNATIONAL 2009

I was very pleased to recognize several Smrikva Bowl players names on this year acceptance list for the Eddie Herr International 2009 competition.

This prestigious International Junior Tournament has served as a springboard to the professional tennis tour for such names as Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, David Nalbandian, Jelena Jankovic, and Ana Ivanovic—to name just a few.

ABOUT EDDIE HERR INTERNATIONAL…

The competition was founded in 1987 by Eddie’s grandson (Glenn Feldman) to honor his grandfather for his life’s passion and success of bringing the world’s best junior tennis players together to compete, the tournament now attracts the top junior players from many nations around the world!

From a humble beginning of 100 participants, over 1800 players representing 92 nations applied for the tournament in 2008, which is currently held at the IMG/Bollettieri Academies in Bradenton, Florida. Players from over 136 nations have competed in the “Eddie Herr” over the past 20 years.

Eddie Herr International is traditionally held in December and is open to the players under 12, under 14, under 16 and under 18.

EDDIE HERR AND JUNIOR TENNIS…

Eddie Herr was a tennis visionary who developed the international junior tournament circuit. His interest in tennis began in the 1940s, when his daughter Suzanne was ajunior player.

In 1947, hoping to provide her with an opportunity to compete over the December school holidays, Herr conceived and organized the first Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships.

In the years following, he developed a number of other international junior tournaments, including the Sunshine Cup in 1958, and the Continental Cup in 1976.

SOME FORMER SMRIKVA BOWL PLAYERS THAT WILL COMPETE ON THIS YEAR EDITION…

2009 EDDIE HERR INTERNATIONAL

Junior Tennis Championships
IMG/Bollettieri Academies,
Bradenton, Florida USA

The schedule:

Boys:

B12
Popyrin Alexei (AUS)
Bednarczyk Dylan Marian (CAN)
Paul Tommy (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2007

B14
Quinzi Gianluigi (ITA) – 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner
Miocic Franko (CRO)
Krivokuca Neven (CRO)
Mitak Mladen (CRO)
Gracia Jose (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2005

B16
Thiem Dominic (AUT) – 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner
Porumb Alexandru Ciprian (ROM) – 3rd ranked on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003

Girls:

G12
Jokic Katarina (BiH) – 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 winner
Konjuh Ana (CRO) – 12th Smrikva Bowl 2008 runner up
Sunjic Margita (CRO)
Ndunda Ndindi (USA) – part of the “Little Mo” team in 2007
Plews Jazzi (GBR)

G14
Boulter Katie (GBR)

G16
Kandler Christina (AUT)

G18
Njiric Silvia (CRO) – 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up
Ianchuk Olga (UKR) – 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up

Best wishes to all the Smrikva Bowl players to play the best they can and hopefully this will be sufficient that some of you make a good result!

27/11/09

Few Smrikva Bowl players will compete in the 3rd "Little Mo" International played on December 15-19, 2009., in Club Med Sandpiper in Port Saint Lucie (Florida)

Little Mo International – is a global tournament organized by Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation (MCB Tennis Foundation). The tournament is played in the USA and is dedicated to age groups under 8 till under 11.

Carol Weyman is the executive director of MCB Tennis Foundation and long term Smrikva Bowl friend and I just learned that there will be many countries participating the 3rd “Little Mo” International and few Smrikva Bowl and “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl players will attend it.

The event will be held from December 15-19, 2009. in Club Med Sandpiper in Port Saint Lucie (Florida)

SMRIKVA BOWL PLAYERS and “Little Mo”/SMRIKVA BOWL PLAYERS THAT WILL ATTEND THIS YEAR EDITION:

Alex Gee (USA)
Michaela Gordon (USA)
Ingrid Neel (USA)
Matic Podlipnik (SLO)
Max Stewart (GBR)
Neli Sunjic (CRO)
Alessia Welti (SUI)
Matic Zaplotnik (SLO)
Jernej Zaplotnik (SLO)

I wish them all good luck!

FEW WORDS MORE ABOUT “LITTLE MO”...

If you have not heard about “Little Mo” let me introduce you with a short story to a tennis legend… named “Little Mo” ...

Several decades ago, in 1953, a young girl named Maureen Connolly won the Grand Slam of tennis. Maureen was the first woman to ever capture this exclusive crown by winning the Australian Championships (Australian Open), the French Championships (Roland Garross), Wimbledon (The Championship), and the United States Championships (US Open).

She was only eighteen years and from that time on, a journalist named Maureen – “Little Mo”. Maureen’s strong strokes were compared to the warship USS Missouri also know as “Mighty Mo” or “Big Mo” thus Moureen Connolly became “Little Mo”.

There is no other player in history that overcome Maureen’s result. The closer to that result came Monica Sales in 1991 when she won 3 Grand Slam tournaments at the age of 18 years. Readers may not know but in former Yugoslavia Monica Seles was named “Mala Mo” that in english mean “Little Mo”.

In July 1954, “Little Mo” injured her leg in a horseback riding accident which ended her tennis career. She continued to be a major influence in the world of tennis. She married Norman Brinker and they made their home in Dallas.

As one of Dallas’ new residents, “Little Mo” was wanted to promote among children her beloved game of tennis and in 1968, she joined her dear friend, Nancy Jeffett to co-found the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation. Maureen passed away only six months later on the eve of Wimbledon.

Today The Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation benefits countless numbers of boys and girls throughout the US and the world. Nancy Jeffett, Chairman Emeritus, Cindy Brinker Simmons, President, Brenda Brinker Bottum, Vice-President, Elizabeth Jeffett, Vice-President, Carol Weyman, Executive Vice-President, and a capable Advisory Board lead the foundation in a myriad of programs and activities.

HOW THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SMRIKVA BOWL and “LITTLE MO” WAS CREATED...

In 2002 the paths of the Smrikva Bowl and “Little Mo” crossed when Marcia Frost introduced me to Carol Weyman. Together we created “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl the first ever under 10 competition between the US and Europe. This gathering over the years has grown in the most prestigous under 10 team tournaments in the World and we named it “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl.

I AM PLEASED TO CLOSE THE ARTICLE WITH CAROL WEYMAN’s INVITATION LETTER TO THE PLAYERS INDICATING THE NEW SITE IN FLORIDA WHERE THIS YEAR EDITION IS PLAYED AND WISH THEM A NICE GATHERING…

Dear “Little Mo” Players and Parents,

We are so excited to announce our new site for the “Little Mo” Internationals presented by TennisLMS!

The new site will be Club Med Sandpiper in Port Saint Lucie, Florida (east coast of Florida) December 15 – 19, 2009.

(Entry forms are on our website – but haven’t been updated as yet with the new site and date but the form is the same: www.mcbtennis.org)

Players will be coming from all over the world to play so we hope you will plan to attend. The event is open to anyone worldwide – including the USA so please help us spread the word.

The Opening Ceremony will begin Tuesday morning, December 15 with matches to begin after the ceremony and departure should be planned for after 5:00 pm on Saturday, December 19. (If you would like to stay over on Saturday night at Club Med, the room rate will be different. )

We will have the cost of Club Med accommodations, etc. by mid August but we just wanted you to have the site/date on your calendar.

It will be a wonderful time for the family to be in Florida in December – especially at Club Med and all their activities plus Disney World is in nearby Orlando. (West Palm Beach, Florida is the closest airport or Orlando airport is about an hour and half away.)

I look forward to seeing you.

Warmest regards,

Carol

19/11/09

I am pleased to share with Smrikve community the Smrikva Bowl Golden Honorary Member Claudio Montanelli's song "Ti voglio bene" interpreted by Milan's youg singer Michela May

Claudio Montanelli is a historical Smrikva Bowl friend and the Golden Smrikva Bowl member since that title was established.

It is hard to describe Claudio but few words I would associate with him are: friendship, gift and love for music, empathy, love for: tennis, guitars and also for the printing business… in one word probably the American Indians would name him: Big Heart.

We met thanks to his daughter Sara, very good tennis player, the under 14 team Italian Champion, that played Smrikva Bowl. Claudio proposed that Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors should have a brochure to remember Smrikva Bowl and this was his gift to our kids.

Claudio played the guitar in a rock group Nation and even today he continues to organize humanitarian concerts with friends from the band, but also with singers such as Gatto Panceri and others.

Another gift Claudio has is the gift fo song writing and several songs he wrote also for Michela May that I am pleased to share with you.

Michela Stanzione, in art named Michela May, was on vacation few years ago in Villa Smrikve with her boyfriend. She is 21 years old singer from Milan with a nice voice.

It was a pleasure for me to listen Michela’s singing my piano in Smrikve but it was even greater pleasure when I had a dinner last night with Claudio and he showed me a song he wrote for Michela being performed in public this August at Festival of Majano in Italy.

The song name is “Ti voglio bene”. Italians use two expressions to express the feeling of love: “Ti amo” and “Ti voglio bene”. The first one would be simply: “I love you” and the second one would be: “You mean a lot to me”.

Many Smrikva Bowl friends do knows that Smrikva Bowl mission is to develop and spread cosmopolitan values. Love, friendship and empathy are cosmopolitan values per excellence for people and humanity…

Culture, children, sport and music are part of the Smrikva Bowl idea of the cosmopolitan world. There are different ways to look at sport. There are different way to look at music, culture, love and also to children.

The vision of sport preferred in Smrikve can be described and extended to: culture, music and children using the following Nelson Mandela – Madiba’s words:

“Sport (Music, Culture, Children) has the power to change the world, the power to inspire and the power to unite people in a way little else can – it is an instrument of peace.”

Thanks Claudio and Micky for this nice song and I hope the Smrikva Bowl community will enjoy it too.

For the people that would like to hear Michela May singing in English I am pleased to post Aretha Franklin’s song “Natural Woman” interpreted by Micky.

17/11/09

Giacomo Paleni - tennis coach of several former Smrikva Bowl players - wrote a tennis book with humanitarian scope: Il gioco del tennis - benessere fisico e mentale

Over the years Giacomo Paleni sent several top Italian and Swiss players to compete in the Smrikva Bowl. Some of the Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors names I am pleased to recall are: Giulia Turconi, Remy Bertola, Gabriele Moghini and Sara Sussarello.

HOW I FOUND GIACONO PALENI’s BOOK?

During the last week end I participated to the 11th International Tennis Symposium that was held at PRO PATRIA in Milan. Among many interesting things going on during the event there were also several books on sale.

I asked a girl that was selling the books which book she liked most? and she indicated to me this book written by Giacomo Paleni: “Il gioco del tennis – benessere fisico e mentale”.

I heard during the symposium that proceeds from one of the books are dedicated to the children from Nigeria but I did not remember the title of the book.

I bought the book and later on learned that it was Giacomo Paleni that decided to dedicate all proceeds from his book to the children in Nigeria.

Reading the book I learned that Giacomo Paleni went to play with his player Lisa Sabino a USD 25.000 tournament in Nigeria in 2006 for the second consecutive year.

The experience was unusual for them as they found a country full of social, political and humanitarian difficulties. They met an Italian family who invited them to visit a small community with Nigerian children in Moroko area. The group of children left a sign in Giacomo’s and Lisa’s hearts. When they came back to Nigeria the following year they took a baggage full of tennis equipment with them.

The idea became real the following year when they met the children again and donated T-shirts, racquets, and balls. The children were so happy to receive the gifts that everybody danced and sang to express their happiness all day long.

Since than he try to schedule every year tournaments in Nigeria to visit his small friends and every year he buy t-shirts, balls, raccquets and other items that make for a moment this kids happy.

READING THE BOOK I ALSO LEARNED THAT GIACOMO PALENI IS THE COACH OF SEVERAL FORMER SMRIKVA BOWL PLAYERS

I was very surprised to find a Smrikva Bowl picture in the book, thus I went to visit Giacomo’s webiste www.palenitenniscoach.com and found out that many Giacomo’s players competed in the Smrikva Bowl and many of them are currently among the top junior players in Switzerland and Italy such as Giulia Turconi, Remy Bertola and Gabriele Moghini.

WHAT I FOUND IN HIS BOOK:

A passion of a person that love tennis game and that does his best to be a good tennis teacher and coach.

Many advises that Giacomo gained in his several decades long experience for each age group: from the very little child that take the racquet for the first time till the PRO player.

In end and probably the most important part that I found of interest is the way Giacomo looks at tennis game. There are many wise sentences in the book that appeared to me as Giacomo’s guide in what he does.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY THE BOOK PLEASE VISIT GIACOMO’s WEBSITE…

The book is written in Italian thus people that do understand Italian can visit Giacomo Paleni’s website www.palenitenniscoach.com and find e-mail contacts how to order the book. People that lives in Turin and Milan can find it in “Libreria dello sport”.

All the proceeds from the sale of the book should help Giacomo’s activities dedicated to Nigerian kids thus best wishes Giacomo!

12/11/09

Top Smrikva Bowl and "Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl players on ATP, WTA, ITF, USTA and European under 14 and 16 ranking lists (update November 2009)

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 and his best double ranking was #370 in February 2009.

GIRLS
Natali Zuliani, 1st Smrikva Bowl 1996 winner, from Croatia, is graduating in architecture.

IN 1997 SMRIKVA BOWL GATHERED TOP PLAYERS FROM CROATIA

1997 – 2nd Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Zeljko Peric, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player.
Filip Kricka, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 runner up, from Croatia, is not ranked player.

GIRLS
Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #215 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, is not ranked player.

GIRLS
Mateja Horvat, 3rd Smrikva Bowl 1998 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player. Her best ranking was around #800 on WTA list.

1999 – 4th Smrikva Bowl

GIRLS
Astrid Besser, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 winner, from Italy, is ranked #543 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 is not ranked.

GIRLS
Tereza MRDEZA, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, from Croatia, is currently ranked #301 on WTA list.

2001 – 6th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Marin Draganja, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #1515 on ATP ranking list.
Dino Marcan, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #1058 on ATP ranking list.

GIRLS
Petra MARTIC, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #84 on WTA list.
Indire Akiki, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #601 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 #716 on ATP list.
Giacomo Miccini, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Italy, was ranked #1462 on ATP list in May 2009.

GIRLS
Martina Caregaro, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner, from Italy, is ranked #790 on WTA ranking list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #353 on WTA list.
Ema BURGIC, ranked 3rd on 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #673 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 #244 on ITF ranking list.
George MORGAN, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Great Britain, is ranked #186 on ITF ranking list.
Ciprian PORUMB, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Romenia, is ranked #352 on ITF ranking list.

GIRLS
Jennifer Ren, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Great Britain, was ranked #971 on WTA list.
Silvia NJIRIC, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #904 on WTA list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Croatia, is ranked #353 on WTA list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Emmett EGGER, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #183 on ITF ranking list.
Robert Stineman, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #51 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.

Karen Forman, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #90 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.
Katie Klyczek, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, and is not ranked in under 16 cathegory.

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

BOYS
Ivan Levar, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #1647 on ITF ranking list.
Miki JANKOVIC, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #400 on ITF ranking list and is ranked #3 in Europe in under 16 cathergory.

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #153 on ITF ranking list.
Ecaterina Opriou, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Romenia, is ranked #357 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Mitchel POLNET, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #1127 on ITF ranking list.

Blair SHANKLE, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #306 on ITF ranking list.
Anna MAMALAT, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #820 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 #117 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Gyore Laszlo, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #377 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Gianluigi QUINZI, ranked 3rd on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005, from Italy, is ranked #272 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Nikola MILOJEVIC, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 Consolation tournament winner, from Serbia, is ranked #162 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #153 on ITF ranking list.
Olga IANCHUK, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Ukraine, is ranked #*102 on ITF ranking list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Jeffrey Schorsch, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #302 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Jose GRACIA, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #81 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Yale GOLDBERG, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #20 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

Dorothy Tang, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #87 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

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

BOYS
Gianluigi QUINZI, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Italy, is ranked #272 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Filip Kraljevic, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #356 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

GIRLS
Eleanor DEAN, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Great Britain, is ranked #24 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Dina PAOCIC, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #157 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Daniel Maese, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #685 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Aries Wong, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #119 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

Christina MAKAROVA, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #7 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Gabriella Umoquit, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #358 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 too young for under 14 european ranking.
Bogdan BORZA, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 runner up, from Romania, is ranked #167 in Europe in under 14 cathegory*.
Gonzalo Morell, ranked 3rd on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Spain, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Sergiu Bucur, ranked 4th on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Romania, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

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 #188 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Nina POTOCNIK, ranked 3rd on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Slovenia, is ranked #242 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Katie Dayson, ranked 4th on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from UK, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Eduardo NAVA, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #27 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Tommy PAUL, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #1 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Ndindi NDUNDA, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #7 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Domonique Garley, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #67 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

GIRLS
Katarina JOKIC, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 winner, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #433 in Europe in under 14 european ranking.
Maia Lumsden, 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 runner up, from Scotland, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Viktoria KUZMOVA, ranked 3rd on 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008, from Slovakia, is ranked #412 in Europe in under 14 european ranking.
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 #73 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
William Blumberg, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #132 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Ingrid NEEL, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #34 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Paulina Ferrari, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #318 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

“Little Mo” TEAM
Noah SCHACHTER, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #40 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Alex Gee, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #482 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Michaela GORDON, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #133 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Ashley LAHEY, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked *#173 in the USA in under 12 cathegory*.

08/11/09

Short interview with Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, before ITF Monteroni 2009 finals

Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, was the first Smrikva Bowl player to reach top 100 ranking on WTA list. Today Ivana Lisjak is 3rd best ranked Croatian player on WTA list and is ranked #219 WTA.

This summer she won a USD 25000 ITF tournament played in Monteroni in Italy and this interview was registered before the finals. I did not know that she was also fluent in Italian thus I enjoyed both her Italian and to see her after 12 years although only on You Tube :).

In the video she mentioned few times that she does not feel confident with her service at the moment and I wish her service get back strong and that we might see her among top 100 once again in the following future.

Best wishes to Ivana for the next season!

01/11/09

Ana Ivanovic motto: "Never stop smiling" :)

Ana Ivanovic – Smrikva Bowl Honorary Member – is today one of the best tennis players in the World and her funs are spread all over the World. An Ana Ivanovic supporter made a nice video named:“That’s Why She’s The One”.

I am pleased to post the video and share it with the Smrikva Bowl community.

In every part of the video where Ana appears here smile spread like the sunshine spread through the clouds. Ana’s motto is: “Never Stop Smiling” and watching the video it made me thinkg of Timon and Pumbaa’s motto: “Hakuna Matata” :).

Few years ago Ana Ivanovic started to donate signed t-shirts to the Smrikva Bowl finalists.

Katarina Jokic, Maia Lumsden, Katie Swan and Jovana Vukovic love Ana’s gift and I am also sure that this gift will inspire tham to do better and better in tennis.

With the signed t-shirts Ana showed that she loves children and this way she also helps Smirkva Bowl development “in some small way”.

“Sport has the power to change the world, the power to inspire and the power to unite people in a way little else can – it is an instrument of peace.” said Nelson Mandela.

Never Stop Smiling Ana! :)

29/10/09

Matic Podlipnik visited Smrikve last weekend and visited the oldest Istrian linden tree

Matic Podlipnik is one of the most talented under 10 tennis players from Maribor (Slovenia). This summer he visited Smrikve with his trainer Tine Pufic from ZTK Maribor.

Last weekend Matic came back to Smrikve with his family and we made a small tour in order to visit some lovely Istrian places and enjoy the Istrian gastronomy.

We visited Krsan, Motovun, Slum and in end Hum where the most famous Istrian brandy festival was held.

In Motovun we had launch in Konoba Mondo that was celebrated in a recent New York Times article as one of the best restaurants in the World and the food was really good.

Later on I made a surprise to Matic and his family and brought them to visit a small village named Slum.

Slum is famous in Istria for the oldest linden tree. Matic’s surname is Podlipnik that means “under the linden tree” thus I made them a surprise and brought them to visit the oldest Istrian linden tree :).

I told to Matic that after our launch in Motovun we will go to visit his surname and he thought that it was a joke. Later on I asked him what he expect and he said probably another old town similar to those we visited and in end the surprise was there… :)

The huge and old linden tree is located nearby the Romanesque Church of St. Mathews from 1870. The current church was built on the site of an older church from 1555. It has been written that the church was built near the big linden tree thus it is likely that this linden tree could be at least five centuries old.

Djordje Balasevic wrote a very nice song about three people that were planting a linden tree and let a young boy to watch the moment when they were planting it. It is a nice song that I am pleased to share with all the Smrikva people that can understand it.

Jednom su sadili lipu (Djordje Balasevic)

Jednom su sadili lipu,
Stari Nestorov, gos’n Ceda i jos jedan.
Bio sam nov u tom stripu,
Komsijin mali kog su pustili da gleda.

Stari Nestorov, potpalivsi korov,
Tad rece mi: “Ti si mlad…
Ti ces dospeti za taj hlad…”

…

Jednom su palili lisce,
Sa one lipe, dim je lebdeo do neba
Na kom su, nema ih vise,
Stari Nestorov, gos’n Ceda i jos jedan…

Ko nije drvo razumeo prvo,
Pa tek onda sadio
Taj nije nista uradio…

I, shvatice, kad-tad, da ne zna sta je hlad.

27/10/09

Katie Swan - 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 winner - trained last week at Mouratoglou Tennis Academy

I just received a letter from Katie Swan, 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 winner, that thanks to the Smrikva Bowl victory had the opportunity to train for a week at Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Paris.

One of the very prestigious Smrikva Bowl prizes for the winners is the training week at Mouratoglou Tennis Academy (MTA). MTA is considered one of the top tennis academies in the World and Katie Swan just returned to UK from France and sent me some nice words regarding her expirience that I am pleased to share with Smrikva Bowl community.

Dear Mio

I am writing to say that I had a really brilliant time at the Mouratoglou Academy in Paris. Thank you so much! It was a fantastic prize for winning the Smirkve Bowl and I was so lucky to go.

My friend, Georgie Axon, who also took part in the Smrikve Bowl, was there at the same time, as was another friend, Alisha. We had Rudolphe as our coach and we thought he was really great. We worked really hard, normally 4 hours of tennis a day + 2 hours of fitness but it was really good experience and Rudolph was very encouraging all the time.

On Thursday we got to go swimming and Georgie and I shared a chalet which was really good fun. On Friday, Patrick Mouratoglou watched me play a match against Georgie and he said he was really impressed with the standard of our tennis and our spirit. He signed our books for us and wrote really nice comments. It was really great to meet him.

Thank you very much for such a great prize. I really loved it.

With love and best wishes.

Katie Swan
Smrikve Bowl Winner 2009

Best wishes to Katie!