News

26/06/09

14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 Main Draw Girls Finalists

14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 girls finalists for tomorrow are already known and they are:

Jovana Vuković (SRB)
Katie Swan (GBR)

The finals will be played tomorrow starting at 9:00 AM.

Right now are on the courts the boys semifinals are played and soon we will know the boys finalists, thus we will know this year Smrikva Bowl team that will play on Sunday the 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl.

At 6:00 PM Smrikva Bowl team and the “Little Mo” team will be presented.

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.

26/06/09

14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 Main Draw Boys Semifinalists

The boys that qualified for the 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 semifinals are:

Karlo Suevich (CRO)
Alvaro Regalado Pedrol (ESP)

Alejandro Davidovich (ESP)
Samuele Ramazzotti (ITA)

At 3:30 PM the Girls semifinals will be played and will be followed by the boys semifinals.

At 6:00 PM Smrikva Bowl team and the “Little Mo” team will be presented.

26/06/09

14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 Main Draw Girls Semifinalists

14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 continues today with beautiful matches and the girls semifinalists are already known.

Inci Ogut (TUR)
Jovana Vuković (SRB)

Katie Swan (GBR)
Arianna Capogrosso (ITA)

The semifinals will be played this afternoon.

Right now are on the courts the boys and soon we will know the boys semifinalists.

This evening we will also have the finalists and this year Smrikva Bowl team that will play on Sunday the 8th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl.

At 6:00 PM Smrikva Bowl team and the “Little Mo” team will be presented.

25/06/09

14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 Main Draw Boys Quarterfinalists

14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 continues with beautiful matches and the boys quarterfinalists are already known.

Before the tournament started it was known that the quality was expected to be good in the boys section but you can not understand the level till you do not see the players. Uptoday the shown level is of outstanding quality and very strong matches are expected tomorrow.

The boys that qulified to play in the 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 quarterfinals are:

Karlo Suevich (CRO)
Patrik Rikl (CZE)

Alvaro Regalado Pedrol (ESP)
Gabi Adrian Boitan (ROM)

Alex De Minaur Roman (ESP)
Alejandro Davidovich (ESP)

Miomir Kecmanović (SRB)
Samuele Ramazzotti (ITA)

At 6:00 PM the 14th Smrikva Bowl players will be nominated the Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors and the centuries old Olive Tree will be planted.

Tomorrow the quarterfinals and semifinals of the Main Draw are on the schedule and we expect several beautiful matches.

25/06/09

14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 Main Draw Girls Quarterfinalists

14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 continues today with beautiful matches and the girls quarterfinalists are already known.

Before the tournament started it was known that the quality was expected to be good according to the information received from the players but you can not understand the level till you do not see them playing.

It is like good wine. Until you do not taste it you do not know the wine you have made. Every year we have a similar story with the Smrikva Bowl players. You expect new talents and every year you really discover new talents with their different caracters, different styles. Also this year Smrikva Bowl is showing outstanding quality of the players.

The girls that will play tomorrow the quarterfinals are:

Inci Ogut (TUR)
Alessia Aline Welti (SUI)

Jovana Vuković (SRB)
Andrea Amalia Rosca (ROM)

Katie Swan (GBR)
Angela Fita Boluda (ESP)

Berfu Cengiz (TUR)
Arianna Capogrosso (ITA)

This afternoon we will have the Boys Main Draw Quarterfinalists and at 6PM all the Smrikva Bowl players will be nominated the Ambassadors and the centuries old Olive Tree will be planted.

24/06/09

14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 has started today at 8:30 AM

14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 started today at 8:30 AM with a lovelly openning cerimony.

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

We are also very pleased that Laura Bilman and Maureen from Mouratoglou Academy are visiting as this year. Patrik Mouratoglou Academy sponsors the winners of the Smrikva Bowl with one week training in this prestigous Academy and is a real pleasure to have Laura and Maureen in Smrikve.

It is the second time that Smrikva Bowl gathered players from 5 continents and it is the second time that Australian players compete in the Smrikva Bowl. Players from Australia traveled over 16000 kilometres to reach Smrikve and Croatia.

There are six new countries represented this year: Japan, Norway, Brazil, Mauritius, Latvia and Bulgary. With this new countries Smrikva Bowl has reached 40 countries represented over the years and has also reached the sixth continent.

The level of the players is expected to be very high. There are many talented players among the around 100 participants.

The creation of the Smrikva Bowl library started this year and the Smrikva Bowl players brought very beautiful books representing the culture of the places that they are coming from. Thank you all!

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

Girls
Ana Biskic (CRO)
Inci Ogut (TUR)
Kristina Miletić (SRB)
Elle Rose Griffiths (GBR)
Gerda Zykute (LTU)
Seone Mendez (AUS)
Georgina Walker (GBR)
Dea Lako (CRO)
Marina Romaniuc (ROM)
Emilija Cvetanović (SRB)
Alessia Aline Welti (SUI)
Jovana Vuković (SRB)
Lucie Kankova (CZE)
Petra Pupić (CRO)
Jeanna Zuger (SUI)
Wicka Kulik (POL)
Radina Rakić (AUT)
Camilla Ceppellini (ITA)
Izabela Gabriela Novac (ROM)
Lana Lipovčević (CRO)
Andrea Amalia Rosca (ROM)
Katie Swan (GBR)
Giulia Turconi (ITA)
Andrea Simeunović (SRB)
Haruna Arakawa (JPN)
Lea Bošković (CRO)
Kristina Novak (SLO)
Sina Zuger (SUI)
Dragana Radišić (BIH)
Lauren King-Sparke (GBR)
Neli Šunjić (CRO)
Angela Fita Boluda (ESP)
Berfu Cengiz (TUR)
Bozkidarya Encheva (BUL)
Martina Pavoković (CRO)
Tzarina Tuen-Matthews (GBR)
Tina Cvetković (SLO)
Amina Bajramović (BIH)
Lora Apostolova (BUL)
Milica Panić (SRB)
Georgina Axon (GBR)
Martina Bokulić (CRO)
Arianna Capogrosso (ITA)

Boys
Karlo Suevich (CRO)
Yannick Skinneger (SUI)
Vinicius Nogueira (BRA)
Karlo Kranić (CRO)
Kiro Paul Barra (GER)
Renzo Paro (CRO)
Rimpei Kawakami (JPN)
Nicolas Merzetti (ITA)
Nemanja Popović (SRB)
Tommaso Vottero (ITA)
Simone Nascardi (ITA)
Borna Šeatović (CRO)
Patrik Rikl (CZE)
Max Stewart (GBR)
Mark Keki (HUN)
Nicolas Kupfer (SUI)
Alvaro Regalado Pedrol (ESP)
Vito Tonejc (CRO)
Alexei Popyrin (AUS)
Roko Savin (CRO)
Samuel Sinott (GBR)
Alexandre James Zavodov (GBR)
Andrej Omeragić (CRO)
Gabi Adrian Boitan (ROM)
Tin Lučin (CRO)
Andrei Caia (ROM)
Alex De Minaur Roman (ESP)
Nicola Vidal (ITA)
Atakan Gezer (TUR)
Tomas Machac (CZE)
Marko Boltušić (CRO)
Filippo Vottero (ITA)
Michail Bradinoff (BUL)
Alejandro Davidovich (ESP)
Matija Volarević (CRO)
Thomas Smalley (GBR)
Anthony Popyrin (AUS)
Arslan Kellou (FRA)
Amaury De Beer (MUS)
Miomir Kecmanović (SRB)
Moritz Thiem (AUT)
Karlo Divković (BIH)
Jose Mathias Bulanti (ESP)
Davide Innocenti (ITA)
Andrej Jokić (BIH)
Emir Mulalić (BIH)
Andreja Petrovic (NOR)
Berkay Sucugil (TUR)
Frane Ninčević (CRO)
Ben Mortimer (GBR)
Lucas Vontobal (SUI)
Samuele Ramazzotti (ITA)

“Little Mo” team that will play in the 8th „Little Mo“/Smrikva Bowl:
Noah Schachter (USA)
Alex Gee(USA)
Michaela Gordon (USA)
Ashley Lahey (USA)

Tomorrow at 6PM 14th Smrikva Bowl players will be nominated the Smrikva Bowl Ambassadors that will be followed by the cerimony of the centuries old Olive Tree planting.

22/06/09

14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 Press Release for the Croatian Media

SVIM MEDIJIMA

Pula, 22. lipanj 2009.

Poštovani,

Ove godine je primljeno na Smrikvu više od 100 djece sa 5 kontinenta i iz 27 zemalja svijeta. Na internet stranici http://www.smrikve.com/smrikva-bowl/world-in-smrikve/ se mogu pogledati zemlje učesnice od 1996.godine.

Brojni takmičari su rangirani kao najbolji igrači u svojoj zemlji, a velika većina je rangirana među prvih pet igrača u zemlji. Igrači Smrikve dolaze iz dalekih krajeva a neki od njih putujući iz Australije naprave i više od 16.000 kilometara da bi nastupili na Smrikva Bowl-u.

Posebnost Smrikva Bowl-a čini i njegova ideja vodilja koja ga karakterizira od samoga počekta. Kozmopolitanske vrijednosti se prožimaju kroz sport i djecu, i isto tako kroz kulturu i muziku.

Godinama, igrači Smrikva Bowl-a postaju Ambasadori turnira, i kao dio te ceremonije sva djeca zajedno sade stoljetnu maslinu. Ambasadori Smrikve imaju dužnost pomoći Smrikvama u sakupljanju talenata za sljedeću godinu i zahvaljujući njihovim preporukama turnir iz godine u godinu raste po kvaliteti. Maslina je simbol mira i prijateljstva, a njene godine za sudionike Smrikva Bowl-a znače i međugeneracijske odgovornosti.

Od ove godine Ambasadori turnira počinju promicati u svojim zemljama Istru kao kulturnu turističku destinaciju. Kao dio početka te priče smo krenuli sa stvaranjem biblioteke Smrikva Bowl-a. Svako dijete pri upisu na turnir donosi kao poklon Smrikvama jednu potpisanu knjigu kulture svoje zemlje ili grada u kojem živi. Smrikve isto tako poklanjaju svakom igraču knjigu o kulturi Istre… tj. E-knjigu „Istra from Smrikve“ – virtualnu knjigu o kulturi Istri koja se nalazi na netu od kraja ožujka mjeseca 2009.godine na stranici www.smrikve.com/istria/ .

Nikada se ne zna gdje će se novi talenat roditi u svijetu, i isto tako se nikada ne zna pobjednik Smrikve. Skoro svakom irgaču Smrikve je ovo jedan od prvih velikih međunarodnih turnira gdje mogu izmjeriti svoj talenat sa ostalim talentima iz teniskog svijeta pa je tako svaka Smrikva jedno novo otkriće kako za djecu tako i za nas.

Ključni elementi ovogodišnjeg programa Smrikva Bowl-a se mogu sažeti u sljedećim točkama:

Prvi dan
24. lipanj – 8:30 Otvaranje turnira

Drugi dan
25. lipanj – 18:00 Imenovanje Ambasadora i sadnja stoljetne masline

Treci dan
26. lipanj – 18:00 Predstavljanje «Little Mo» i Smrikva Bowl tima

Četvrti dan
27. lipanj – 9:00 Finale i svečano proglašenje pobjednika oko 12:00

Peti dan
28. lipanj – 9:00 «Little Mo»/Smrikva Bowl

Više dobrih igrača iz Hrvatske su postigli visoke rezultate na Smrikva Bowl-u igrajući finale ili čak pobjedivši turnir pa tako vrijedi spomenuti: Vilima Viška (1996), Ivanu Lisjak (1997), Denija Žmaka (1999), Terezu Mrdežu (2000), Marina Draganju (2001), Dina Marcana (2001), Petru Martić (2001), Indire Akiki (2001), Ajlu Tomljanović (2002 i 2003), Silviju Njirić (2003), Ivana Levara (2004), Filipa Kraljevića (2006) i Anu Konjuh (2007).

Razvoj turnira bi bio nemoguć bez brojnih volontera, zaljubljenika Smrikve i njenih sponzora. Tako se i ovim putem zahvaljujemo svim volonterima i zaljubljenicima Smrikve koji danas čine više stotina osoba i obitelji diljem svijeta. Do danas je kroz Smrikvu prošlo više od 4500 ljudi.

Zahvaljujemo se i ovogodišnjim sponzorima koji omogućavaju rast i posebnost Smrikve: igračima i rekreativcima Tenis kluba Smrikve, Ronzio Oleodinamici iz Milana, tvrtci Mercator, tvrtci sportske opreme Sergio Tacchini, tvrtci teniske opreme Wilson, Teniskoj Akademiji Mouratoglou iz Pariza, MV Fotolito iz Milana, tvrtci Shake iz Pule, Duravitu, IZO iz Balići, Agrofarmaciji, Svijetu biljaka iz Vodnjana, Royal Boats-u, Ani Ivanović, baletnom studio Rondo, Ledu, Product Impexu iz Pule, Histrici iz Pule, Restoranu Oaza s Velog Vrha, Komot iz Zagreba, Balunu Vodnjan, Turističkoj Zajednici Grada Pule, Istarskoj Županiji, Puljanci iz Pule, plesnoj grupi Pirueta i brojnim pojedincima….

TENIS KLUB SMRIKVE

Kontakt osoba: Rossana Matejčić – Miljević

22/06/09

A nice article about Alex Gee that will play in the US team at the 8th"Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl edition

Alex Gee is the US player that will be part of the “Little Mo” team that will play against the Smrikva Bowl finalist on Sunday, 28th of June. Larry Young wrote a nice article for Huston Chronicle that I am pleased to share with the Smrikva Bowl community.

Local youth to represent U.S. at tennis tournament

At only 9, Gee headed to Croatia later this month

Fifth-graders aren’t supposed to be dominant in tennis.

Alex Gee of Houston must have missed the memo.

Although he has been bouncing a ball since he could walk, Gee first picked up a racket at age 7 — and promptly won his first tournament.

Gee made another splash recently when he defeated seven other quarterfinalists to win the 32nd annual “Little Mo” Texas Sectional for 10-year-old boys.

Just 9, he is one of two players who will represent the United States against Europe in the eighth annual “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl on June 28 at Pula, Croatia.

Noah Schachter of Steilacoom, Wash., is the other representative.

“I’m very excited because I get to play for the USA, and it’s a good experience for me,” Gee said.

This year’s tournament is expected to draw more than 100 players from 27 countries. About 20 of those players are ranked No. 1 in their respective countries, and many others are ranked in the top five. Gee and Schachter will be looking to score the first U.S. win in the event’s seven-year history.

“I hope to make a difference in being part of the first winning USA team,” said Gee, whose favorite pro player is Rafael Nadal of Spain.

The Condit Elementary honor student comes by his tennis prowess naturally. His mother Sabrina played collegiately at North Texas, and the two hit balls together almost every day.

“I’m pretty hard on him,” Sabrina said. “I’m constantly on him in terms of drills and hitting. … I think mostly I try to teach him mental toughness, to hang in and not give up.”

Gee, who this week is participating in the Texas Summer Grand Slam boys 12 tourney at College Station, aims to one day be the top-ranked player in the country.

[email protected]

16/06/09

14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 Sponsors updates

The final preparations for the opening of the 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 are under completion. I am pleased to thanks all the Sponsors and supporters that are with us also this year and I am pleased to welcome new Sponsors.

There is a long list of Smrikva Bowl Sponsors, Staff and Honorary Members that over the years support Smrikva Bowl growth and I am happy when there are new people that fall in love with the tournament and the same way happy when the old friends remain on our side and support us year after year.

I am pleased to thank all of them and you can find the list of the Smrikva Bowl Staff, Honorary Members and the Golden Honorary Members in the Smrikva Bowl Staff section while in the Smrikva Bowl Sponsors section you will find the main Sponsors and if you clik on their logos you will be linked to their internet sites.

Some of the 14th Smrikva Bowl 2009 Sponsors are: – Smrikve Tennis Club – Ronzio Oleodinamica from Milan – Sergio Tacchini from Italy – Mercator from Slovenia – Wilson sportswear company – Mouratoglou Tennis Academy from Paris – MV Fotolito from Milan – Komot from Zagreb – Duravit from Pula – IZO from Balici – Agrofarmacija from Pula – Svijet biljaka from Vodnjan – Royal Boats from Pula – Puljanka from Pula – “Shake” from Pula – Ana Ivanovic – Ledo from Zagreb – Radio Velenje from Velenje – Product Impex from Pula – Histrica from Pula – Restoran Oaza from Veli Vrh – Nove Istarske Knjizare from Pula – Balun Vodnjan from Vodnjan – Rondo dancing group from Pula – Pirueta dancing group from Pula – Turisticka Zajednica Grada Pule – Istarska Zupanija

Once again thank you all! and very special thanks to the Smrikva Bowl friends.

13/06/09

Top Smrikva Bowl and "Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl players on ATP, WTA, ITF, USTA and European under 14 and 16 ranking lists (update June 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 #1077 on ATP list. Vilim’s best ranking was #612 in March 2006. Vilim Visak is currently ranked #602 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 #454 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 #1525 on ATP list.

GIRLS
Astrid Besser, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 winner, from Italy, is ranked #448 on WTA list.

2000 – 5th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Adelchi Virgili, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, from Italy. Adelchi is very talented player that continues to be injured.

GIRLS
Tereza Mrdeza, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, from Croatia, is currently ranked #538 on WTA list.

2001 – 6th Smrikva Bowl

BOYS
Marin Draganja, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #1902 on ATP ranking list.
Dino Marcan, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #1783 on ATP ranking list.

GIRLS
Petra MARTIC, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #145 on WTA list.
Indire Akiki, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #741 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 #764 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 #756 on WTA ranking list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #534 on WTA list.
Ema BURGIC, ranked 3rd on 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #773 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 #894 on ITF ranking list and is ranked #6 in Europe in under 16 cathegory
George MORGAN, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Great Britain, is ranked #296 on ITF ranking list.
Ciprian Porumb, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Romenia, is ranked #421 on ITF ranking list.

GIRLS
Jennifer Ren, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Great Britain, was ranked #987 on WTA list.
Silvia NJIRIC, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #798 on WTA list.
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Croatia, is ranked #534 on WTA list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Emmett Egger, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #423 on ITF ranking list.
Robert Stineman, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #120 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.

Karen Forman, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #142 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.
Katie Klyczek, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #476 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 #188 in under 16 cathegory.
Miki JANKOVIC, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #2 in Europe in under 16 cathegory and is ranked #1044 on ITF ranking list.

GIRLS
Saska Gavrilovska, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #286 in Europe in under 16 cathegory and is ranked #1078 on ITF ranking list.
Ecaterina Opriou, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Romenia, is ranked #30 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Mitchel Polnet, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #193 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.

Blair SHANKLE, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #11 in the USA in under 16 cathegory and is ranked #598 on ITF ranking list.
Anna MAMALAT, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #22 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.

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 #4 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Gyore Laszlo, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #17 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Gianluigi QUINZI, ranked 3rd on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005, from Italy, is ranked #8 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 #286 in Europe in under 16 cathegory and is ranked #1078 on ITF ranking list.
Olga Ianchuk, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Ukraine, is ranked #9 in Europe in under 14 cathegory and is ranked #1382 on ITF ranking list.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Jeffrey Schorsch, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #308 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Jose Gracia, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #115 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Yale GOLDBERG, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #25 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

Dorothy Tang, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #75 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 #8 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Filip Kraljevic, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #674 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

GIRLS
Eleanor DEAN, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Great Britain, is ranked #43 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Dina PAOCIC, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #130 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

“Little Mo” TEAM
Daniel Maese, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #1352 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Aries Wong, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #314 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

Christina MAKAROVA, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #70 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Gabriella Umoquit, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #784 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 #308 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 #397 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Ana KONJUH, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #327 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Nina POTOCNIK, ranked 3rd on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Slovenia, is ranked #347 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 #32 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Tommy PAUL, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #5 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Ndindi NDUNDA, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #13 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Domonique Garley, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #66 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 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 #88 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
William Blumberg, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #379 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

Ingrid NEEL, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #26 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Paulina Ferrari, played 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #301 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

10/06/09

8th "Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl 2009 - United States Team Announcement - Press Release

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate release
June 9,2009
[email protected]
www.mcbtennis.org
(214) 352-7978

8th “Little Mo”/ Smrikva Bowl
June 28, 2009 * Pula, Croatia

United States Team Announced
(U.S. vs. Europe)
For Boys & Girls 10 & under

Dallas...The Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation and Tennis Club Smrikve are proud to present the 8th annual international team competition between the United States and Europe for young players on Sunday, June 28, 2009. This is the only international team competition which features the top boys and girls from the United States and the rest of the world who are 10 & under.

The “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl is named after two prestigious tournaments: the “Little Mo” Nationals which features the best young players in the United States from 7-11 years of age and the Smrikva Bowl which is one of the top European tournaments for boys and girls having gathered players from 40 countries and six continents over the fourteen year history.

The 14th annual Smrikva Bowl will be held the week of June 22nd at the Tennis Club Smrikve in Pula, Croatia.

The Smrikva Bowl is expected to have over 100 top players from 27 countries and 5 continents competing in this prestigious European tournament—over 20 players are ranked #1 in their country and many others are ranked in the top 5 in their country.

The “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl is probably the highest level competition for boys and girls who are 10 & under in the world.
The “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl will feature the top two boys and top two girls in the United States and the rest of the world playing a total of eight matches. The competition was held the first two years in Austin, Texas at the Austin Tennis Academy and the past five years at the Tennis Club Smrikve in Pula, Croatia. Smrikva Bowl has won the competition each year .

The players representing the United States are:

Boys:

#1: Noah Schachter – Steilacoom, Washington

#2: Alex Gee – Bellaire, Texas

Girls:

#1: Michaela Gordon – Los Altos Hills, California

#2: Ashley Lahey – Boulder, Colorado

The U.S. players were selected due to their outstanding results in “Little Mo” competition at the Sectional, Regional, National and International level.

The “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl is one of the many events the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation organizes to promote junior tennis development. The foundation was co-founded by Maureen Connolly Brinker and her dear friend, Mrs. Frank A. Jeffett, in 1968. 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.

For more information, visit www.mcbtennis.org and www.smrikve.com/smrikva-bowl.

07/06/09

Ivana Lisjak - 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner and former #95 ranked player on WTA list - won USD 25000 Tournament in Sarajevo

Ivana Lisjak – 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner and former #95 ranked player on WTA list – won USD 25000 Tournament that was played this week in Sarajevo.

Ivana Lisjak’s road towards the victory of the Sarajevo tournament was the following:

1st round: Ivana Lisjak – Indire Akiki (CRO) 6:1, 6:3
2nd round: Ivana Lisjak – Alexandra Panova (RUS) 6:3, 6:4
Quarterfinals: Ivana Lisjak – Diana Nakic (SLO) 6:2, 6:1
Semifinals: Ivana Lisjak – Karolina Kosinska (POL) 6:2, 6:2
Finals: Ivana Lisjak – Ana Jovanovic (SRB) 6:0, 7:6

Ivana Lisjak is currently ranked #456 on WTA list and the defeated players are ranked as follows:

Indire Akiki (CRO) – 6th Smrikva Bowl runner up – #702 WTA
Alexandra Panova (RUS) – #224 WTA
Diana Nakic (SLO) – #836 WTA
Karolina Kosinska (POL) – #399 WTA
Ana Jovanovic (SRB) – #238

Congratulations Ivana!

07/06/09

Marin Draganja and Dino Marcan - 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner and runner up - won the Junior Roland Garros doubles Championship 2009

Marin Draganja and Dino Marcan – 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner and runner up – were not so successful in the single performacne of this year Junior Roland Garros but they obtained the victory of the Junior Roland Garros doubles Championship 2009.

Their road towards the victory for Marin and Dino was the following:

1st round: Draganja – Marcan defeated Tennys Sandgren and Julen Uriguen 5:7, 6:4, 1:0

2nd round: Draganja – Marcan defeated Filip Horansky and
Jozef Kovalik 4;6, 6:0, 1:0

Quarterfinals: Draganja – Marcan defeated Evan King and Denis Kudla 6:0, 7:6

Semifinals: Draganja – Marcan defeated Dominik Schulz and David Souto 6:4, 6:2

Finals: Draganja – Marcan defeated Guilherme Clezar and Liang-Chi Huang 6:3, 6:2

I am pleased to share with the Smrikva Bowl comunity parts of the article published on ITF internet site and related with this victory.

by Simon Cambers

Junior doubles winners crowned at Roland Garros

Draganja and Marcan cruised to the boys’ title with an impressive 63 62 win over fourth seeds Guilherme Clezar of Brazil and Liang-Chi Huang.

Draganja and Marcan became the first all-Croatian pair to win the boys’ title in Paris after an utterly dominant performance.

The two 18-year-olds were never in trouble and their first grand-slam title helped sooth early exits from the singles competition.

Marcan has been practising with Robin Soderling, the men’s singles finalist, and the work clearly paid off.

“He’s maybe the main reason why we’ve been playing so good in doubles lately,” Marcan said.

“After his ball, juniors is pretty slow for me. (Marin) was saying today that we played against two guys who were pretty good at the baseline but I just had a great day and it’s because Soderling’s forehand is so good. “

The pair are set to play doubles in some seniors events later this year, and though singles is the main aim for both of them, winning the title was nice compensation.

“It means a lot,” Draganja said. “We lost pretty soon in the singles and it feels good to stay in the tournament until the end.”

Marin Draganj is currently ranked #51 on ITF ranking list and his best ranking was #11. On ATP ranking list Marin is ranked #1906.

Dino Marcan is currently ranked #33 on ITF ranking list and his best ranking was #24. On ATP ranking list Marin is ranked #1797.

Congratulations boys!

04/06/09

Luca Appino - Golden Honorary Smrikva Bowl Member - completed the book about Nadal that can be ordered on line: "The World of Rafael Nadal, secrets of his success"

Luca Appino is a long term Smrikva Bowl friend and Golden Honorary Member since this title was established.

I am very pleased to share with Smrikva Bowl community the news that his book has been published and can be ordered on line. It is a book about Rafael Nadal that Luca discovered when Rafa was still a very young boy.

The book is named: “The World of Rafael Nadal – secrets of his success”

Luca Appino was for many years Babolat Director Of Sports Marketing and contributed to built up Babolat from a string company to one of the largest racquet manufacturers in the world.

Luca is credited for signing contracts with players such as Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Carlos Moya, Nadia Petrova and Aravane Rezzai.

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

*He met Rafael Nadal in 1998 when the future number one was
aged 12.* Luca naturally became very close to Rafa who is one of
the key players on the French brand’s team.

Today, Luca Appino is coach to the Estonian player Kaia Kanepi.
The idea of writing a collection of anecdotes chronicling the rise of
Rafael Nadal while also giving advice on how to progress occurred
to Luca as a natural continuation of his blog on the internet site
welovetennis.fr.

I remember last summer when Luca Appino visited Smrikve with his family he was telling me about the book he was writing on Nadal and I was telling him about the book I was writing about Istria.

Since 2002, Luca has been supporting the Smrikva Bowl development. He was introduced to me by Marco Girardini, the coach of Martina Caregaro that won 7th Smrikva Bowl that year.

In the last few years, Luca Appino has been dedicating his time to various business activities and has introduced Smrikva Bowl to Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, Wilson and Sergio Tacchini group.

I am pleased to have opportunity to exchange opinions with Luca personally, but the idea of this book was born with intention to help people that are dedicating their time to tennis with some tips related with the improvements in their tennis growth.

As 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 also like to highlight the fact that this book has been a common project, developed in collaboration with Toni Nadal, without whom it would never have been possible.”

To learn more or order the book please visit www.rafabook.com

Congratulations Luca for spending your time to share your knowledge through writing the book. I am sure that both Rafael Nadal’s funs and tennis funs in general will enjoy it!

01/06/09

Silvia Njiric reached the quarterfinals of the Junior Roland Garros, while Ajla Tomljanovic finished the tournament in the third round

Silvia Njiric, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, reached the quarterfinals of the Junior Roland Garros, while Ajla Tomljanovic finished the tournament in the third round.

In the quarterfinals Silvia Njiric played against Sloane Stephens from the USA, while Ajla Tomljanovic lost against Bianca Botto in the third round.

Ajla Tomljanovic played Smrikva Bowl twice in 2002 and 2003. The first year she was runner up of the tournament and in 2003 she ranked third while in 2003 Silvia Njiric was the runner up. In 2002 Ajla Tomljanovic represented Smrikva Bowl at the first “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl and went to play this event in the United States and the year after also Silvia Njiric went to the States.

Currently Ajla and Silvia are ranked among top 10 under 18 players in the World and they both have a very good ranking on WTA list too.

Ajla TOMLJANOVIC:
1st round: Ajla Tomljanovic – Clothilde De Bernardi (FRA) 6:4, 6:2
2nd round: Ajla Tomljanovic – Alexandra Krunic (SRB) 6:2, 6:2
3rd round: Ajla Tomljanovic – Bianca Botto (PER) 1:6, 6:3, 5:7

Silvia NJIRIC:
1st round: Silvia Njiric – Caroline Garcia (FRA) 6:1, 6:3
2nd round: Silvia Njiric – Daria Salnikova (RUS) 6:3, 6:4
3rd round: Silvia Njiric – Elena Bogdan (ROU) 7:5, 6:0
Quarterfinals: Silvia Njiric – Sloane Stephens (USA) 2:6, 2:6

Dino Marcan, 6th Smrikva Bowl runner up, lost in the first round, while Marin Draganja, 6th Smrikva Bowl winner, successfully passed the first round but lost in the second:

Marin DRAGANJA:
1st round: Marin Draganja – Kevin Konfederak (ARG) 6:4, 6:2
2nd round Marin Draganja – Tennys Sandgren (USA) 3:6, 2:6

31/05/09

Ana Konjuh - under 12 Croatian Champion

Ana Konjuh from Dubrovnik, 12th Smrikva Bowl runner up, won the under 12 Croatian Championship that was played in Pozega (Slavonija) last week. Ana is currently among the most talented girls in her age group and is probably among the best in Europe.

Her road towards the victory of under 12 Croatian Championship was the following:
1st round: Ana Konjuh – Borac 6:1, 6:0
2nd round: Ana Konjuh – Alibaic 6:2, 6:3
Quarterfinals: Ana Konjuh – Previsic 6:3, 6:4
Semifinals: Ana Konjuh – Marija Curnic 6:1, 6:3
Finals: Ana Konjuh – Petra Granic 6:3, 6:2

Congratulations Ana and congratulations also to Marija Curnic and Petra Granic, who reached the semifinals and the finals of the Championship, and played 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008, the year after Ana Konjuh.

Ana Konjuh was runner up of the 12th Smrikva Bowl as I wrote above and Marija Curnic and Petra Granic reached the quarterfinals of the last year edition.

In the boys draw the best result was obtained by Alen Rogic Hadzalic who reached the semifinals. In the quarterfinals he defeated Karlo Boljat who reached the quarterfinals of the last year Smrikva Bowl and lost at the time against the winner of the tournament Luka Panic.

23/05/09

Petra Martic - 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner - lost in the second round of the Main Draw of the Paris - Roland Garros - Grand Slam Tournament

Petra Martic – 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner – currently with Ajla Tomljanovic and Silvia Njiric one of the best young Croatian tennis players, qualified for the Main Draw of the Paris – Roland Garros – Grand Slam Tournament and also won her first match of her first Roland Garros.

Petra Martic is ranked #188 on WTA list and her qualifications road towards the first round of Roland Garros Main Draw was the following:

1st round: Petra Martic – Georgie Stoop (GBR) 7:5, 7:5
2nd round: Petra Martic – Alberta Brianti (ITA) 7:5, 6:2
3rd round: Petra Martic – Evgeniya Rodina (RUS) 6:4, 6:4

The ranking of the players defeated by Petra Martic in the qualifications is the following:

Georgie Stoop – #183 WTA
Alberta Brianti – #119 WTA
Evgeniya Rodina – #134 WTA

In the first round of the Main Draw Petra Martic defeated Mara Santangelo from Italy 6:2, 6:4. Mara Santangelo is an experienced player currently ranked #108 on WTA list and her best ranking was #27 on WTA list in July 2007.

In the second round Petra Martic lost against Aleksandra Wozniak from Canada. Aleksandra Woznaik is currently ranked #24 on WTA list.

1st round: Petra Martic – Mara Santangelo (ITA) 6:2, 6:4
2nd round: Petra Martic – Aleksandra Woznaik (CAN) 3:6, 3:6

Congratulations Petra!

22/05/09

Ajla Tomljanovic and Silvia Njiric reached the third round of the 50th annual of Trofeo Bonfiglio in Milan

Ajla Tomljanovic and Silvia Njiric, the Smrikva Bowl runner up, reached the third round of prestigous Milan’s 50th annual Trofeo Bonfiglio.

Ajla and Silvia are currently considered the most talented girls in their age group in Croatia and few weeks ago a nice article about their developement was published in VJESNIK.

They are both ranked on WTA list and are ranked among top 10 juniors in the World:
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC – #535 on WTA list and #5 on ITF ranking list. Silvia NJIRIC – #742 on WTA list and #8 on ITF ranking list

Their road towards the third round of Trofeo Bonfiglio was the following:
1st round: Ajla Tomljanovic – Grace Sari YSIDORA (Ina) 6:3, 6:2
2nd round: Ajla Tomljanovic – Isabella HOLLAND (Aus) 4:6,6:3,6:4
3rd round: Ajla Tomljanovic – Aleksandra KRUNIC (Srb) 5:7, 6:7

1st round: Silvia Njiric – Zsofia SUSANYI (Hun) 6:2, 6:3
2nd round: Silvia Njiric – Eugenie BOUCHARD (Can) 7:6, 6:2
3rd round: Silvia Njiric – Christina MCHALE (USA) 3:6, 6:4, 1:6

I was pleased to see Giacomo Miccini in the Main Draw. Giacomo Miccini was the 7th Smrikva Bowl runner up from Italy and six months ago he had a surgery and was not competing for a long time. I saw he passed the first round and did not completed the second match but hopefully his health conditions are imporving and hopefully we will see him in the following months.

15/05/09

A nice article about Ajla Tomljanovic and Silvia Njiric - the Croatian rising tennis stars - in the Croatian National Newspaper VJESNIK

On 7th of May a nice article about Ajla Tomljanovic and Silvia Njiric was published on one of the most important Croatian National Newspaper VJESNIK.

Ajla Tomljanovic played Smrikva Bowl twice, in 2002 and 2003, while Silvia Njiric played in 2003.

Ajla ranked 2nd when she was 9 years old and ranked 3rd in 2003 while Silvia Njiric was Smrikva Bowl runner up in 2003.

Tomljanovic and Njiric both represented Smrikva Bowl in the “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl competition.

Little Mo

Ajla Tomljanovic was part of the team that went to the USA to play the 1st “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl. On the picture below Ajla is a girl with Croatian flag.

The first two years “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl was played in Texas and the second year, Silvia Njiric was part of the Smrikva Bowl team on the 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl Championship. Thanks to the outstanding results both Ajla and Silvia had the opportunity to travle to the USA and play the first ever team competition between Europe and the United States.

On the pictures below Silvia is a girl with blue t-shirt and Croatian flag.

CURRENT RANKING of Ajla and Silvia:

Ajla TOMLJANOVIC – #535 on WTA list and #5 on ITF ranking list.

Silvia NJIRIC – #742 on WTA list and #8 on ITF ranking list

Extrardinary results for two extraordinary girls.

For the readers that do understand Croatian I am pleased to share the article written by Andrea Bobetic for VJESNIK Newspapers.

AJLA TOMLJANOVIĆ I SILVIJA NJIRIĆ Mlade nade hrvatskog tenisa

by Andrea Bobetić (www.VJESNIK.hr)

KĆERI SPORTAŠA: »Preferiramo individualni sport«

Ajla i Silvija imaju još nešto zajedničko. Naime, Ratko Tomljanović, Ajlin otac, bio je vrlo us pješan rukometaš, dok se Marina Njirić, Silvijina maJka, takoder bavila rukometom. No, to nije sve. Silvio Njirić je direktor marketinga u rukometnom savezu. Pa kako to da djevojke nisu završile u rukometu?

»Nisam tip za ekipne sportove. Jednostavno se nisam vidjela u tome. Iskreno, ni tata nikad nije forsirao. Mislim da je rukomet pregrub sport za žene«, rekla je Ajla, a Silvija dodala: »Počela sam trenirati rukomet, no preferiram individualan sport, gdje sama odlučujem o svojoj sudbini.«

SVE SMO PODREDILE TENISU

»U prosincu sam bila u Bollettierijevoj akademiji i mislim da je bolje kad se posvetiš individualnom radu s trenerom«, kaže Njirić

Ajla Tomljanović i Silvija Njirić trenutačno su najperspektivnije hrvatske tenisačice. Tomljanović je peta svjetska juniorka, dok se Njirić nalazi na osmome mjestu. Na Zagreb Openu, koji se ovog tjedna igra u Teniskom centru »Iva Majoli«, obje su poražene u prvome kolu.

Cijela obitelj u SAD-u

Ajla Tomljanović već dvije godine živi i trenira u SAD-u. »Treniram na Floridi u akademiji Chris Evert, koja je 51 posto u vlasništvu obitelji Evert, a 49 posto u vlasništvu menadžerske agencije IMG. Treneri su mi Rene Gomez i John Evert, inače brat proslavljene tenisačice «, objasnila je Ajla i dodala: »S ocem sam ranije provela tri tjedna u akademiji. Sve je bilo odlično, uvjeti su mi se svidjeli, pa sam se odlučila vratiti i potpuno se posvetiti tenisu.«

Naime, s Ajlom se na Floridu preselila cijela obitelj, koja joj je velika podrška, a kaže da su svi izvukli nešto dobro iz odlaska u SAD.

Silvija je, pak, za bazu odabrala Zagreb. »Od sijeènja treniram s Alanom Marićem, koji je za mene najbolji izbor. U prosincu sam bila u akademiji Nicka Bollettierija i nakon toga loše odigrala dva turnira. Mislim da je bolje kad se posvetiš individualnom radu s trenerom, to daje bolji rezultat «, iskreno će Njirić, koja je sve podredila tenisu, pa pohađa opću dopisnu gimnaziju.

Obje djevojke planiraju odigrati juniorski turnir A kategorije u Italiji i potom Roland Garros. Nakon toga slijedi Wimbledon, a zanimljivo je da će to mladim hrvatskim tenisačicama biti prvi nastup na travi.

Izbornik Goran Prpić rekao je da su Tomljanović i Njirić, uz Petru Martić, najveća perspektiva ženskog tenisa te da će ih u budućnosti zvati u Fed kup reprezentaciju.

Mlade tenisačice su svjesne da trebaju još mnogo raditi da bi stigle do vrha. »Nedostaje mi eksplozivnosti i iskustva, a trebam pojačati i servis. No mislim da sam bolji igrač nego prije i doći će vrijeme kad ću ‘eksplodirati’ «, objasnit će Tomljanović, koja je napunila 16 godina.

Za napredak je presudno iskustvo

»Imam mnogo uspona i padova tijekom meča. Posjedujem sve udarce, ali trebam još puno raditi. Mislim da je za napredak presudno iskustvo«, iskreno će Silvija, a za kraj je navela ovogodišnje planove: »Cilj mi je ući meðu pet juniorki svijeta, a na WTA ljestvici među 500.«

Tomljanović je, pak, kazala da želi što više napredovati na WTA ljestvici, a krajnji joj je cilj biti broj jedan.

UZORI

Ajli se sviđala Henin, a Silvija voli sve tenisače

»Jako mi se svidala Belgijanka Justine Henin, htjela sam imati raskošne udarce kao ona. Otkad je prestala igrati, nemam uzora«, rekla je Ajla, koja većinom igra na tvrdoj podlozi, no pokušava se prilagoditi svim podlogama.

»Uzor su mi svi tenisači, svatko ima nešto posebno i od svakoga mogu nešto naučiti«, objasnila je Silvija, koja izmedu Nadala i Federera ipak preferira Švicarca. »Najdraža mi je tvrda podloga, gdje mogu igrati agresivno«, zaključila je Njirić.

Congratulations and crossed finghers for Ajla’s and Silvia’s future efforts!

15/05/09

Nikola Milojevic, last year collected Les Petit As victory - unofficial under 14 World Championship - and also Livorno and Porto and collected first ITF Points

Nikola Milojevic 10th Smrikva Bowl winner of the Consolation Draw in January won the 27th annual of Les Petit As – unofficial under 14 World Championship – that is traditionally played in Tarbes in France.

In the last two months Nikola Milojevic won two other very strong tournaments:
1. TACA International Maia Jovem played in Portugal, and
2. 20th edition of Citta’ di Livorno in Italy

This morning I received a message from Nikola and his family that his game continue to improve and also first ITF points have been collected.

I did not know till recently that actually Nikola had a problem with strings in the first round of the Smrikva Bowl and due to that situation he lost in the main tournament and played in the Consolation tournament. Over the years his game has strongly developed but it is an indication that each Smrikva Bowl player has a growth potential.

Almost four years after Smrikva Bowl he won the unofficial World Championship Les Petit As, Porto and Livorno and in his age group is for long time confirmed ranked #1 in Europe under 14.
Nikola Milojevic was born in 1995.

Nikola was in Smrikve last summer and his tennis countinue to improve year after year. He continues to grow and I like his game and his personality a lot.

Nikola Milojevic road towards the victory of the 20th edition of Citta’ di Livorno (Italy) was the following:

1st round: Nikola MILOJEVIC – Marco BIEMMI 6:2, 6:0
2nd round: N.MILOJEVIC – Albert ALCARAZ IVORRA 4:6, 6:2, 6:3
3rd round: Nikola MILOJEVIC – Billy HARRIS 6:4, 6:2
Quarterfinals: Nikola MILOJEVIC – Enzo COUACAUD 6:3, 6:1
Semifinals: Nikola MILOJEVIC – Florian LAKAT 6:3, 6:1
Finals: Nikola MILOJEVIC – Enzo PY 7:6, 6:0

The other top Smrikva Bowl players ranked as follows: Matteo Donati (2nd round), Borna Coric (quarterfinals), Ginaluigi Quinzi (quarterfinals), Karlo Skvorc (3rd round).

Nikola Milojevic road towards the victory of the TACA International Maia Jovem played in Portugal was the following:

1st round: Nikola MILOJEVIC – Euan MCINTOSH 6:2, 6:1
2nd round: Nikola MILOJEVIC – Sam DE PAEPE 6:1, 6:3
3rd round: N.MILOJEVIC – Antonio AYALA HERNANDEZ 6:3, 6:2
Quarterfinals: Nikola MILOJEVIC – Karlo SKVORC 6:0, 6:1
Semifinals: Nikola MILOJEVIC – Federico SILVA 6:2, 6:4
Finals: Nikola MILOJEVIC – Evan HOYT 6:2, 6:2

The other top Smrikva Bowl players ranked as follows: Djere Laszlo (3rd round), Borna Coric (quarterfinals), Karlo Skvorc (quarterfinals).

Congratulations Nikola!