News

25/09/09

Smrikva Bowl on Japanese junior tennis website - www.kids-tennis.com

Toru Matsushima, the Honorary Smrikva Bowl Member, is a very committed Japanese tennis coach that run several important tournaments in Japan for the under 8, under 10 and under 12 age groups.

Thanks to Toru Matsushima and Keiko Maruyama we had the first Japanese players represented on this year Smrikva Bowl edition: Rimpei Kawakami and Haruna Arakawa.

I am very pleased that Mr. Matsushima decided to spread the world among the Japanese community. His words on www.kids-tennis.com is a tennis word but is also a word of culture.

I do know that many Japanese people do go to visit Rome, Venice, Florence, Paris, London, and other well known places in Europe that are very reach in terms of historical heritage but I do believe that Istria is another cultural spot on the World map that should be included in the cultural itinerary worth visiting and I tried to explain it in my cultural E-book that I also invite people to visit “Istria from Smrikve”.

For those who understand Japanese I invite them to take a look at Toru’s article on www.kids-tennis.com.

I hope to meet few other Japanese kids on the next Smrikva Bowl edition and thanks again to Toru for spreading the Smrikva Bowl and Istria word in the country of the rising sun.

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.

23/09/09

Petra Martic - 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner - reached the semifinals of USD 100.000 worth tournament played in Biella and become #82 on WTA list

Petra Martic, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, is the best ranked former Smrikva Bowl player on WTA list. This week jump, from the position #89 to #82 on WTA list, was made thanks to the semifinals reached at USD 100.000 worth tournament played in Sofia last week.

Few weeks age, in Biella – Italy, Petra Martic obtained her first USD 100.000 victory.

Petra’s road towards Sofia’s semifinals was the following:

1st round: Petra Martic – Timea Bacsinszky (Sui) – 6:7, 6:2, 6:1
2nd round: Petra Martic – Angelique Kerber (Ger) – 5:7, 6:3, 6:2
Quarterfinals: Petra Martic – Sessil Karatantcheva (Kaz) – 7:6,7:5
Semifinals: Petra Martic – Alexandra Dulgheru (Rou) – 4:6, 3:6

The ranking of the players:

Timea Bacsinszky (Sui) – #78 WTA list
Angelique Kerber (Ger) – #88 WTA list
Sessil Karatantcheva (Kaz) – #131 WTA list
Alexandra Dulgheru (Rou) – #62 WTA list

CONGRATULATIONS PETRA :))!!!

For those who do not know Petra yet please enjoy the video registered in Portoroz at Slovenia Open last year.

23/09/09

Ambassador's website section is created

Ambassador’s website section (under the Smrikva Bowl tournament section) has been created few days ago where past Smrikva Bowl players websites will be added from time to time when they get to the net.

For the moment the following websites are present in the section:

REMY BERTOLA – www.remybertola.ch

AMAURY DE BEER – t4tennis.com

MIKI JANKOVIC – www.mikijankovic.com

NINA MARJANOVIC – my.opera.com/nina-marjanovic/

GIACOMO MICCINI – www.giacomomiccini.com

KATIE SWAN – katieswan.com

For sure in the following years there will be many more Ambassadors’ websites on line :)

20/09/09

Today we collected grapes and started the 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 Malvazija collection wine production

Today we collected grapes and started 2010 Smrikve wine production. It was a long day and several people helped us during the collection process. The grapes were yellow colored and of very sweet taste. We expect the wine to be good as was good in the past years.

Smrikve Malvazija is thanks to the Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors spread in 40 countries and 6 continents. Every year we create a limited collection of 200 bottles that represent the gift of our family to the Smrikva Bowl families and to our friends.

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

The wine making is the tradition in Smrikve since 1957…

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

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

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

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

The first phase of the processing the grapes started today…

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

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

Wine as part of the culture…

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

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

With todays collection as I said we started the process of transforming the grapes into wine for the 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 edition of Malvazija.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On Istria from Smrikve you can learn much more…

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

We try to do our best to get excellent Malvazija…

Sergio Bile is one of the person I do respect a lot because for years he was advising Istrian wine makers how to increase the quality of the Istrian wine. Few weeks ago I met his wife on an exhibition with his new wines collection thus also he from advising started to produce his own wine.

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

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

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

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

16/09/09

Petra Martic is the second Smrikva Bowl player to reach TOP 100 ranking on WTA list

Petra Martic is the second Smrikva Bowl winner to reach the TOP 100 ranking on WTA list. Ivana Lisjak was #95 in the World and today Petra Martic is #89 on WTA list. It is the best ranking in the World achieved by a former Smrikva Bowl player in the 14 years long Smrikva Bowl history.

Almost two years ago, on November 2nd 2007, Marija Zivlak, www.womenstennisblog.com editor, wrote an article with the title “Smrikva Bowl founder on tennis stars of the future”.

Marija was interested in which youngsters have a potential to make it big when they grow up, but I am usually reluctant to answer such a question. According to the statistics of my friend Luca Appino, former Babolat marketing and sponsoring director, only six per cent of the best juniors (from 14 to 16-year-old) reach the Top 100 when they become professional players. This means that chances of a promising 10-year-old that play Smrikva Bowl of making it to the Top 100 are statistically slim to none.

In the article I made comments on few talented former Smrikva Bowl players and I also mentioned Petra Martic thus Maria wrote about Petra: “The 16-year-old Petra Martic from Croatia is another female player the organizer of the Smrikva Bowl highly believes in. She won the event in 2001, and today, she is ranked 340th in the world after having competed in eight tournaments. Miodrag Bozovic believes that she has enough talent to crack the Top 100 in the near future.”

As of September 14th 2009, by taking into account points gathered on US Open and the victory of her first USD 100.000 tournament, Petra Martic ranking rose to #89 in the World.

Few weeks ago she played the US Open and after qualifying for the Main Draw she lost in the second round against this year finalist Caroline Wozniacki. On the other side the week after in Biella (Italy) she defeated in the second round Jelena Dokic, former #4 in the World.

Petra won the 6th Smrikva Bowl in 2001 and currently is the best ranked former Smrikva Bowl player on WTA list and is also the best ranked Croatian player on WTA list.

This summer in Portoroz at SLOVENIA OPEN I had the chance to see her after 8 years…

I was having launch with Luca Appino and my father in the tennis center restaurant nearby the sea and just few tables away from us a blond tall girl came with a plate and smile appeared familiar to me. It was Petra :).

I asked this young lady if she was Petra, she smiled and said: “Yes… I am Petra”. She had a beautiful smile and her eyes spread a worm energy :)...

Congratulations Petra and thank you for writing with your game a nice page of the Smrikva Bowl story…

Best wishes!

14/09/09

Top Smrikva Bowl and "Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl players on ATP, WTA, ITF, USTA and European under 14 and 16 ranking lists (update September 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, is ranked #1221 on ATP list. Vilim’s best ranking was #612 in March 2006. Vilim Visak is currently ranked #714 on ATP Doubles Ranking. His best double ranking was #370 in February 2009.

GIRLS
Natali Zuliani, 1st Smrikva Bowl 1996 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player.

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 #219 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, is ranked #1096 on ATP list.

GIRLS
Astrid Besser, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 winner, from Italy, is ranked #463 on WTA list.

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 #295 on WTA list.

2001 – 6th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Marin Draganja, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #1856 on ATP ranking list.
Dino Marcan, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #1427 on ATP ranking list.

GIRLS
Petra MARTIC, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #89 on WTA list.
Indire Akiki, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #598 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 #669 on ATP list.
Giacomo Miccini, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Italy, was ranked #1710 on ATP list in May 2009.

GIRLS
Martina Caregaro, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner, from Italy, is ranked #815 on WTA ranking list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #522 on WTA list.
Ema BURGIC, ranked 3rd on 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #712 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 #340 on ITF ranking list.
George MORGAN, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Great Britain, is ranked #327 on ITF ranking list.
Ciprian Porumb, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Romenia, is ranked #462 on ITF ranking list.

GIRLS
Jennifer Ren, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Great Britain, was ranked #960 on WTA list.
Silvia NJIRIC, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #870 on WTA list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Croatia, is ranked #522 on WTA list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Emmett EGGER, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #323 on ITF ranking list.
Robert Stineman, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #52 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.

Karen Forman, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #95 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.
Katie Klyczek, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #262 in the USA 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 #171 in under 16 cathegory.
Miki JANKOVIC, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #510 on ITF ranking list.

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #500 on ITF ranking list.
Ecaterina Opriou, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Romenia, is ranked #220 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Mitchel Polnet, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #1485 on ITF ranking list.

Blair SHANKLE, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #616 on ITF ranking list.
Anna MAMALAT, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #805 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 #14 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Gyore Laszlo, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #23 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Gianluigi QUINZI, ranked 3rd on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005, from Italy, is ranked #12 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Nikola MILOJEVIC, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 Consolation tournament winner, from Serbia, is ranked #1 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #500 on ITF ranking list.
Olga IANCHUK, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Ukraine, is ranked #*195 on ITF ranking list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Jeffrey Schorsch, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #315 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Jose GRACIA, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #85 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Yale GOLDBERG, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #24 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 #12 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Filip Kraljevic, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #411 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

GIRLS
Eleanor DEAN, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Great Britain, is ranked #22 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Dina PAOCIC, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #165 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Daniel Maese, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #689 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Aries Wong, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #141 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

Christina MAKAROVA, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #8 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Gabriella Umoquit, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #447 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 #160 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 ranked #500 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Ana KONJUH, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #191 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Nina POTOCNIK, ranked 3rd on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Slovenia, is ranked #427 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 #29 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 #8 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Domonique Garley, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #68 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 #428 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 #403 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 #83 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
William Blumberg, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #232 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Ingrid NEEL, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #48 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Paulina Ferrari, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #343 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 #41 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Alex Gee, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #478 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Michaela GORDON, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #160 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Ashley LAHEY, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked *#202 in the USA in under 12 cathegory*.

11/09/09

Petra Martic - 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner - defeated Jelena Dokic on her road towards the victory of USD 100.000 worth tournament played in Biella (Italy) and reached TOP 100 in the World

Petra Martic won the 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 and currently is the best ranked former Smrikva Bowl player on WTA list.

Last week she played at the US Open and after qualifying for the Main Draw she lost in the second round against Caroline Wozniacki.

Petra is at the moment one of the most promising Croatian players on WTA tour and she’s ranking as of August 31st was #137 on WTA list.

As of September 14th 2009, by taking into account points gathered on US Open and the victory of her first USD 100.000 victory Petra Martic ranking rose to #89 in the World.

In Biella (Italy) Petra Martic defeated in the second round Jelena Dokic, former #4 in the World, that allowed her to reach the quarterfinals. In end Petra defeated other three players on her road towards the victory. The results of the tournament are the following:

1st round: Petra Martic – Darya Kustova (Blr) – 3:6, 6:0, 6:3
2nd round: Petra Martic – Jelena Dokic (Aus) – 6:4, 6:2
Quarterfinals: Petra Martic-Ekaterina Ivanova (Rus) – 6:4,3:6,6:2
Semifinals: Petra Martic – Polona Hercog (Slo) – 7:5, 6:3
Finals: Petra Martic – Sharon Fichman (Can) – 7:5, 6:4

The ranking of the players:

Ksenia Palkina (Kgz) – #142 WTA list
Jelena Dokic (Aus) – #83 WTA list
Ekaterina Ivanova (Rus) – #136 WTA list
Polona Hercog (Slo) – #81 WTA list
Sharon Fichman (Can) – #171 WTA list

CONGRATULATIONS PETRA :))!!!

For those who do not know Petra yet please enjoy the video registered in Portoroz at Slovenia Open last year.

10/09/09

Silvia Njiric - 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up - reached the 3rd round of Junior US Open

Silvia Njiric is one of the top Croatian junior players and one of the top junior players in the World that currently ranks #8 on ITF ranking list and # 853 on WTA list. She 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 USA that year.

Silvia Njiric road towards the 3rd round of Junior US Open was the following:

1st round: Silvia Njiric – Tamara Curovic (SRB) 6:4, 7:5
2nd round: Silvia Njiric – Zsofia Susanyi (HUN) 6:7, 6:4, 7:6
3rd round: Silvia Njiric – Daria Gavrilova (RUS) 4:6, 6:7

In the second set Silvia was leading 4:1 and in end lost in the tie break 9:7.

The ranking of the players with whom Silvia played on US Open is the following:

Tamara Curovic (SRB) – #39 on ITF ranking list
Zsofia Susanyi (HUN) – #20 on ITF ranking list
Daria Gavrilova (RUS) – #12 on ITF ranking list

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

Congratulations Silvia!

09/09/09

Gonzalo Morrell Raschiatore contributed to the Spanish National team to win the first ever Tennis Europe Nations Challenge by HEAD title

I just received the information from Gonzalo Morrell that his team was able to win the first ever Tennis Europe Nations Challenge by HEAD title under 12 by defeating in the finals the French team.

The finals were played at Alghero in Italy and the following is the article reported on www.tenniseurope.org:

“Spain has won its first ever Tennis Europe Nations Challenge by HEAD title, following a 2-1 win over 2007 champions France at the finals in Alghero (ITA).

Jaime Fermosell put the Spaniards ahead with a hard fought opening rubber win over Matthis Tetart Chague, recovering from 2-6 first set loss to win the final two sets 6:3 7:5 and retain his unbeaten record in the event. Alvaro Verdu then settled the tie with a 6:4 7:5 win over French #1 Alexandre Muller before the French won a consolation doubles point.

At the girls final rounds in Ajaccio (FRA), Ukraine came out on top for a second successive year, thanks to a crushing 3-0 defeat of Russia.

The defending champions were in fine form all week, losing just one match (a dead doubles rubber against France) in their four ties, and only one set in live matches. Olena Ploskina earned the first point with a 64 61 win over Anastasia Komardina. The tie was secured by Ukrainian #1 Anhelina Kalinina, who became the first girl to play in the final of the event in two consecutive years, and raced to a 63 62 victory over Russian #1 Anastasia Rychagova. Kalinina and Ploskina then teamed up to defeat Komardina and Daria Kasatkina 62 62 in the closing doubles rubber.

A record 62 nations entered the third edition of the annual event.”

I am pleased to recall that Gonzalo was crowned this year also the Australian National Champion in under 12 age group because he holds both Spanish and Australian citizenship.

Congratulations Gonzalo!

08/09/09

15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 Presentation Letter

Dragi prijatelji Smrikve tekst koji slijedi o najavi 15.tog Smrikva Bowl-a 2010 je pisan na tri jezika: Hrvatskom, Talijanskom i Engleskom jeziku.

Dear Smrikva Bowl friends the following text about 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 is written in three languages: Croatian, Italian and English.

Cari amici dello Smrikva il testo che segue come annuncio del 15-esimo Smrikva Bowl 2010 e’ stato scritto in tre lingue: Croato, Italiano ed Inglese.

HRVATSKI – CROATIAN – CROATO

Dragi prijatelji Smrikva Bowl-a,

Ovim pismom formalno započinje selekcija mladih talenata za 15.-ti Smrikva Bowl 2010 koji ce će se održati u Puli (u Hrvatskoj) od 22. – 27. lipnja 2010. godine. Smrikva Bowl kao što mnogi od vas znaju okuplja najtalentiranije mlade tenisače i tenisačice na svijetu do 10 godina.

Na zadnji dan, 27. lipnja 2010 godine, će se igrati tradicionalni 9.-ti “Little Mo” / Smrikva Bowl, susret između najtalentiranijih igrača iz SAD-a i finalista Smrikva Bowl-a. “Little Mo” je najprestižniji turnir za najmlađe u SAD-u i svake godine okupi oko 1700 djece. Andy Roddick je 1992 godine s 10 godina osvojio “Little Mo”.

Detaljniju prezentaciju sa formularom za prijavu i ostalim uputama glede 15.tog Smrikva Bowl-a 2010 možete otvoriti na internet stranici www.smrikve.com/smrikva-bowl/.

Smrikva Bowl je i 2009. godine okupio najtalentiraniju djecu iz 25 zemalja svijeta sa čak 5 kontinenata. Od osnutka Smrikve na turniru su nastupila djeca iz 40 zemalja i 6 kontinenata.

Velika novost od ove godine za Ambasadore Smrikve je i E-knjiga “Istria from Smrikve” koju mozete pogledati na www.smrikve.com/istria/. Ova virtualna knjiga predstavlja moj poklon Ambasadorima Smrikva Bowl-a i ujedno dodaje misiji Ambasadora Smrikve da osim traženja talenata pomognu širiti riječ o Istri kao kulturnoj destinaciji koju vrijedi posjetiti.

Učesnici Smrikva Bowl-a od 2009.godine za upis na turnir donose sa sobom i knjigu kulture koja predstavlja kraj iz kojeg su došli. Svaka njihova posvećena knjiga postaje dio biblioteke Smrikva Bowl-a.

Misija turnira je širene kozmopolitanskih vrijednosti a djeca, sport, kultura i muzika su već dio tog svijeta.

Ako poznajete neko talentirano dijete rođeno 2000. godine koje bi zaslužilo zaigrati na Smrikvi biti će nam drago da nam ga naznačite.

Srdačan pozdrav iz Smrikvi,

Miodrag Božović

P.S.

U današnje doba internatskog povezivanja postaje pomalo važan “Page Rank” jedne stranice. Kvalitetno umrežavanja zasigurno pozitivno utječe na rast “Page Rank”-a.

Ukoliko imate webstranicu i mislite da bi za vaše čitatelje link na Smrikva Bowl ili E-knjigu “Istria from Smrivke” mogao biti od interessa, unaprijed hvala.

Link može doći s vaše lične stranice, vašeg bloga, facebook-a, stranica zajednice ili institucije u kojoj djelujete, tenis kluba, i slično.… , a isto tako je važno da postoje dodirne točke…

ŠTO JE DANAS STRANICA SMRIKVE.COM? SPORT: SMRIKVA BOWL, DJECA SVIJETA, TENIS… KULTURA: LJEPOTE i KULTURNO NASLJEDJE ISTRE, VINO i MASLINOVO ULJE… ovo su samo neke od točaka umrežavanja kojih se mogu ovoga trenutka sjetiti…

Stranice na kojima možete pronaći stringu za link prema Smrikva Bowl-u i E-knjizi “Istra iz Smrikvi” se nalaze na sljedećim adresama:

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

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

JOŠ JEDNOM HVALA NA PODRŠCI!

ITALIANO – TALIJANSKI – ITALIAN

Cari amici dello Smrikva Bowl,

Con la presente lettera inizia formalmente la selezione dei giovani talenti per il 15° Smrikva Bowl 2010 che si terrà a Pola (Croazia-Istria) dal 22 giugno fino al 27 giugno 2009. Smrikva Bowl come alcuni di voi sapranno raccoglie i migliori tennisti under 10 a livello mondiale.

L’ultimo giorno, il 27 giugno a Pola si giocherà la nona edizione di “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl che unisce il piu’ prestigioso torneo degli Stati Uniti, “Little Mo”, allo Smrikva Bowl. “Little Mo” e’ giocato ogni anno da oltre 1700 bambini ed Andy Roddick nel 1992 vinse “Little Mo”.

Sul sito www.smrikve.com/smrikva-bowl/ potete aprire la presentazione dell’edizione di quest’anno con il formulario d’iscrizione ed altre informazioni rilevanti relative alla prossima edizione.

14.-esimo Smrikva Bowl 2009 ha raccolto i migliori tallenti da 25 paesi e 5 continenti e dalla fondazione dello Smrikva Bowl il torneo e’ stato giocato da ragazzi provenienti da 40 paesi e 6 continenti.

La grande novita’ di quest’anno era E-libro “Istria from Smrikve” che potete visitare su www.smrikve.com/istria/. Questo libro rappresenta un regalo agli Ambasciatori dello Smrikva Bowl che aggiunge alla loro missione di Ambasciatori, che fino ad oggi ci aiutavano nella ricerca dei talenti nei loro paesi, il compito di diffondere la voce sull’Istria come destinazione culturale che merita di essere visitata.

Dal 2009 i partecipanti allo Smrikva Bowl per iscriversi al torneo portano con loro un libro di cultura sul loro paese d’origine, sulla loro citta’, sugli artisti, sportivi… ed ogni loro libro dedicato diventa parte della libreria dello Smrikva Bowl.

Lo scopo del torneo e’ lo sviluppo e la diffusione dei valori cosmopoliti e bambini, lo sport, la cultura e la musica sono gia’ parte di quel mondo…

Se conoscete qualche ragazzo o ragazza del 2000 con il talento che meriterebbe di partecipare al torneo vi predo di segnalarcelo.

Cordiali saluti,

Miodrag Bozovic

P.S.

Nell’era dell’internet sta diventato sempre piu’ importante il “Page Rank” di un sito. Questo algoritmo espresso in un numero da 1 a 10 evidenzia la qualita’ dei contenuti per una comuntia’ di lettori da come mi e’ stato spiegato. Creando la rete di qualita’ uno puo’ migliorare il Page Rank.

Se avete il vostro sito e credete possa essere interessante mettere un link allo Smrikva Bowl oppure Istria from Smrikve vi ringrazio gia’ d’ora…

Il link puo’ essere messo dalle vostre pagine personali, vostro blog, facebook, la pagina delle vostra communita’, del vostro tennis club, o l’istituzione per la quale operate… Infine, e’ importante che gli argomenti dei siti abbiano elementi in comune perche’ il collegamento abbia maggior senso.

CHE COSA CONTIENE OGGI IL SITO SMRIKVE.COM? LO SPORT: SMRIKVA BOWL, BAMBINI DEL MONDO, TENNIS… LA CULTURA: LA BELLEZZA E L’EREDITA’ CULTURALE DELL’ISTRIA, IL VINO e L’OLIO D’OLIVA… questi sono solo alcuni elementi sui quali e’ possibile creare la rete che mi vengano al momento in mente…

Le pagine dalle quali potete prenedere i link per lo Smrikva Bowl e per il E-libro “Istria from Smrikve” sono:

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

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

GRAZIE DI NUOVO PER IL VOSTRO SUPPORTO!

ENGLISH – ENGLESKI – INGLESE

Dear Smrikva Bowl friends!

With this e-mail formally starts the selection of the talents for the 15th annual Smrikva Bowl 2010 that will be held in Pula, Croatia, from 22nd of June till 27th of June 2010. Smrikva Bowl is the tournament, as many of you may already know, which boasts the top 10 and under players World wide.

On 27th of June the Smrikve Tennis Club will also host the 9th annual “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl. This event combines top players from the United States and the Smrikva Bowl finalist playing against each other. “Little Mo” is the most prestigious under 10 tennis tournament in the USA played by over 1700 kids over the year and in 1992 the famous tennis player Andy Roddick won “Little Mo” when he was 10 years old.

There is a detailed presentation about 15th Smrikva Bowl 2010 with the application form and other relevant information related with 15th annual on our internet site www.smrikve.com/smrikva-bowl/.

14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 gathered top players from 25 countries and 5 continents. Since the Smrikva Bowl foundation top players from 40 countries and 6 continents have played our tournament.

Another important news of this year edition was also the E-book “Istria from Smrikve” that can be visited on www.smrikve.com/istria/. This was my gift to the Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors with hope that a part of helping Smrikve in scouting talents around the World they will also help us in spreading the word about Istria as cultural destination worth visiting.

Since 2009 the Smrikva Bowl participants, as part of the subscription fee, are pleased to bring with them a book that represents the culture of the place they are coming from. Each of donated and dedicated book forms the Smrikva Bowl Library.

Smrikva Bowl mission is to develop and spread Cosmopolitan values. Children, sport, culture and music are already part of the Cosmopolitan World…

If you know a good tennis player born in 2000 that deserves to play Smrikva Bowl please let me know. If you would like to help in any way Smrikva Bowl you are very welcome, and thank you in advance for spreading the word about Smrikva Bowl in your community.

Warmest regards,

Miodrag Bozovic

P.S.

Today we live in the internet era and website’s Page Rank is becoming more and more relevant and if I understand well by creating a quality network one can improve it.

If you place the link from your website such as: personal pages, blog, facebook, website of your community, your tennis club or from the institution you work towards Smrikva Bowl or towards E-book “Istria from Smrikve” this would for sure represent an important small step in that direction… In end is also important that your website do have some elements in common with the Smrikve story…

WHAT SMRIKVE.COM CONTAINS TODAY? SPORT: SMRIKVA BOWL, CHILDREN, TENNIS…. CULTURE: THE ISTRIAN HERITAGE PRESENTED IN THE E-BOOK “Istria from Smrikve”, WINE and OLIVE OIL … and this are only few connection elements that I can think off on which the network could be built…

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

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

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

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

07/09/09

Katie Swan - 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 winner - is now on line on katieswan.com

I am very pleased to present to the Smrikva Bowl community Katie’s new website. Katie Swan is from UK and she was the winner of the 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 annual.

Another important news since Katie won Smrikva Bowl is that she later on also won the 10&U British Nationals and reached the final of the 12&U British Nationals Doubles which was very exciting for her. Katie also reached the Main Draw of the 12&U girls’ singles. Well done Katie!

I enjoyed her site and learned much more than I knew before about Katie and her interests. I learn about tennis players that are inspiring Katie, I learned about her dog Jessie, her younger brother and older sister that play Collage tennis in the USA and a lot of new things I invite you to discover by visiting her website.

I also read with pleasure the article that briefly described Katie’s stay at the Smrikva Bowl :).

To learn more about Katie Swan world please visit http://katieswan.com

In the following video you can see some moments related with Katie’s finals she played against top Serbian player Jovana Vukovic this year in Smrikve.

Enjoy the video and do a visit to her website.

01/09/09

Good news from Kristina Miletic, Charlie Broom and Mattia Bedolo

In the last few days I received few nice news from the parents of Kristina, Charlie and Mattia. Let me start in order with each one…

Kristina Miletic is a player from Serbia that played Smrikva Bowl this year and I was very pleased to read in her father’s e-mail that after the Smrikva Bowl experience she got inspired and was able to play four finals in under 12 age group in Serbia obtaining three victories.

I am also glad that some advises my father gave to Kristina’s family in order to improve her court covering is giving results.

At the end of the year Kristina might reach top 5 in the country in under 12 age group that as her father said in his e-mail was not even in their dreams at the beginning of the year :). Great job Kristina! Congratulations.

Charlie Broom is from England and Charlie played Smrikva Bowl last year reaching the quarterfinals.

Unfortunatelly Charlie had a bad injury last year and was for 6 months off the courts and I am pleased to read that he had a full summer of playing and to use his mother’s words: “The main thing is he’s fit, enjoying it fully and training well and touch wood is fully recovered from his injury.” Welcome back Charlie!

Mattia Bedolo is from Italy and he played Smrikva Bowl for the last time last year. Today his father Umberto informed me that Mattia reached the semifinals of the Italian under 11 Championship that allows him to participate in the prestigous Lambertenghi Trophy. Well done Mattia!

Congratulations to all of you!

27/08/09

Petra Martic - 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner - passed all three rounds of qualifications for the US Open Main Draw and the first round of the Main Draw

Petra Martic won the 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 and currently is the best ranked former Smrikva Bowl player on WTA list. Petra is for the moment one of the most promissing Croatian players. She’s current ranking is #137 on WTA list.

US OPEN QUALIFICATIONS:

Petra played qualifications at the US Open and she successfully passed all three rounds by defeating Ksenia Palkina from Kyrgyzstan, Ahn Kristie from the USA and Ksenia Lykina from Russia with the following result:

1st round: Petra Martic – Ksenia Palkina (Kgz) – 6:0, 6:2
2nd round: Petra Martic – Ahn Kristie (USA) – 6:1, 6:2
3rd round: Petra Martic – Ksenia Lykina (Rus) – 6:0, 2:6, 6:1

The ranking of the players:

Ksenia Palkina (Kgz) – #172 WTA list
Ahn Kristie (USA) – #320 WTA list
Ksenia Lykina (Rus) – #211 WTA list

For those who do not know Petra yet please enjoy the video registered in Portoroz at Slovenia Open last year.

US OPEN MAIN DRAW:

In the first round of the US Open Main Draw Petra Martic defeated Severine Bremond Beltrame from France. Severine Bremond Beltrame is currently ranked #97 on WTA list.

In the second round Petra Martic was defeated by Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark, six month older player, currently ranked #8 on WTA list.

1st round: P. Martic – Severine Bremond Beltrame (Fra) 6:4, 6:2
2nd round: Petra Martic – Caroline Wozniacki (Den) 1:6, 0:6

Great experience Petra! Congratulations!

25/08/09

Dylan Bednarczyk from Canada - 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 quarterfinalist - won U12 Canadian Nationals

I am very pleased to share with the Smrikva Bowl comunity the news just received from Dylan’s father Marian about Dylan’s last success in his home country where he has been crowned the Under 12 National Champion.

Dylan Bednarczyk is a very talented left hand Canadian player that played Smrikva Bowl in 2007 when he was 9 years old. He reached the quarterfinals which is an outstanding result for a one year younger player and his victory of the Canadian National Championship confirms his talent.

On www.tenniscanada.ca was reported about Dylan’s victory the following:

Bednarczyk and Gareau Claim U12 Rogers Junior National Titles

August 7, 2009

“Dylan Bednarczyk of London, Ontario and Marianne Gareau of Mount-Royal, Quebec claimed the boys and girls U12 Rogers Junior National titles respectively last week in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec.

10 year old Bednarczyk captured the first National title of his young career overcoming top seeded Charles Cyrenne, of Rosemere, QC 6-4, 6-3 in the final. Second seeded Bednarczyk defeated Harrison Scott of Calgary 6-1, 6-2 in the quarter finals and Justin Denis-Hill of Dollard-des-Ormeaux 6-3, 6-0 in the semi finals. “It means a lot to win my first National title. I worked really hard, and so I am very proud of myself” said Dylan after the win.

Top seeded Gareau has confirmed her dominance in the U12 division now capturing both the indoor and outdoor titles. She swept the girls side in Mont-Tremblant with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Bianca Parsons of Toronto in the final. She also posted easy wins over Patricia Muamba of Gatineau, QC 6-4, 6-0 and Nikki Carnovale 6-2, 6-2 of Woodbridge, ON. “I am very happy to win the Nationals. I really wanted to win this tournament, it was very important to me. I did my best and I am really happy with the result” Said Gareau.

Both Bednarczyk and Gareau are competing again this week in the U14 Rogers Junior Nationals in Mont-Tremblant.”

Once again congratulations to Dylan for his important victory!

19/08/09

Smrikva Bowl "Link to us" section has been created

The Smrikva Bowl Link to us section was created yesterday.

I am pleased to share the idea of “Link to us” section with the Smrikva Bowl readers.

Today the majority of us use internet services to get information on various issues. In the internet world the website’s Page Rank algorithm is becoming relevant to increase the visibility of a particular website.

The creation of quality network improves the Page Rank and allow to reach with less difficulty people that are interested in a particular subject.

What smrikve.com contain today?

Sport: Smrikva Bowl, children, tennis… but it contains also the information about culture: the Istrian milleniums old cultural heritage is presented in the E-book “Istria from Smrikve”... this are only few connection elements that I can think off on which the Smrikve network could be expanded.

If you place the Smrikva Bowl link on your website such as: personal pages, blog, facebook, your tennis club, or your community… you will contribute to expand the Smrikve network and its visibility.

Thank you for your support of junior tennis whether you are parent, coach, tournament organizer or simply a person who loves tennis game.

16/08/09

Tereza Mrdeza, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, reached another USD 25000 semifinals she played in Moscow in two weeks

Tereza Mrdeza obtained another important result on USD 25000 played in Moscow in only two weeks time. She reached again the semifinals in Russia that has a lot of talented players.

Tereza is from Porec and she won the 5th Smrikva Bowl in year 2000 – nine years ago.

Last week Tereza Mrdeza made quite a huge jump on WTA list and currently is ranked #376 in the World. This week semifinals could ad additional points and she may progress further on tomorrow’s ranking list.

Tereza’s road towards the semifinals was the following:

1st round: Tereza Mrdeza – Ekaterina Pushkareva (Rus) 6:3, 6:1
2nd round: Tereza Mrdeza – Varvara Galanina (Rus) 6:4, 6:3
Quarterfinals: T. Mrdeza – Valeria Savinykh (Rus) 6:4, 4:6, 6:2
Semifinals: Tereza Mrdeza – Ksenia Pervak (Rus) 2:6, 1:6

Current ranking of the players that played with Tereza in Moscow last week are the following:

Ekaterina Pushkareva (Rus) – not ranked WTA
Varvara Galanina (Rus) – # 294 WTA list
Valeria Savinykh (Rus) – # 362 WTA list
Ksenia Pervak (Rus) – # 142 WTA list

Few years ago Tereza had an injury that forced her to stay away from the courts for some time and today she is again doing great – step by step.

Congratulations Tereza!

15/08/09

A nice article about Samuele Ramazzotti - 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 runner up

Just few days ago one of our Smrikve Club member was telling me the that few days ago he saw on tv the interview on a satelite channel made with Samuele Ramazzotti – 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 runner up.

Samuele Ramazzotti is from Marche region in Italy and yesterday a nice article was published on www.ilmascalzone.it and www.anconainforma.it that I am pleased to share with the Smrikve community who understands Italian.

It is an article about Samuele’s performance on the Smrikva Bowl and in the tv show several specialists expressed nice words for Samuele’s current game.

I had the possibility to saw Samuele playing during the Smrikva Bowl and his nick name is not for joke Djokovic :)... few nice strokes can be spot in the following Smrikva Bowl video where part of the finals were recorded, and for those who understand Italian I am pleased to post after the video the article published on the above mentioned websites.

Tennis : Ramazzotti dello Sporting club Moie è secondo in Croazia

Ha 10 anni la promessa del tennis marchigiano Moie…

Palcoscenico Internazionale per Samuele Ramazzotti, il giovanissimo tennista moiarolo che già da alcuni anni si sta mettendo in luce in Italia e non solo.

Classe 1999, atleta del Moie Sporting Club, Samuele si è aggiudicato il secondo posto allo Smrikva Bowl di Pola in Croazia, uno dei più noti e ambiti tornei giovanili in Europa. C’erano 55 giovani tennisti da tutta Europa (selezionati dalle rispettive Federazioni nazionali), ma anche con rappresentanti di Brasile, Australia, Turchia, Giappone e Isole Mauritius.

Quello di Pola, in Istria, è uno dei più importanti banchi di prova per i migliori tennisti Under 10 in Europa, anche perché i Campionati Europei e Mondiali giovanili iniziano soltanto dai 14 anni di età in poi. Dopo un percorso perentorio Ramazzotti (accompagnato dal suo allenatore Luca Latini) ha battuto ai quarti Kecmanovic (numero 1 di categoria in Serbia) ed in semifinale il forte Davidoch: spagnolo di origini russe numero due del team spagnolo. Ma si è dovuto arrendere in finale al numero uno della squadra iberica Pedro Alvaro Regalado, in una gara caratterizzata dal grande pubblico e da una grande attenzione dei media croati al torneo.

Interessante e avvincente l’ultima giornata della manifestazione con le gare tra i vincitori (maschili e femminili) dello Smrikva Bowl ed i pari età giunti in rappresentanza degli Stati Uniti d’America.

Una netta vittoria dell’Europa sugli USA per 7 match a 1, con Ramazzotti vincitore sia di entrambe le gare disputate in singolo contro Alex Lee e Noah Schachter (rispettivamente numero tre e numero uno del team a stelle e strisce), sia del doppio giocato insieme a Regalado sempre contro Lee e Schachter.

14/08/09

Top Smrikva Bowl and "Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl players on ATP, WTA, ITF, USTA and European under 14 and 16 ranking lists (update August 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, is ranked #1065 on ATP list. Vilim’s best ranking was #612 in March 2006. Vilim Visak is currently ranked #530 on ATP Doubles Ranking. His best double ranking was #370 in February 2009.

GIRLS
Natali Zuliani, 1st Smrikva Bowl 1996 winner, from Croatia, is not ranked player.

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 #217 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, is ranked #1158 on ATP list.

GIRLS
Astrid Besser, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 winner, from Italy, is ranked #462 on WTA list.

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 #330 on WTA list.

2001 – 6th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Marin Draganja, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #1829 on ATP ranking list.
Dino Marcan, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #1652 on ATP ranking list.

GIRLS
Petra MARTIC, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #135 on WTA list.
Indire Akiki, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #717 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 #664 on ATP list.
Giacomo Miccini, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Italy, was ranked #1710 on ATP list in May 2009.

GIRLS
Martina Caregaro, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner, from Italy, is ranked #906 on WTA ranking list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #522 on WTA list.
Ema BURGIC, ranked 3rd on 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #783 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 #472 on ITF ranking list.
George MORGAN, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Great Britain, is ranked #305 on ITF ranking list.
Ciprian Porumb, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Romenia, is ranked #462 on ITF ranking list.

GIRLS
Jennifer Ren, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Great Britain, was ranked #978 on WTA list.
Silvia NJIRIC, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #852 on WTA list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Croatia, is ranked #522 on WTA list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Emmett EGGER, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #328 on ITF ranking list.
Robert Stineman, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #93 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, is ranked #262 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.

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

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #562 on ITF ranking list.
Ecaterina Opriou, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Romenia, is ranked #104 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Mitchel Polnet, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #1724 on ITF ranking list.

Blair SHANKLE, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked *#618 on ITF ranking list*.
Anna MAMALAT, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #1261 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 #11 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Gyore Laszlo, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #25 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Gianluigi QUINZI, ranked 3rd on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005, from Italy, is ranked #14 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Nikola MILOJEVIC, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 Consolation tournament winner, from Serbia, is ranked #1 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

GIRLS
Saska GAVRILOVSKA, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #562 on ITF ranking list.
Olga IANCHUK, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Ukraine, is ranked #*202 on ITF ranking list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Jeffrey Schorsch, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #286 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Jose Gracia, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #106 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Yale GOLDBERG, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #33 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

Dorothy Tang, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #59 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 #14 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Filip Kraljevic, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #526 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

GIRLS
Eleanor DEAN, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Great Britain, is ranked #20 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Dina PAOCIC, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #140 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Daniel Maese, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #1019 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Aries Wong, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #161 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

Christina MAKAROVA, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #22 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Gabriella Umoquit, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #452 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 #286 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 ranked #500 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 #406 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.

Ndindi NDUNDA, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #11 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Domonique Garley, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #56 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 too young for 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 too young for 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 #90 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
William Blumberg, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #220 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Ingrid NEEL, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #43 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Paulina Ferrari, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #324 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 #62 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Alex Gee, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is not ranked in under 12 cathegory.

Michaela GORDON, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #255 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Ashley LAHEY, played 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked *#178 in the USA in under 12 cathegory*.

11/08/09

Press Release on 3rd "Little Mo" International Open 2009

As many Smrikva Bowl players do know in 2002, the Smrikve Tennis Club joined forces with the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation and created the first-ever international competition between the United States and Europe for boys and girls under 10 and named it the “Little Mo”/ Smrikva Bowl. The “Little Mo”/ Smrikva Bowl has become a unique and already traditional meeting of the youngest and most talented players in the World.

Few years ago MCB Tennis Foundation created the Little Mo International Open that is a global tournament open to the players in age groups under 8 – 11 and I am pleased to share with the Smrikva Bowl community the information I received from the Executive Vice President of the MCB Tennis Foundation – Mrs Carol Weyman.

For more details pleased visit their website and below you can find the latest Press Release:

PRESS RELEASE

Media Contacts:

Club Med
Kate Moeller
[email protected]
twitter.com/clubmedcuisine

Justine Navaja
[email protected]

“Little Mo” International Open
Carol Weyman
(214) 352-7978
[email protected]
www.mcbtennis.org

Club Med Sandpiper to Host Little Mo International 2009 International Tennis Players Ages 8-11 set to Compete in December

(Miami, FL – July 27, 2009) Club Med announced today that it will host The Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation’s annual “Little Mo” International Open at Club Med Sandpiper, in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The tournament runs Tuesday, December 15 through Saturday, December 19, 2009.

Club Med Sandpiper is situated on the Saint Lucie River between Miami and Orlando and features a variety of land and water activities including sailing, volleyball, fitness classes, rollerblading, archery, soccer and flying trapeze. The resort’s children’s clubs engage young travelers from ages four months to 17-years. The property also features tennis and golf academies for amateurs and more experienced players. Club Med Sandpiper features 17 hard tennis courts (eight of which are lit in the evening), four mini courts that cater to younger players, top-of-the-range equipment and both individual and group lessons for adults. For the youngest set, the resort offers Petit Tennis, a unique curriculum for players as young as three and a half years old. Club Med offers 80 resorts worldwide and only one, Club Med Sandpiper, in the United States.

Xavier Mufraggi, CEO Club Med North America comments, “Club Med Sandpiper has a legacy of encouraging our youngest guests to strive for excellence in tennis. As a result it is natural for us to host the Little Mo International, a competition that also encourages youngsters’ interest in the game.”

The inaugural “Little Mo” International Open was first held in 2006 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the “Little Mo”. The tournament is open to any player worldwide, 8 to 11 years of age and represents the premier challenge for youngsters wishing to compete against international players in their age group.

The “Little Mo” tournament is a Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation program that furthers tennis development for youngsters ages 8-11. The “Little Mo” tournament began in Texas thirty years ago. It expanded to a national level in 1998, with the formation of the “Road to the ‘Little Mo’ Nationals” – a nationwide, year-long circuit of fun, competitive tournaments culminating in a United States national champion being crowned in each age division. Over 1,500 players participate in the “Road to the ‘Little Mo’ Nationals”.

The “Little Mo” International Open allows players to develop new international friendships, partake in outstanding competition, learn good sportsmanship and most of all, have fun. No ranking points are given, to avoid putting pressure on such junior players. The winner of each age division will be crowned an International “Little Mo” Champion.

Carol Weyman, Executive Vice-President of the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation said, “we are thrilled the “Little Mo” Internationals will be held at Club Med Sandpiper and we know it will be the ideal setting for international players and parents. Youngsters will have a chance to meet players from other countries, gauge their skills against players their same age, learn good sportsmanship and enjoy the game without the pressure of rankings. We also want to introduce the name Maureen “Little Mo” Connolly and her accomplishments to youngsters worldwide. We hope you will join us in Florida at Club Med for all of the festivities.”

About “Little Mo”

Many champions, including well known player Andy Roddick, have come through the “Little Mo” program in its thirty year history. Roddick won the “Little Mo” event in 1992 at 10 years of age. At that time, he lived in Austin, Texas and the event was for Texas players only. Roddick said, “The ‘Little Mo’ was my first big win!” He continues to be very supportive of the “Little Mo”.

In 1953, a young girl named Maureen Connolly won the Grand Slam of tennis. She was the first woman to ever capture this elusive crown by winning the U.S. Championships, Wimbledon, the Australian Championships and the French Championships. She was only eighteen years old when she accomplished this magnificent feat. From that time on, Maureen was known as the incomparable “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 anxious to promote her beloved game of tennis and in 1968, joined her dear friend, Mrs. Frank (Nancy) Jeffett, to co-found the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation to further junior tennis development. Unfortunately, her tragic death from cancer occurred six months later on the eve of Wimbledon.

Today, the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation continues to benefit countless numbers of boys and girls throughout the country and the world. Mrs. Jeffett has led the foundation for forty years and continues to serve as chairman emeritus together with Cindy Brinker Simmons, president, Brenda Brinker Bottum, vice-president, Elizabeth Jeffett, vice-president, Carol Weyman, executive vice-president, and a capable advisory board.

“Little Mo” was the top ranked woman’s player in the world in the early 1950s, winning Wimbledon in 1952, 1953 and 1954. In 1953, she became the first woman (at age 18) to win the Grand Slam. She remains the youngest player and the only American woman to ever win the Grand Slam. Only five players in the history of tennis have achieved this significant tennis milestone. She won nine successive majors from 1951-1954. “Little Mo” died of cancer in 1969 at the age of 34 in Dallas.

About Club Med

For more information or to make a reservation, call 1-800-ClubMed, visit www.clubmed.us or contact a travel professional. For an insider look at Club Med’s offerings, visit Club Med’s newly launched social media site at ClubMedInsider.com

09/08/09

Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner and former #95 ranked player on WTA list - won USD 25000 Tournament in Monteroni while Tereza Mrdeza, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, reached the semifinals of USD 25000 played in Moscow

Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner and former #95 ranked player on WTA list – won USD 25000 Tournament in Italy in Monteroni. Ivana Lisjak is currently ranked #259 on WTA list.

Ivana’s road towards the victory was the following:
1st round: Ivana Lisjak – Evelyn Mayr (Ita) 6:4, 7:5
2nd round: Ivana Lisjak – Marta Marrero (Esp) 0:6, 6:3, 6:3
Quarterfinals: Ivana Lisjak – Patricia Mayr (Aut) 6:2, 6:1
Semifinals: Ivana Lisjak – Kinnie Laisne (Fra) 7:5, 6:1
Finals: Ivana Lisjak – Claudia Giovine (Ita) 6:4, 6:2

Current ranking of the players defeated by Ivana Lisjak in Italyare the following:

Evelyn Mayr (Ita) – #337 WTA list
Marta Marrero (Esp) – #477 WTA list
Patricia Mayr (Aut) – #80 WTA list
Kinnie Laisne (Fra) – #331 WTA list
Claudia Giovine (Ita) – #511 WTA list

Another Smrikva Bowl winner from Porec (Croatia), Tereza Mrdeza, obtained an important result on USD 25000 played in Moscow.

Tereza Mrdeza, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, reached the semifinals of the tournament played in Russia and from this week she is for the first time ranked top 400 in the World, in particular is #376 on WTA list.

Tereza’s road towards the semifinals was the following:

1st round: Tereza Mrdeza – Varvara Galanina (Rus) 6:0, 6:2
2nd round: Tereza Mrdeza – Anna Arina Marenko (Rus) 7:5, 6:2
Quarterfinals: Tereza Mrdeza – Natalia Orlova (Rus) 7:5, 6:2
Semifinals: Tereza Mrdeza – Ekaterina Ivanova (Rus) 3:6, 1:6

Current ranking of the players that played with Tereza in Moscow are the following:

Varvara Galanina (Rus) – # 287 WTA list
Anna Arina Marenko (Rus) – not ranked WTA
Natalia Orlova (Rus) – # 240 WTA list
Ekaterina Ivanova (Rus) – # 149 WTA list

Congratulations to both Ivana and Tereza for the great week!