News

20/11/07

12 years of the Smrikva Bowl story through the story of some of its players

There are many players that impressed me during their partecipation on the Smrikva Bowl. I thought that would be nice to put few notes about some of them that I still remember well after many years.

Until 2001 Smrikva Bowl was limited to Croatia and some nearby countries. From 2002 Smrikva Bowl started to gather top players from Europe and also the organization of “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl started. In the recent years Smrikva Bowl gathered players from all over the World and every year I can see how similar are the kids from all over the World.

I will start from the very first tournaments. Although I lived in Italy, Spain and the US when I started to organize Smrikva Bowl I tried to come home everytime for the tournament. The only Smrikva Bowl I missed was in 1998 when I was in New York. That year I bought on the US Open the big Willson yellow ball that from 1999 every Smrikva Bowl winner have signed.

1996 Smrikva Bowl

The first year in 1996 we had the players from Istria and Kvarner that partcipated on the Smrikva Bowl. We were lucky to have as the winner Vilim Visak from Mali Losinj. Vilim was a very good junior player and he arrived in March 2006 to #612 ranking on ATP list. He is still in tennis and I think he runs a tennis club in his home town with his father. I remember him as a very funny kid. We were joking about something and he told me that he speaks Spanish than I started to speak in Spanish and he started to smile. It was a funny situation because he did not expected me to talk in Spanish. Since the first year tha prize for the winners were the mountain bikes and it was interesting to see how the kids ride the bike on the court.

1997 Smrikva Bowl

The second year in 1997 we had the whole Croatia participating to the Smrikva Bowl. It was a very successfull tournament. We had top players from Croatia and again we were lucky to have that year Ivan Lisjak as the winner. She came with her mother from Cakovec and they slept in my apartment in the living room. I still remember that she was playing with the t-shirt Ronzio Oleodinamica and I was very happy about that. Ivana was much above the average level of the other kids. She was really strong.

My friend, Luca Appino, that was Marketing Director for many years for Babolat made some statistics for the last decades and according to this statistics only 6% of top juniors that are already over 16 years old get among Top 100 on the professional ATP and WTA lists. This means that the probability that a 10 year old kid get among Top 100 is close to 0%. We were very lucky with Ivana and for a short period of time she was ranked #95 on WTA list in June 2006.

I remember that year that the boys final was beautiful. We had Zeljko Peric from Split and Filip Kricka from Zadar. Two players from Dalmatia. They were both very similar to Goran Ivanisevic. They grew up with Goran as their hero and their game and reactions were like Goran’s one. It was a beatufiull match. They very good as juniors and Filip still play tennis.

1998 Smrikva Bowl

In 1998 I was in New York so I did not have the opportunity to meet the winners of that edition. I know that the winners were Filip Kovacic from Opatija and Mateja Horvat from Cakovec. They were both very good juniors. Mateja was also ranked #800 on WTA list but they are not in tennis any more.

1999 Smrikva Bowl

In 1999 we started to gather first players from abroad. Smrikva Bowl started to grow internationally. Astrid Besser from Italy was the winner of that year edition. Astrid was already a tennis star at that time. She was tall and she was working very hard. I remember his father was from Germany and the mother was from Argentina but they lived in Pistoia in Tuscany. When Astrid played she already had a sponsor and at that time that was a clothing group Sasch. Sasch was a new company and I remember when her father told me that they are both young and could grow together.

Astrid was always smiling and she just came on the Smrikva Bowl after the victory of a tournament that she played in Monte Carlo. I saw the pictures from that tournament and she played that time at Monte Carlo Country Club. I saw the pictures when she was receiving the trophy from someone from the Monte Carlo Prince’s family. I was very pleased when Astrid said after the tournament that Smrikva Bowl was the tournament she enjoyed most. Astid’s best ranking was #457 on WTA in August 2007. It is a very nice person and she was supposed to come for a week training at the Smrikve Tennis Club few years ago for the preparations for the Rome’s tournament. Few times speaking with his father he told me that Astrid would be very pleased to come back one day in Smrikve. One day we might organize a meeting of all former Smrikva Bowl Champions.

The winner of the boys tournament was Mudronja Borko from Sibenik. He won in the finals against Deni Zmak. They were both good juniors and Deni was ranked #1 in Europe in under 16 cathegory and today he is working to become a professional tennis player. What impressed me that year was the message that Borko left in our guest book. He wrote like a president of a country would write :). I would like to show you what he wrote. The words in Croatian are as follows: “I ja, Borko Mudronja zahvaljujem svima koji su mi omogucili da odigram ovaj turnir. Moja pobjeda na turniru, pehar i bicikla ce ostati zauvijek u mom sjecanju kao najljepsa uspomena. Svim mojim prijateljima koji dolaze poslije mene zelim da odigraju ovaj turnir, da ga osvoje i da dozive ovaj osjecaj kao ja. Puno pozdrava. Pobjednik turnira.”

I would try to translate it but it would not be perfect as he wrote it in Croatian. He wrote:”Even me, Borko Mudronja, would like to thank all the people that allowed me to play this tournament. My victory, the trophy and the bicycle will forever remain in my memory as the most beautifull one. To all my friends that will come after me I wish them to play this tournament, to win it and to live the same feeling that I feel today. Best wishes. The winner of the tournament”. I was really impressed how deep can be the thoughts of a 10 year old boy :).

2000 Smrikva Bowl

In year 2000 we had again another increadible talent from Florence in Italy, Adelchi Virgili, named Bobo. Adelchi was one of the best players we had in the first five years. The same as Astrid, Adelchi won the tournament in Monte Carlo before I invited him to play the Smrikva Bowl. Adelchi’s gradfather was a professional football player that played for Fiorentina that won the Italian Championship in 1955 and 1956.

Adelchi played very well and his father Alessandro coached him at that time but I remember that he was far away from the court during Adelchi’s game. Adelchi’s family is a very nice family. His brother Augusto and sister Alexia both play tennis. In few days meeting with the family I captured that the way his father Alessandro was educating them was a nice way. It was an education based on will and hard work. You can be successfull if you work hard. Unfortunatelly both Alessandro and Adelchi had some health problems but the will is always strong and I hope that Adelchi will be able to play the professional tennis. I remember that I was reading when he was 11 years old that he defeated various players 15-20 years olders.

Later on he was going very well but since 2004 he started to have phisical problems. After first problems he was forced not to train for 5 months. The back pain problems were mainly due to an error in heavy weights trainings. Bobo said that he was not able to run for the several months and that after 45 minutes of play he has to stop. Currently Bobo is trying to increase his physical resistance training with stationary bicycle.

The last public news about Bobo dates back in April 2007 when he trained with Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo and about 50 spectators enjoyed that training. Toni Nadal, Rafa’s uncle, once said for Adelchi:” I consider him a phenomenon since he was 14 years old… unfortunately Bobo has this pain in his back that has blocked his progress… he lost at least two years… now he is 17 years old and there are other good players but Bobo has a strong will… the problems is only to see if he will be able to solve his back pain problems.”

Riccardo Piatti, Ivan Ljubicic’s trainer, continue to believe in Bobo Virgili. Thanks to Piatti, Bobo trained this year in Monte Carlo also with Davydenko and Ljubicic. In training with Ljubicic he lost a set 6:4 but was leading 3:0.

For those who understand Italian I would like to post also the message Adelchi’s father left in our guest book that is really nice and I like it every time I read it: “Mio-caro-GRAD E’ stato un lampo questo torneo che ha illuminato il buio dove spesso brancoliamo noi guide di giovani apprendisti tennisti. L’ospitalita’ della buona gente istriana, il cibo squisito di Maria, l’irruente gentilezza di Dana che ci ha fatto sentire come da sempre a casa nostra, nel cuore un angolo rimarra’ a conservare questo ricordo. E Bobo che alza la Coppa come a “Wimbledon” (ha 5 o 6 anni come hai detto tu!!!), per lui un bel sogno vissuto qui in miniatura. E poi c’e’ Augusto e il sogno continuera’ speriamo anche attraverso questo luogo.
Grazie Mio-caro-grad!”

In year 2000, in girls finals, Tereza Mrdeza from Porec, Croatia, won the 5th Smrikva Bowl. I remember that she played more times Smrikva Bowl and in end she was able to win it. She is still in tennis and is currently ranked #784 on WTA list. She is together with Petra Martic and Indire Akike among the top Smrikva Bowl players around that age group.

Tereza’s father is a big person but I remember Tereza that she was not very tall. She was a brilliant junior player and recently she started to approach the professional tennis. Tereza came to visit Smrikve few years ago and we have a tennis room with the photos of the winners and a cousin of mine told me that Tereze looked with a lot of interest the pictures. Few years ago I had the opportunity to meet her with his father during the ATP tournament in Umag and now she is already a woman and I still had her in my memory as a child.

2001 Smrikva Bowl

In 2001 we had some very talented finalists and winners. Both winners were from the Goran Ivanisevic’s home town Split. Actually Petra Martic is from Duc near Split and Marin Draganja is from Split.

Marin Draganja is currently ranked #142 on ITF ranking list but this year he played in the finals of Avenire in Milan that is one of the most important under 16 tennis tournaments in the World. In the Smrikva Bowls finals he defeated Marcan Dino from Rijeka that is also a very good junior player and is currently ranked #202 on ITF ranking list. Marin had a very clean and beautiful game.

Petra Martic is currently ranked #325 on WTA list and is probably one of the most talented players in her age group in the World. In the last few months Petra jumped for over 200 places on WTA list. This summer in an interview Goran Prpic said that she is promissing very well for the Croatian tennis. I remeber her game was easy and clean. Every movement was so natural without efforts. It is the way Federer and Sampras play tennis. When you look them it seems that everything is so easy. This was the way Petra played when she played Smrikva Bowl. She won in the finals against Indire Akiki. Indire is ranked # 583 on WTA list and she is also doing very well. I remeber that the court for the finals was really beautiful that year with many Pepsi banners.

2002 Smrikva Bowl

In 2002 we started to have players from many european countries and that year also the 1st”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl* was played in October in Austin (Texas).

Javier Marti from Spain won the boys finals and currently he is ranked #2 in Europe in under 16 cathegory. Javer is one of the best players in Europe today in his age group, second only to Carlos Boluda. I remember Javier Marti and Ana Alfayate were the first player I had from Spain. A friend of mine promissed me that he will bring me that year the top player from Spain and this actually happened. Javier was increadible good player. He was very small but with perfect technique and no errors in the game. Similar to Eduardo Nava’s game that played this year the 6th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl.

I remember that Javier won that year the bike but he arrived with a plane to Venice and rent a car to come to Pula so his father had a problem how to take the bike home. At that time Javier’s father that is also named Javier told him if he want to leave or give the bike to someone here in Pula because the shifting of the bike to Madrid will cost more than the value of the bike. I remeber the face of Javier he was looking at the bike and he said… but father I won this bike I wont to take it home. So in end we put it on the plane and sent it to Madrid. Since that year Javier continued to help us in bringing top players from Spain to Smrikva Bowl and we had some very talented players in the last years.

The other finalist of the Smrikva Bowl that year that continues to be very good in tennis today is Giaccomo Miccini. Giacomo is from Italy and is currently ranked #93 on ITF ranking list. In December 2006, Giacomo Miccini reached the semifinals of under 14 Junior Orange Bowl. Since he was 11 years old he moved to Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Today, Giacomo Miccini is among the best players in the World in his age group, probably second only to Bernard Tomic. I remeber when he played the finals that he was acting like Goran Ivanisevic. This is the player that Giacomo prefer. Today Giacomo is over 1.8 meters tall and his serves goes over 200 km/h.

Martina Caregaro won the 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002. She is from Italy and is ranked #74 in Europe in under 16 cathegory. She was taller compared to the other players and I have not seen her since she was 11 years old when I followed her in the finals of a tournament in Milan. She was very good and had a very good and professional coach, Marco Girardini. Marco helped me a lot in the Smrikva Bowl development. He introduced me to his friends Luca Appino and Claudio Calza that strongly supported Smrikva Bowl development in the last years. Marco continue to scout for the Smrikva Bowl players in Italy.

In the finals that year with Martina Caregaro we had 9 years old Ajla Tomljanovic from Croatia. Ajla is today ranked #278 on ITF ranking list and is for sure among the top players in her age group in the World. In December 2006, Ajla Tomljanovic reached the quarterfinals of under 14 Junior Orange Bowl and this summer she moved with her family to the USA. Goran Prpic recently said for her that in two years time he would like to see her competing on Senior Roland Garros.

Ajla is a daughter of Ratko Tomljanovic who was the captain of the handball Croatian team that won the gold medal on the Olimpic games in Atlanta in 1996. Ratko is a very nice person and we had a great time during that year Smrikva Bowl. It was like a big birthday. Ajla did a great result arriving in the finals and she qualified to represent Europe in the first “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl.

Javier Marti, Giacomo Miccini, Martina Caregaro and Ajla Tomljanovic were supposed to go in Austin in October to play 1st”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl. I was giving to the kids the airplane tickets and parents had to pay their tickets by themselves. The hosting was organized by the MCB Tennis Foundation and I remember that Javier, Giacomo and Martina were not able to find other sponsors to cover other costs and Ajla and Ema Burgic, that ranked 3rd that year, from Bosnia and Herzegovina accepted to go.

I was very happy and proud on them. We were starting to create the first ever under 10 tennis competition between USA and Europe.

Ajla and Ema were under 10 girls, that went across the Ocean, without fear, to play a friendship match with the top US players. Ajla, Ema and their parents allowed this dream to become true thanks to their courage and belief. For the Smrikva Bowl it was like the trip towards the moon. When man made his first step on the moon, Armstrong said: it is a small human step but it is a big step for the humanity. I like to think that every long trip that parents and their children do to play in this event can become a part of that big step for humanity :). Ema Burgic is currently ranked #2 in Europe in under 16 cathegory and is still doing very well. I remember that Ema’s father told me that the Major of the City of Tuzla participated to the party that was made in Ema’s honour.

Ajla was 9 years old and I remember that Ratko told me that the experience in the US was very nice for them and he told me that the house was nice with a pool where they were hosted and that Carol Weyman was an extraordinary person. He sent me a beautiful blanket for a gift that year that his grandmother was doing and is a beautiful artwork and a nice memory for that year. Ajla played also the 8th Smrikva Bowl and ranked 3rd that year. It was a good result but she was very unhappy with the outcome. Ratko Tomljanovic have two daughters and they both play tennis. I remember that the older daughter Hana during the 8th Smrikva Bowl was playing the National Championship in Split and Ratko went with the older daughter, so he was not able to come to follow Ajla. Ajla has increadible will and determination and is very likely as Goran Prpic said that she could make it one day.

2003 Smrikva Bowl

The winner of the 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 was Dominic Thiem from Austria. Dominic was smaller compared to the other finalist George Morgan and he played at the moments a defencive game using also baloons.

Dominic was in Smrikve with his gradfather, a very nice person. Few years ago he came to visit us and I was very pleased for that.

George Morgan is from Great Britain and is currently ranked #158 in Europe in under 16 cathegory. He was tall at that time with very good game. Another player that was promissing that year was Ciprian Porumb Junior that ranked 3rd. He is from Romenia and is the son of former Romenian Davis Cup player Ciprian Porumb Senior. This year Ciprian was ranked #1 in Europe in under 14 cathergory and currently is ranked #36 in Europe in under 16 cathegory. Ciprian was tall and his father is also a very tall person. His game was very good. Strong game and he had to improve the precision of the shoots at that time that probably happened in the last years according to the results obtained. Ciprian is followed by his father and Ovidiu Bodea. Ovidiu is a very nice person and strong supporter of the Smrikva Bowl and every year he and Ciprian Senior helps Smrikva Bowl to gather top players from Romenia

In 2003 Jennifer Ren from Great Britain won the girls finals. Jennifer has Asian origin and was very nice and open kid. She was always smiling and it became very famous in Smrikve when I asked her what will she remeber about the Smrikva Bowl and she told me that she will remember that we have a free drinks here in Smrikve :). When I was giving them the trophies and the bikes she asked me if she can say something to the public and I was very happy with the words she said.

That year we had several players from UK that Brian Mc Fadden brought to the Smrikva Bowl thanks to Carol Weyman. I remeber that I took them with a car to the Trieste airport in Italy. The four girls were going with me and when they saw that I will drive them with BMW they said Wooooow it is a BMW :). It was very funny.

She was very determined to became tennis player. I read later several articles about her and she received some rewards as the best sports person in the UK. Jennifer has a very good sister too. Her name is Jessica and she is the under 12 Orange Bowl winner. In UK already someone already compare tham with Williams sisters.

That year in the finals Jennifer played with Silvia Njiric from Croatia. Silvia Njiric was ranked #4 this year in Europe in under 14 cathegory and is currently ranked #439 on ITF ranking list and #126 in Europe in under 16 cathegory. She is very good junior and she went in the USA with Jennifer, Dominic and George to play 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl. I was very happy to read in the newspapers that after several years that Silvia plays tennis she still remember as one of the most beautiful experiences the gift and honour to go to play in the USA the “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl.

2004 Smrikva Bowl

2004 was a very special year for the Smrikva Bowl. It was the first time the we hosted in Smrikve the US team and the “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl. It was a beautiful year and we had some very good players.

There is a very special story that is related with that year winner Ivan Levar. Ivan Levar is from Croatia and is currently ranked #11 in Europe in under 14 cathegory. In December 2006, Ivan Levar reached the quarterfinals of under 12 Junior Orange Bowl.

What happened with Ivan is that he did not tell to his father that he had a small tennis shoes during the tournament. At one moment he started to walk in a very strange way and his father asked him what happened. When they cheked the legs he already had important injuries. Ivan wanted to continue to play and it was a very painfull for me even to look at his legs. After every match the doctor tried to medicate the injuries. At the end his will was so strong that he defeated in the finals a very strong Miki Jankovic from Serbia. Miki is ranked #9 in Europe in under 14 cathegory and is very talented players with a good game and very good technique.

Saska Gavrilovska was another surprise that year. It was the first time that a 9 years old player win the Smrikva Bowl. She beat in the finals Ecaterina Opriou from Romenia. In December 2006, Saska Gavrilovska reached the quarterfinals of under 12 Junior Orange Bowl being 11 years old.

I did not have informations how good she was. She came from Vrsac in Serbia without being at all the favorite player. She started to play and game after game she was winning. In a very difficult situations she was playing better and better with the smile on her face and she never give up. At the end she won the tournament. I remember that I saw that she had increadible talent but I was not sure that her parents will be able to support her growth financially.

Few months after the victory on the Smrikva Bowl she found the sponsor from New York that allowed her and her father to go to the Nick Bollettieri Academy. I was really happy for that. Next year Saska came again to play Smrikva Bowl and she won again. She smiled all the times and than she showed me the photos that she made in the US. I was very happy when I saw her on the tennis courts at Nick Bollettieri’s Academy with Smrikva Bowl t-shirt. I was really happy about that :).

In 2004 it was also the first time that we hosted “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl in Smrikve and we did everything to make it very special for the players. Every year we had a very nice players and families from the US and the players from US that played this event are among the top players in their country. Mitchel Polnet is ranked #81 in the USA in under 14 cathegory. Blair Shankle is ranked #47 in the USA in under 14 cathegory. Anna Mamalat is ranked #58 in the USA in under 14 cathegory. They continue to be very good players.

I keep a very nice memories about those families and also about Emilie Foster, Blair Shankle’s coach, that was there as the US team coach. Blair was increadible strong player and she won both matches. She continue to be very strong and few years ago she became part of the history at the “Little Mo” National Championships, where she became the first player ever to win four consecutive titles.

I received many nice letters from the players and the parents but that time few weeks after the tournament I received a letter from Shankle family. They are really nice family and I thought that they sent me a letter to say thanks. I opened the letter and it was a beautiful letter but they also included in the letter 1500 USD. That really impressed me that they decided to give me that money for the support of the Smrikva Bowl. It was increadible for me.

2005 Smrikva Bowl

For the 10th annual we gathered top players from 21 country and 3 continents. That year we also started to plant an Old Olive Tree and this cerimony was really beautiful. I appreciated how Roberto Marchigiani, Goldberg and Busby family enjoyed the cerimony.

In 2005 Matteo Donati from Italy won the 10th Smrikva Bowl. Matteo is currently ranked #52 in Europe in under 14 cathegory. Matteo’s game was very similar to Javier Marti’s game. Clean technique and outstanding game. I have a very good memory about his coach Roberto Marchigiani. Gyore Laszlo was also very good but a real surprise that year was Gianluigi Quinzi that ranked 3rd. Gianluigi is from Italy and is ranked #25 in Europe in under 14 cathegory. Gianluigi is only 11 years old and in this age group Gianluigi’s results are the best resutls in Tennis Europe’s history. Gianluigi trains at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton. He played 3 times Smrikva Bowl and when I saw him for the first time I was surprised with his phisical constitution. He was already built like an older man and had very good shoots. In 2005 he arrived 3rd but next year he won the tournament. We used to have every year families that arrive with the players and Gianluigi was in Smrikve with the large family with his small and funny brother and really nice grandparents. The last time also his father Luca Quinzi arrived. It is a very nice family and I really enjoyed meeting them all.

Harry Busby was the 4th player that played the “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl. That year we had 3 boys and 1 girl from the US so we arranged that 4 Smrikva Bowl boys and 2 girls play the matches. Harry is also a very good player and has an older brother that plays tennis too. In 2007 Harry won Ouatt Kids Cup World Wide under 11 cathegory. His parents are extraordinary and Harry had an increadibly strong will and determination in his game. I made some very nice pictures of his hits.

In the girls finals that year Saska Gavrilovska defeated Olga Yanchuk from Ukraine. Olga is ranked #35 in Europe in under 14 cathegory and that final was one of the most beautiful girls finals that I have seen on the Smrikva Bowl.

From the US team I have a very special memory about Jose Gracia that is currently ranked #24 in the USA in under 12 cathegory. It was a very nice time that I spent with his father listening his life story. I remember that his father works as the cooker and he told me that he was flying to the US from Milan and that he would like to allow Jose to taste some of the best pasta restaurant in Milan. I worked for many years in Milan and recommended him to go in the restaurant of my good friend that is located near Scala Opera in the center of Milan. I wrote the adress of the restaurant on our visit card and gave it to him. The next time I was in that restaurant in Milan my friend showed me the visit card that I gave to Mr. Garcia :) so I am sure they had the opportunity to taste one of the best pasta in Milan. Yale Goldberg also played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl and is currently ranked #17 in the USA in under 12 cathegory. Goldberg family took the opportunity to visit Croatia and I recieved a beautiful letter from them and I still remember the nice words Yale’s father told me about Olive Tree cerimony.

2006 Smrikva Bowl

In 2006 Gianluigi Quinzi and Eleanor Dean from Great Britain were outperformers. I was very pleased that this year the last year finalist Filip Kraljevic and Dina Paocic came to visit us during the Smrikva Bowl. Eleanor Dean had the same problem with the bike transfer. She lives in Spain and we had an increadible delay in sending the bike to her and she and her parents had really a big patients untill we delivered the bike to herr. Sorry Eleanor for that delay.

Another surprise that year was the 3rd place for the 9 years old girl from Spain, Virginia Pena. She will win the tournament in 2007 against Ana Konjuh. Ana has an older sister that play very good tennis and she could do very well and progress fast if she continue to have the opportunity to trains with her older sister. Ana is currently ranked #16 in Croatia in under 12 cathegory.

2007 Smrikva Bowl

In 2007 Virginia won and this result is the second best result in the Smrikva Bowl history. It is second only to Saska Gavrilovska result when Saska won two editions in a row: 2004 and 2005. Gigi is really talented and strong. In Smrikva Bowl Guest Book Virigina signed herself as Gigi. I read that many spanish funs call her Vivi. Jofre Porta was with Gigi and her family in Smrikve during the last year Smrikva Bowl and Jofre in his career trained players like Carlos Moya and Rafael Nadal. This year Gigi was in Smrikve with a coach from Romenia. She has a very nice family.

I have to recall that this year Gigi won the Mountain Bike on the Smrikva Bowl and after few rounds on the court with the bike she decided to give it as a gift to she’s new friend Ariana Rabac from Pula. It is always complicated to take the bike home from the winners that are coming from far away and Gigi decided to give it as a gift. This was very nice from Gigi’s side.

Sacha Merzetti defeated in the finals this year Bogdan Borza from Romania. It was like Nadal against Nadal :). Two players with increadible energy and good technique. We had really outstanding finals this year. Sacha has another brother Nicholas that could be good as he. He is 9 years old and will play this year Smrikva Bowl. Sacha and Nicholas also have an older sister that was on the way to became a professional tennis player but she decided to do other in her life. Uptoday Sacha and Nicholas would like to spend every minute of their time on the court. Who knows what will happen in the future but most of this kids have showed a great passion for tennis.

From the US players that played 6th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl Eduardo Nava was for sure the top performers. He had a similar game to Javier Marti and Matteo Donati that played Smrikva Bowl several years ago. Very clean game with very good technique. His mother was a professional tennis player and is a very nice person that I was pleased to meet. I heard also that his father won a Olmpic medal. Carol Weyman told me several time that Eduardo is their hope. He is ranked #163 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

I tried to describe some of the top players that contributed to create the Smrikva Bowl story and I am pleased that I had the opportunity to meet many nice families that brought their kids from far far away to compete in the Smrikva Bowl.

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

Maybe one day more than one of the mentioned players will have and will be able to use their power to inspire and unite people.

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.

14/11/07

Deadline for entries for the 2nd annual "Little Mo" International Open: November 21, 2007

Carol Weyman, Executive Vice President of MCB Tennis Foundation, announced that the deadline for entries for the 2nd “Little Mo” International Open is Wednesday, November 21st, 2007. The 2nd “Little Mo” International Open will be played at the Austin Tennis Academy in Austin, Texas from December 5-9.

Entry form is available online www.mcbtennis.org and click on “Little Mo” International Open. Anyone from around the world, including the USA, can enter this event for youngsters 11 & under.

Since 2002, Smrikva Bowl has established a special cooperation with “Little Mo” and its Executive Vice President Carol Weyman. In 2002, the Smrikve Tennis Club and the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation created “Little Mo”/ Smrikva Bowl, the first-ever international competition between the United States and Europe for boys and girls 10 & under. In the last few years Smrikva Bowl started to gather top players under 10 from all around the World and “Little Mo” developed in International Open.

“Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl is a very special event and has arrived to its 7th annual. On October 22nd, 2007 the 10th “Little Mo” Nationals was played and Ingrid Neel, Karina Vyrlan, Michal Kusznerko and Justin Lee are eligible to play in the 7th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl. 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl will be played the day after the finals of the 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 and will be played on June 29th, 2008 in the Smrikve Tennis Club in Pula, Croatia.

Ingrid Neel, Karina Vyrlan, Michal Kusznerko and Justin Lee will probably play the 2nd “Little Mo” International Open in the under 9 age group. Every 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 player received the invitation for the 2nd “Little Mo” International Open and are eligible to play in the under 10 age group. Some of them will go for sure to compete in the USA.

Good luck Carol in the organization and for the players: enjoy the tournament!

11/11/07

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

1996 – 1st Smrikva Bowl
Vilim Visak, 1st Smrikva Bowl 1996 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #962 on ATP list. Vilim’s best ranking was #612 in March 2006.

1997 – 2nd Smrikva Bowl
Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #183 on WTA list. Ivana’s best ranking was #95 in June 2006.

1999 – 4th Smrikva Bowl
Astrid Besser, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 winner, from Italy, is ranked #535 on WTA list. Astid’s best ranking was #457 in August 2007.
Deni Zmak, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #1456 on ATP list.

2000 – 5th Smrikva Bowl
Adelchi Virgili, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, from Italy. Adelchi is very talented player but he continues to be injured. Hopefully he will be able to start to play professional tennis.
Tereza Mrdeza, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #784 on WTA list.

2001 – 6th Smrikva Bowl
Marin Draganja, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #142 on ITF ranking list. Marin Draganja played in the finals of this year Avenire in Milan, one of the most important under 16 tennis tournaments in the World.
Marcan Dino, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #202 on ITF ranking list.

Petra Martic, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #325 on WTA list. Petra Martic is probably one of the most talented players in her age group in the World. In the last few months Petra jumped for over 200 places on WTA list. This summer in an interview Goran Prpic said that she is promissing very well for the Croatian tennis.
Indire Akiki, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked # 583 on WTA list.

2002 – 7th Smrikva Bowl and 1st”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl
Javier Marti, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner, from Spain, is ranked #2 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Giaccomo Miccini, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Italy, is ranked #93 on ITF ranking list. In December 2006, Giacomo Miccini reached the semifinals of under 14 Junior Orange Bowl. Giacomo Miccini trains at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Giacomo Miccini is among the best players in the World in his age group.

Martina Caregaro, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner, from Italy, is ranked #74 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Ajla Tomljanovic, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #278 on ITF ranking list. Ajla Tomljanovic is born in 1993 and is one of the top players in her age group in the World. In December 2006, Ajla Tomljanovic reached the quarterfinals of under 14 Junior Orange Bowl. Ajla this summer moved with her family to the USA. Goran Prpic recently said for her that in two years time he would like to see her competing on Senior Roland Garros.
Ema Burgic, ranked 3rd on 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #2 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.

Jordaan Sanford, played 1st “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #89 in the USA in under 16 cathegory and is ranked #736 on ITF ranking list.
Morgan Basil, played 1st “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #812 on ITF ranking list.

2003 – 8th Smrikva Bowl and 2nd”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl
Dominic Thiem, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Austria, is ranked #297 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
George Morgan, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Great Britain, is ranked #158 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Ciprian Porumb, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Romenia, is ranked #1210 on ITF ranking list and and is ranked #36 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.

Jennifer Ren, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Great Britain, is ranked #432 on ITF ranking list and is ranked #248 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Silvia Njiric, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #439 on ITF ranking list and is ranked #126 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Ajla Tomljanovic, ranked 3rd on 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002, from Croatia, is ranked #278 on ITF ranking list. Ajla Tomljanovic is born in 1993 and is one of the top players in her age group in the World. In December 2006, Ajla Tomljanovic reached the quarterfinals of under 14 Junior Orange Bowl. Ajla this summer moved with her family to the USA. Goran Prpic recently said for her that in two years time he would like to see her competing on Senior Roland Garros.

Emmett Egger, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #201 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.
Robert Stineman, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #382 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.
Karen Forman, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #1685 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.
Katie Klyczek, played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #332 in the USA in under 16 cathegory.

2004 – 9th Smrikva Bowl and 3rd”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl
Ivan Levar, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #11 in Europe in under 14 cathegory. In December 2006, Ivan Levar reached the quarterfinals of under 12 Junior Orange Bowl.
Miki Jankovic, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #9 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

Saska Gavrilovska, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #418 in the USA in under 12 cathegory. In December 2006, Saska Gavrilovska reached the quarterfinals of under 12 Junior Orange Bowl being 11 years old.
Ecaterina Opriou, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Romenia, is ranked #73 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

Mitchel Polnet, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #81 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Rayan Andrada, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #1429 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Blair Shankle, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #47 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.
Anna Mamalat, played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #58 in the USA in under 14 cathegory.

2005 – 10th Smrikva Bowl and 4th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl
Matteo Donati, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, from Italy, is ranked #52 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Gyore Laszlo, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #101 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Gianluigi Quinzi, ranked 3rd on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005, from Italy, is ranked #25 in Europe in under 14 cathegory. Gianluigi is only 11 years old and in this age group Gianluigi’s results are the best resutls in Tennis Europe’s history. Gianluigi Quinzi trains at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Harry Busby, ranked 4th on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005, from UK, is not ranked in Europe in under 14 cathegory. In 2007, Harry Busby won Ouatt Kids Cup World Wide under 11 cathegory.

Saska Gavrilovska, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #418 in the USA in under 12 cathegory. In December 2006, Saska reached the quarterfinals of under 12 Junior Orange Bowl being 11 years old.
Olga Yanchuk, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Ukraine, is ranked #35 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

Jeffrey Schorsch, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #32 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Jose Gracia, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #24 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Yale Goldberg, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #17 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Dorothy Tang, played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #44 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

2006 – 11th Smrikva Bowl and 5th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl
Gianluigi Quinzi, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Italy, is ranked #25 in Europe in under 14 cathegory. Gianluigi is only 11 years old and in this age group Gianluigi’s results are the best resutls in Tennis Europe’s history. Gianluigi Quinzi trains at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Filip Kraljevic, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #9 in Croatia in under 12 cathegory.

Eleanor Dean, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Great Britain, is not ranked in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Dina Paocic, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is not ranked in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

Daniel Maese, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #188 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Aries Wong, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #103 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Christina Makarova, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #196 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Gabriella Umoquit, played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #962 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

2007 – 12th Smrikva Bowl and 6th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl
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 too young for under 14 european ranking.
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.

Virginia Pena, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 winner, from Spain, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Ana Konjuh, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 runner up, from Croatia, is too young for under 14 european ranking and is ranked #16 in Croatia in under 12 cathegory.
Nina Potocnik, ranked 3rd on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Slovenia, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Katie Dayson, ranked 4th on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from UK, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

Eduardo Nava, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #163 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Tommy Paul, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #150 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Ndindi Ndunda, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #189 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.
Domonique Garley, played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl, from the USA, is ranked #609 in the USA in under 12 cathegory.

10/11/07

11 years old Gianluigi Quinzi arrived in the semifinals of an under 16 tournament

Gianluigi Quinzi continues to surprise with his performance. During an under 16 Thanksgiving Junior Championship that was played from 3-9th November he was able to reach semifinals.

In the first round Gianluigi was free and in the second round Gianluigi Quinzi defeated William Chen with 6:1, 6:0. In the quarterfinals Gianluigi won against Arsav Mohanty by 6:0, 6:1. In the semi finals he lost in the third set against Zachary Krumholz by 6:2, 1:6, 6:2. It is hard to determine the quality of this other older players but Gianluigi’s obtained result is outstanding.

Gianluigi Quinzi is from Italy and he won the 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 and ranked third on the 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005. Gianluigi is among top players in the World in his age group. Currently he is ranked #25 in Europe in under 14 cathegory. Being Gianluigi only 11 years old, in this age group, Gianluigi’s results are the best resutls in Tennis Europe’s history. Gianluigi Quinzi trains at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida and it will be interesting to see how will he do with the top players under 12 in the World on Eddie Herr International and Orange Bowl that will be played soon.

10/11/07

Istria from Smrikve will be soon on www.smrikve.com

Istria from Smrikve will be an overview over the Istrian territory, mainly of its towns and villages and will be an integral part of the www.smrikve.com. The smrikve.com visitors will have the opportunity to virtually visit and learn a part of the Istrian culture.

Istria from Smrikve will contain over 200 pages description of almost 90 places, natural beuties, little charming towns and villages. There will be also a photo gallery of about 1500 pictures showing most of the described buildings and natural beauties. Every town, monument, natural beauty or village that will be presented is located in a maximum range of 100 kilometres from Smrikve and the most distant location can be reached in about one hour drive from Smrikve.

Most of the towns and described villages have been inhabitated from the prehistoric times, so most of them are 3000-4000 years old. This create a huge and particular Istrian cultural heritage and make Istria a very specific and interesting touristic destination.

The visitors of smrikve.com are from all continents and also Smrikva Bowl players are from almost all continents. Istria from Smrikve pages will aim to attract clients for Villa Smrikve and future Smrikve Village that are interested in spending their holidays in Istria and are interested in Istria’s tradition and culture. All former and future Smrikva Bowl players are always wellcome in Smrikve.

The whole work: study and preparation of towns and villages visits’, taking pictures and visiting locations, writing the text, and the preparation and design of the pages will require over 7 months of work. Once everything is ready, I hope you will enjoy the Istria from Smrikve pages and will decide to visit Smrikve and Istria.

06/11/07

Ana Ivanovic is giving two signed t-shirts to the 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 girls finalists

Ana Ivanovic is today one of the best tennis players in the World and her funs are spread all over the World. She is a tennis superstar and I am very pleased that Ana decided to sign two t-shirts for the 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 finalists. I am sure that girls will love Ana’s gift and I am also sure that this gift will inspire tham to do better and better in tennis. I am also pleased to nominate Ana: Honorary Smrikva Bowl Member.

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

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

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

Today Ana celebrate 20 years so Happy Birthday Ana from both former and future Smrikva Bowl players! :)

04/11/07

Giacomo Miccini played his third Future Tournament in Mexico

Giacomo Miccini won the first round qualifications against Ricardo Osuna, from Mexico, 6:0, 6:1.

In the second round Giacomo Miccini lost against Austin Krajicek from the USA 6:4, 6:1. Austin Krajicek is born in 1990 and is currently ranked 1049 on ATP ranking list.

Giaccomo Miccini, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Italy, is currently ranked #92 on ITF ranking list. Giacomo Miccini trains at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and is one of the best players in the World in his age group (1992).

02/11/07

Smrikva Bowl on Women's Tennis Blog - www.womenstennisblog.com

Marija Zivlak is the editor of Women’s Tennis Blog and she writes about women’s professional tennis players. Maria is also Honorary Smrikva Bowl Member and I was very pleased when she decided to write an article about Smrikva Bowl players. Marija’s idea was to write about future tennis stars and she asked me to pick up few players among Smrikva Bowl girls that have a potential to make it big when they grow up.

It was very hard to pick up only few among the girls that I think can make it. There are: Astrid Besser (Italy, 1989), Tereza Mrdeza (Croatia, 1990), Petra Martic (Croatia, 1991), Indire Akiki (Croatia, 1991), Martina Caregaro (Italy, 1992), Ema Burgic (Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1992), Ajla Tomljanovic (Croatia, 1993) Jennifer Ren (UK, 1993), Silvia Njiric (Croatia, 1993), Ecaterina Opriou (Romenia, 1994), Blair Shankle (SAD, 1994), Saska Gavrilovska (Serbia, 1995), Olga Yanchuk (Ukraina, 1995), Eleonor Dean (UK, 1996), Dina Paocic (Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996), Virginia Pena (Spain, 1997), Ana Konjuh (Croatia, 1997), Nina Potocnik (Slovenia, 1997), Katie Dayson (UK, 1997)... All this girls had great results on the Smrikva Bowl and continue to be very good players but I had to pick up only four girls among them… you will find in the article the names of the four chosen girls (in the original Marija’s article there are also the photos of the girls)...

Smrikva Bowl founder on tennis star of the future
by Marija Zivlak

I have been in contact with Miodrag Bozovic, a very committed founder and organizer of a tennis tournament for kids called Smrikva Bowl, so I decided to spread the word about this tournament and also present some possible tennis stars of the future.

Smrikva Bowl is a tournament for kids under 10 years old, located near the city of Pula, in Croatia. It was founded in 1996 and over time, it has become one of the most important tournaments of the kind.

What impressed me the most about this tournament was that it survives on a limitless enthusiasm of its founder as well as on a large number of volunteers and friends who have recognized the beauty of the tournament. In 2007 kids from as much as four continents came to Croatia to take part in the event.

I thought that my readers would be interested in which youngsters have a potential to make it big when they grow up, but Miodrag Bozovic was reluctant to answer my question, with a solid reason: according to the statistics of his friend Luca Appino, a former marketing director of high-end tennis racquet manufacturer Babolat, only six per cent of the best juniors (from 16-year-olds onwards) reach the Top 100 when they become professional players. This means that chances of a promising 10-year-old of making it to the top are slim to none.

However, Miodrag hasn’t lost hope and there are many young players that he strongly believes in. For me, he singled out four promising girls.

Saska Gavrilovska from Serbia, born in 1995, won the Smrikva Bowl in 2004 and 2005. After winning the Smrikva Bowl, she found a sponsor from New York who helped her to start training in Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida. Gavrilovska now predominantly plays tournaments in the USA, and when she was only 11 years old she reached the quarterfinals of the 2006 Orange Bowl.

Virginia Pena is another talented child. And what is more, she comes from Mallorca, a homeplace of both former world No.1 Carlos Moya and current world No.2 Rafael Nadal. Pena was born in 1997 and she was the Smrikva Bowl champion in 2007, while in 2006 she took the third place. This makes Virginia Pena the second best player at the Smrikva Bowl after Serbia’s Saska Gavrilovska.

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. In the photo you can see Petra with the first prize – a bicycle.

And last but not least is the 2002 Smrikva Bowl finalist Ajla Tomljanovic born in 1993 in Croatia. Former world No.16 Goran Prpic said that he expects her to play at Roland Garros in two years time. The girl is from a celebrated sporting family, her father Ratko Tomljanovic was the captain of the Croatian national handball team when they won the Olympic gold in Atlanta. In the summer of 2007, Ajla moved to the States where she’s working on her tennis career.

I hope that some of these four girls will make it big, and that I will be able to say: “Oh, I was among the first ones to write about them, I heard of them when they were still kids”.

31/10/07

12 Smrikva Bowl 2007 on www.collegeandjuniortennis.com

Marcia Frost is the editor of the www.collegeandjuniortennis.com and is an Old Smrikva Bowl friend. For years she has been the Honorary Smrikva Bowl Member and she started to write about Smrikva Bowl in 2001. In 2002 she introduced me to her friend Carol Weyman, the Executive Vice President of MCB Tennis Foundation, that organize “Little Mo” tournament, and thanks to this contact, me and Carol have created “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl. Last year Marcia came to Smrikve for the 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl annual and she did a very nice live coverage of the event. You can read this year article on the internet page:

http://www.collegeandjuniortennis.com/SmrikvaBowl07.htm

and here is the story:

12th SMRIKVA BOWL
Tennis Club Smrikve – Pula, Croatia – June 20-24, 2007

I didn’t make it to Croatia this year, but my friend – Tournament Director Miodrag Bozovic – send this report on his wonderful event. Marcia Frost

The 12th Smrikva Bowl tennis tournament for boys and girls under 10 gathered around 90 boys and girls from 16 countries and 4 continents. It was another successful year as the girl who finished 3rd at the 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006, Viriginia Pena, was the winner of this year. Virginia won against Croatian Ana Konjuh, also a very good player. The boys were also good players. The finalists were Sasha Merzetti from Italy and Bogdan Borza from Romenia. It was a beautiful final match. All of the winners received mountain bikes and the runners up got Head rackets

On 24th of June 2007, the selected Smrikva Bowl players—Sasha Merzetti (I), Bogdan Borza (Rom), Virginia Pena (Esp), Ana Konjuh (Cro)—played the 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl in the Smrikve Tennis Club in Pula, Croatia. Eduardo Nava, Tommy Paul, Ndindi Ndunda and Domonique Garley were selected by the Maureen Connolly Brinker foundation to represent the United States. The Smrikva Bowl team won 7-1. The Smrikve Tennis Club and the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation created “Little Mo”/ Smrikva Bowl, the first-ever international competition between the United States and Europe for boys and girls 10 & under. Today Smrikva Bowl gathers top players from all around the World.

12th SMRIKVA BOWL RESULTS
Boys
Finals-Sasha Merzetti (I) defeated Bogdan Borza (Rom), 6-1,6-3
Girls
Finals-Virginia Pena (Esp) defeated Ana Konjuh (Cro), 6-2,6-1

6th “Little Mo”/SMRIKVA BOWL RESULTS
Virgina Pena (Esp) defeated Ndindi Ndunda (USA), 6-0,6-1
Ana Konjuh (Cro) defeated Dominique Garley (USA), 6-2,6-0
Sasha Merzetti (I) defeated Eduardo Nava (USA), 6-3,3-6,10-8
Bogdan Borza (Rom) defeated Tommy Paul (USA), 6-4,7-5
Ana Konjuh (Cro) defeated Ndindi Ndunda (USA), 6-1,6-1
Virginia Pena (Esp) defeated Dominique Garley (USA), 6-3,6-0
Eduardo Nava (USA) defeated Bogdan Borza (Rom), 6-7,6-1,10:5
Sasha Merzetti (I) defeated Tommy Paul (USA), 6-4,6-0
FINAL RESULT 7–1

Please visit the Smrikva Bowl for information about the 2008 event and Maureen Connolly Brinker for more details on their other competitions.

29/10/07

Some Smrikva Bowl players that will play Eddie Herr International and Junior Orange Bowl

EDDIE HERR INTERNATIONAL
Eddie Herr International is one of the most important Junior Tennis Championships in the World that are played at IMG/Nick Bollettieri Academies in Bradenton, Florida in the USA.

The Qualifying Draw (under 14’s, 16’s, 18’s) will be played from November 23rd till November 25th, 2007 and the Main Draw (under 14’s, 16’s, 18’s) will take place from November 26th – till December 2nd, 2007. 12 & Under cathegory will be played from November 24th till November 30th, 2007.

Some Smrikva Bowl and “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl players that are registered for the Eddie Herr International are:

Boys under 12
Harry Busby is from UK and he ranked 4th on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005. In 2007, Harry Busby won Ouatt Kids Cup World Wide under 11 cathegory.
Jose Gracia is from Florida and he played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2005.
Luka Ilic is from Serbia and he also played Smrikva Bowl.
Gianluigi Quinzi is 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner and is from Italy. He is ranked #144 in Europe in under 14 cathegory. Gianluigi is only 11 years old and in this age group Gianluigi’s results are the best resutls in Tennis Europe’s history. Gianluigi Quinzi trains at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida. It will be interesting to see how he compete with the top players under 12 in the World.
Dylan Bednarczyk played 12th Smrikva Bowl. Dylan is from Canada and is born in 1998 and is eligible to play 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 and could be one of the best players in his age group in the World but it will not be easy to competes with two years older players.

Girls under 12
Saska Gavrilovska is 9th and 10th Smrikva Bowl 2004 and 2005 winner, from Serbia. In December 2006, Saska reached the quarterfinals of under 12 Junior Orange Bowl being 11 years old. It will be interesting to see how she competes this year being 12 years old.
Olga Ianchuk, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Ukraine, is ranked #89 in Europe in under 14 cathegory. She could also do well.
Vladica Babic is from Montenegro and she played Smrikva Bowl.
Donna Vekic is from Croatia and she played Smrikva Bowl.
Ana Konjuh, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #16 in Croatia in under 12 cathegory. Ana is still very young but this will be an interesting experience.
Katie Dyson ranked 4th on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007. She is from UK. Katie is still very young but this will be an interesting experience.
Olga Fridman is from Ukraina and she played 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007.

Boys under 14
Ciprian Alexandru Porumb, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Romenia, is ranked #1 in Europe in under 14 cathegory. It will be interesting to see how Ciprian will play. He could do well.

Girls under 16
Jennifer Ren, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Great Britain, is ranked #21 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Silvia Njiric, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #4 in Europe in under 14 cathegory and is ranked #3 in under 16 cathegory in Croatia.

Boys under 18
Marin Draganja, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #142 on ITF ranking list and #14 in Europe in under 16 cathegory. Marin Draganja played in the finals of this year Avenire in Milan, one of the most important under 16 tennis tournaments in the World. It will be interesting to see how Marin will play.
Dino Marcan, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #194 on ITF ranking list and #119 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Giacomo Miccini, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Italy, is ranked #90 on ITF ranking list. In December 2006, Giacomo Miccini reached the semifinals of under 14 Junior Orange Bowl. Giacomo Miccini trains at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Giacomo will play at home. It will be interesting to see his results with few years older players.

Girls under 18
Ajla Tomljanovic was 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up and she ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003. Ajla is from Croatia and is ranked #344 on ITF ranking list. She is born in 1993 and is one of the top players in her age group in the World. In December 2006, Ajla Tomljanovic reached the quarterfinals of under 14 Junior Orange Bowl. Ajla this summer moved with her family to the USA. Goran Prpic recently said for her that in two years time he would like to see her competing on Senior Roland Garros. It will be interesting to see how Ajla will play.

Good luck to Harry, Jose, Luka, Gianluigi. Dylan, Saska, Olga, Vladica, Donna, Ana, Katie, Olga, Ciprian, Jennifer, Silvia, Marin, Dino, Giacomo and Ajla!

JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL
Junior Orange Bowl is one of the most important Junior International Tennis Championships. It is played in Florida in the USA. The Qualifying Draw under 12 and under 14 will be played from December 14th till December 16th, 2007 and the Main Draw will be played from December 17th till December 23rd, 2007.

Under 18 will play the Qualifacation Draw from December 1st till December 2nd, 2007 and the Main Draw will be played from December 3rd till December 9th, 2007. Under 16 will play the Qualification Draw from November 30th till December 2nd, 2007 and the Main Draw will be played from December 2nd till December 8th, 2007.

The Smrikva Bowl and “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl under 12 and under 14 players that are registered for the Junior Orange Bowl are:

Girls
Saska Gavrilovska, 9th and 10th Smrikva Bowl 2004 and 2005 winner, from Serbia.
Anna Mamalat from the USA. She played 3rd “Little Mo”/ Smrikva Bowl 2004.
Vladica Babic is from Montenegro and she played Smrikva Bowl.
Katie Dyson is from UK and she ranked 4th on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007.

Boys
Emmett A Egger is from the USA and he played 2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2003.
Mitchell J Polnet is from the USA and he played 3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2004.
Harry Busby ranked 4th on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 and he played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2005.
Jose E Gracia is from the USA and he played 4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2005.
Gianluigi Quinzi is 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner and he ranked 3rd on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005. He also played 4th and 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2004 and 2005.
Daniel F. Maese is from the USA and he played 5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2006.
Tommy Paul is from the USA and he played 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2007.

Good luck to Saska, Anna, Vladica, Katie, Emmett, Mitchell J., Harry, Jose E., Gianluigi, Daniel F. and Tommy.

There are over 2000 players that are registered for this two tournaments and I may missed someone but I will recognize all the Smrikva Bowl players and “Little Mo”/Smrivka Bowl players who reach an interesting result during the tournaments and I will post their results after the tournaments.

28/10/07

Giacomo Miccini played his second Future Tournament in Mexico

Giacomo Miccini lost in the first round qualifications against Tim Van Terheijden, from Netherlands, born in 1990, and currently ranked 165 on ITF list: 6:3, 3:6, 6:2.

Very soon Giacomo will collect his first ATP point. Good luck for the next tournament!

Giaccomo Miccini, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Italy, is currently ranked #90 on ITF ranking list and today he played his second Future Tournament in Mexico. Giacomo Miccini trains at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and is one of the best players in the World in his age group (1992).

24/10/07

Ingrid Neel, Karina Vyrlan, Michal Kusznerko and Justin Lee are the under 9 "Little Mo" National Champions and Runners-up and from today they are confirmed by Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation and are eligible to represent the USA - "Little Mo"

In 2002, the Smrikve Tennis Club and the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation have created “Little Mo”/ Smrikva Bowl, the first-ever international competition between the United States and Europe for boys and girls 10 & under. In the last few years Smrikva Bowl started to gather top players from all around the World but “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl continues to be a special event and has arrived to its 7th annual.

7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl will be played the day after the finals of the 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 and will be played on June 29th, 2008 in the Smrikve Tennis Club in Pula, Croatia.

From October 20th till October 22nd 2007 the 10th “Little Mo” Nationals was played at the Austin Tennis Academy in Austin, Texas.

Carol Weyman, Executive Vice President of MCB Tennis Foundation, said that it was another wounderful year. The under 9’s National Champions and Runners-up of the 10th “Little Mo” Nationals that are eligible to represent the US team on the 7th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl are:
Girls:

#1 Ingrid Neel – Rochester, Minnnesota

#2 Karina Vyrlan – Antelope, California

Boys:

#1 Michal Kusznerko – Chicago, Illinois

#2 Justin Lee – Cos Cob, Connecticut

The players that participate in this unique competition are increasing year by year and many of them are among the best players in their age groups in their countries and in the World. Former “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl players include a long list and they are:

1st “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2002
Jordaan Sanford (USA), Morgan Basil (USA), Ajla Tomljanovic (Cro), Ema Burgic (BiH).

2nd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2003
Emmett Egger (USA), Robert Stineman (USA), Karen Forman (USA), Katie Klyczek (USA), Jennifer Ren (UK), Silvia Njiric (Cro), Dominic Thiem (A), George Morgan (UK)

3rd “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2004
Mitchel Polnet (USA), Rayan Andrada (USA), Blair Shankle (USA), Anna Mamalat (USA), Ivan Levar (Cro), Miki Jankovic (Srb), Saska Gavrilovska (Srb), Ecaterina Opriou (Rum)

4th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2005
Jeffrey Schorsch (USA), Jose Gracia (USA), Yale Goldberg (USA), Dorothy Tang (USA), Saska Gavrilovska (Srb), Olga Yanchuk (Ukr), Matteo Donati (I), Gyore Laszlo (Srb), Gianluigi Quinzi (I), Harry Busby (UK)

5th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2006
Daniel Maese (USA), Aries Wong (USA), Christina Makarova (USA), Gabriella Umoquit (USA), Gianluigi Quinzi (I), Filip Kraljevic (Cro), Eleonor Dean (UK), Dina Paocic (BiH),

6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl 2007
Eduardo Nava (USA), Tommy Paul (USA), Ndindi Ndunda (USA), Domonique Garley (USA), Sacha Merzetti (I), Bogdan Borza (Rom), Virginia Pena (Esp), Ana Konjuh (Cro).

Congratulations once again to Ingrid Neel, Karina Vyrlan, Michal Kusznerko and Justin Lee I hope to see them in Pula at the end of June 2008!

23/10/07

Harry George Busby is now on line with his website http://harrybusby.com

Harry Busby is now on line and you can visit his website and follow his progress on http://harrybusby.com

Harry Busby arrived in the semifinals of the 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 and also played for the Smrikva Bowl team and contributed to the victory on 4th”Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl.

I was very pleased to see in Harry’s Photo Gallery some pictures from the Smrikva Bowl and from the “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl.

Wellcome on the web Harry and good luck for the tournaments!

23/10/07

Top Smrikva Bowl players on ATP, WTA, ITF and European under 14 and 16 ranking lists

Until 2001 Smrikva Bowl was limited to Croatia and some nearby countries. From 2002 Smrikva Bowl started to gather top players from Europe and in the recent years from all over the World.

1996 – 1st Smrikva Bowl
Vilim Visak, 1st Smrikva Bowl 1996 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #969 on ATP list. Vilim’s best ranking was #612 in March 2006.

1997 – 2nd Smrikva Bowl
Ivana Lisjak, 2nd Smrikva Bowl 1997 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #191 on WTA list. Ivana’s best ranking was #95 in June 2006.

1999 – 4th Smrikva Bowl
Astrid Besser, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 winner, from Italy, is ranked #520 on WTA list. Astid’s best ranking was #457 in August 2007.
Deni Zmak, 4th Smrikva Bowl 1999 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #1465 on ATP list.

2000 – 5th Smrikva Bowl
Adelchi Virgili, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, from Italy. Adelchi is very talented player but he continues to be injured. He feels a strong pain in his back and this does not allow him to play tennis more than 45 minutes.
Tereza Mrdeza, 5th Smrikva Bowl 2000 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #746 on WTA list.

2001 – 6th Smrikva Bowl
Marin Draganja, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #142 on ITF ranking list and #14 in Europe in under 16 cathegory. Marin Draganja played in the finals of this year Avenire in Milan, one of the most important under 16 tennis tournaments in the World.
Marcan Dino, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #194 on ITF ranking list and #119 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.

Petra Martic, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #338 on WTA list. Petra Martic is probably one of the most talented players in her age group in the World. In the last few months Petra jumped for over 200 places on WTA list. This summer in an interview Goran Prpic said that she is promissing very well for the Croatian tennis.
Indire Akiki, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked # 574 on WTA list.

2002 – 7th Smrikva Bowl
Javier Marti, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner, from Spain, is ranked #6 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Giaccomo Miccini, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Italy, is ranked #90 on ITF ranking list. In December 2006, Giacomo Miccini reached the semifinals of under 14 Junior Orange Bowl. Giacomo Miccini trains at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida. In these days Giacomo Miccini started to play Future Tournaments in Mexico and is very likely that soon he will collect first ATP points. Giacomo Miccini is probably the second best player in the World in his age group after Bernard Tomic.

Martina Caregaro, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 winner, from Italy, is ranked #103 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.
Ajla Tomljanovic, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #344 on ITF ranking list. Ajla Tomljanovic is born in 1993 and is one of the top players in her age group in the World. In December 2006, Ajla Tomljanovic reached the quarterfinals of under 14 Junior Orange Bowl. Ajla this summer moved with her family to the USA. Goran Prpic recently said for her that in two years time he would like to see her competing on Senior Roland Garros.
Ema Burgic, ranked 3rd on 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is ranked #2 in Europe in under 16 cathegory.

2003 – 8th Smrikva Bowl
Dominic Thiem, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Austria, is ranked #65 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
George Morgan, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Great Britain, is ranked #13 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Ciprian Porumb, ranked 3rd on 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003, from Romenia, is ranked #1 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

Jennifer Ren, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 winner, from Great Britain, is ranked #21 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Silvia Njiric, 8th Smrikva Bowl 2003 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #4 in Europe in under 14 cathegory and is ranked #3 in under 16 cathegory in Croatia.
Ajla Tomljanovic, ranked 3rd on 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002, from Croatia, is ranked #344 on ITF ranking list. Ajla Tomljanovic is born in 1993 and is one of the top players in her age group in the World. In December 2006, Ajla Tomljanovic reached the quarterfinals of under 14 Junior Orange Bowl. Ajla this summer moved with her family to the USA. Goran Prpic recently said for her that in two years time he would like to see her competing on Senior Roland Garros.

2004 – 9th Smrikva Bowl
Ivan Levar, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Croatia, is ranked #86 in Europe in under 14 cathegory and is ranked #2 in under 14 cathegory in Croatia. In December 2006, Ivan Levar reached the quarterfinals of under 12 Junior Orange Bowl.
Miki Jankovic, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #68 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

Saska Gavrilovska, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #799 in Europe in under 14 cathegory. Saska played most of the tournaments in the USA. In December 2006, Saska Gavrilovska reached the quarterfinals of under 12 Junior Orange Bowl being 11 years old.
Ecaterina Opriou, 9th Smrikva Bowl 2004 runner up, from Romenia, is ranked #166 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

2005 – 10th Smrikva Bowl
Matteo Donati, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, from Italy, is ranked #246 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Gyore Laszlo, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Serbia, is ranked #390 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.
Gianluigi Quinzi, ranked 3rd on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005, from Italy, is ranked #144 in Europe in under 14 cathegory and is ranked #798 in under 16 cathegory. It is necessary to add that Gianluigi is only 11 years old and in this age group Gianluigi’s results are the best resutls in Tennis Europe’s history. With this ranking Gianluigi is the best ranked player in 1996 and 1995 age group although he is 1996 class. Gianluigi Quinzi trains at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Great results Gianluigi!
Harry Busby, ranked 4th on 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005, from UK, is not ranked in Europe in under 14 cathegory. In 2007, Harry Busby won Ouatt Kids Cup World Wide under 11 cathegory.

Saska Gavrilovska, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 winner, from Serbia, is ranked #799 in Europe in under 14 cathegory. Saska played most of the tournaments in the USA. In December 2006, Saska reached the quarterfinals of under 12 Junior Orange Bowl being 11 years old.
Olga Yanchuk, 10th Smrikva Bowl 2005 runner up, from Ukraine, is ranked #89 in Europe in under 14 cathegory.

2006 – 11th Smrikva Bowl
Gianluigi Quinzi, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 winner, from Italy, is ranked #144 in Europe in under 14 cathegory and is ranked #798 in under 16 cathegory. It is necessary to add that Gianluigi is only 11 years old and in this age group Gianluigi’s results are the best resutls in Tennis Europe’s history. With this ranking Gianluigi is the best ranked player in 1996 and 1995 age group although he is 1996 class. Gianluigi Quinzi trains at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Great results Gianluigi!
Filip Kraljevic, 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006 runner up, from Croatia, is ranked #9 in Croatia in under 12 cathegory.

2007 – 12th Smrikva Bowl
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 too young for under 14 european ranking.
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.

Virginia Pena, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 winner, from Spain, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Ana Konjuh, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 runner up, from Croatia, is too young for under 14 european ranking, is ranked #16 in Croatia in under 12 cathegory.
Nina Potocnik, ranked 3rd on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from Slovenia, is too young for under 14 european ranking.
Katie Dayson, ranked 4th on 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007, from UK, is too young for under 14 european ranking.

23/10/07

Glasgow Academy trip to Pula - Smrikve

Toby Smith from Scotland was with his younger players from Glasgow Academy in Pula and we had a very nice Saturday experience mixing Smrikva players and Glasgow Academy players. We played all morning and after we had all together a launch with Pizza’s and this was very nice end of this friendly meeting.

Some parents were with their kids from Scotland and some of them have already been in Smrikve during this year Smrikva Bowl. It was very nice to meet them again.

Some of the players from Scotland played also Smrikva Bowl as I already wrote and some other are training for the next year edition. Toby Smith brought top players from Scotland to the Smrikva Bowl for several years and I was pleased to nominate him Honorary Smrikva Bowl Member for bringing top players to the Smrikva Bowl and also for choosing Pula for their training sessions.

On Saturday boys from Glasgow that played friendly matches were: James Sutherland (1996), Charlie Lonergan (1997), Adam Mckinstry (1998, possible for Smrikva Bowl), James Shemilt (1998, possible for Smrikva Bowl), Alex Hay (1999), Ewen Lumsden (2000) and Ewan Sutherland (2000).
The girls were: Maia Lumsden 1998 (she already played Smrikva Bowl and will play this year) and Wictoria Kulik (1999, possible for Smrikva Bowl)

On Smrikve side we had the following boys players: Antonio Vitasovic (1997), Edi Budisavljevic (1999), Luka Spelic, Igor Rajkov, Igor Mracevic and Ivan Bratulic and among the girls: Ariana Rabac (1996) and Zrinka Bratulic.

It was really nice Saturday and hopefully we will repeat the experience in the Spring of the next year when Glasgow team is planning to come back to Pula. For sure with some of them we will meet during the Smrikva Bowl!

Please find enclosed few words from Toby:

Dear Miodrag,

We all enjoyed our trip very much and all the young players had a very positive experience mixing with young players from a different country. We are all very excited about your future plans for the area surrounding the club and the kids were very impressed with your model plan!! Also I am very honoured to be included as an Honorary Smrikva Bowl Member and myself and my young players are very excited at the prospect of competing…even the youngest ones are motivated to coming out in the future! I will forward on player details and a team photo for your website and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Many regards,

Toby

22/10/07

Petra Martic jumped other 66 places on WTA ranking list and is currently ranked 338 in the World

Petra Martic, 6th Smrikva Bowl 2001 winner, moved up other 64 places on WTA ranking list. She moved from ranking 404 to current 338 ranking. Petra is doing very well and could be probably in the near future the best ranked Smrikva Bowl player on WTA list. Petra Martic is 16 years old and is currently 2nd best ranked Smrikva Bowl winner on WTA list after Ivana Lisjak.

The last tournament that Petra Martic played was USD 25000 tournament in Great Britain on October 14th. After the qualifications Petra played in the first round against Georgie Stoop from Great Britain that is ranked 299 on WTA list and won: 3:6. 6:1, 6:0.

In the second round Petra Martic played against Nina Bratchikova from Russia that is ranked 406 on WTA list and won again by: 6:4, 6:0.

In the quarter finals Petra Martic played against Angelica Banchmann from Germany that is ranked 164 on WTA list and won in three sets: 6:4, 6:7, 6:2.

In the semifinals Petra played against Julie Coin from France that is ranked 201 and won in two sets by: 6:4, 6:3.

In the finals Petra Martic lost against Sabine Katharina Lisicki from Germany that is ranked 250 on WTA list by: 6:3, 6:4.

Petra Martic is the most talented Croatian tennis player in her age group and probably one of the most talented tennis players in her age group in the World.

Good luck Petra!

21/10/07

Giacomo Miccini played his first USD 10000 Future Tournament in Ciudad Obregon in Mexico

Giaccomo Miccini, 7th Smrikva Bowl 2002 runner up, from Italy, is currently ranked #90 on ITF ranking list and is currently playing his first Future Tournament in Ciudad Obregon in Mexico on hard surface. Giacomo Miccini trains at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and is one of the best players in the World in his age group. Giacomo is born in 1992.

Giacomo Miccini played first round qualifications and won against Juan-Manuel Romanazzi from Argentina, born in 1988, and currently ranked 1447 on ATP list, 6:1, 6:3.

In the second round of the qualifications Giacomo Miccini played against Marco Aurelio Sanchez from Mexico, born in 1985, and won the match in three sets: 7:5, 3:6, 6:3.

After only one hour break Giacomo Miccini played the third round of the qualifications against Antonio Ruiz-Rosales from Mexico, born in 1984, currently ranked 1465 on ATP list. Ruiz-Rosales’ best ranking was 793 on ATP list, in October 2006. Giacomo Miccini won the match by: 7:6, 5:7, 6:4.

In the first round of the Main Draw Giacomo Miccini lost against David Stojan from Switzerland, born in 1985, currently ranked 1045 on ATP ranking list.

In the next tournament Giacomo should have the Wild Card and could collect his first ATP point.

Good luck for the next tournament!

19/10/07

12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 and 6th"Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl on You Tube

On You Tube there is a 7 minutes video about 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 and 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl. It is the same video that you can download on our internet pages but it takes less time for you to watch it on You Tube. The internet page is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9ycxE5FUII

The video is about Smrikva Bowl story and contains also short interviews with some of the most talented players we had this year. Video also shows the cerimony of the Olive Tree planting. In the interviews you will see Sacha Merzetti from Italy who won boys finals, and Virginia Pena from Spain who won the girls finals. There are also runner ups: Bogdan Borza from Romenia and Ana Konjuh from Croatia. In end there are the top players from “Little Mo” tournament: Eduardo Nava from California and Ndindi Ndunda that played the 6th “Little Mo”/Smrikva Bowl.

Enjoy the video!

17/10/07

Very nice article about Virginia Pena, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 winner, on www.elmundo-eldia.com

Virgina Pena won 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 and last year she ranked third during the 11th Smrikva Bowl 2006. This result is the second best result in the Smrikva Bowl history. It is second only to Saska Gavrilovska result when Saska won two editions in a row: 2004 and 2005. Gigi is really talented and strong. In Smrikva Bowl Guest Book Virigina signed herself as Gigi. I read that many spanish funs call her Vivi. Virginia will have to decide if she will be Vivi or Gigi for the funs :). I will use the nickname she used in our Guest Book until she decide ;).

Anyway… Jofre Porta was with Gigi and her family in Smrikve during the last year Smrikva Bowl and Jofre in his career trained players like Carlos Moya and Rafael Nadal. This year Gigi was in Smrikve with a coach from Romenia. She, her parents and her coach are all very nice people. I have to recall that this year Gigi won the Mountain Bike on the Smrikva Bowl and after few rounds on the court with the bike she decided to give it as a gift to she’s new friend Ariana Rabac from Pula. It is always complicated to take the bike home from the winners that are coming from far away and Gigi decided to give it as a gift. This was very nice from Gigi’s side.

I enjoyed reading the article and also Smrikva Bowl is mentioned as one of the most important under 10 tennis tournament in the World played in Pula. I’ve seen in the article that she is currently trained by a coach from serbia Niko Paunovic… In the article is also said that Gigi won one point to Carlos Moya :)... Good luck Gigi and for the readers (who understand spanish) enjoy the article made by Roberto Diez Yague…

If you are interesting to see Virginia’s photos you can find them in the 12th Smrikva Bowl Photo Gallery on our internet site www.smrikve.com… you can also see a short interview with her in the 12th Smrikva Bowl Video…

POLIDEPORTIVO / Las promesas del deporte balear
http://www.elmundo-eldia.com/2007/10…191189627.html
Sonrisa angelical, mirada competitiva
VIRGINIA PEÑA
Tenista

ROBERTO DÍEZ YAGÜE

PALMA.- Luce una sonrisa angelical pero sus ojos no engañan. La mirada de Virginia Peña (Alicante, 1997) destila competición y picardía. No hay más que ver cómo sale la pelota, escopetada, como un obús. Primero suena el golpetazo de la raqueta. Después un ligero gemido. ¡Cómo le pega la muchacha! «Le apasiona jugar al tenis», señalan sus padres. Por eso se mueve incómoda en la silla y regresa corriendo en cuanto puede a la pista para seguir castigando a la pequeña pelota amarilla.

Los inicios de Virginia no fueron, sin embargo, nada originales. La pequeña de una extensa prole que ya practicaba el tenis vio jugar a los hermanos y cogió la raqueta a los cinco años. «Me gustaba mucho. Y me gusta», asegura sonriente. Desde entonces, la progresión no ha cesado y no parece que tenga que frenarse. «Técnicamente está muy madura, como las niñas de 16 años», explican sus padres. Ellos son los únicos y exclusivos mecenas de Virginia. «Y nuestro dinero nos cuesta. Pero mientras podamos permitírnoslo lo seguiremos haciendo porque es mejor; te permite hacer lo que quieres», explica su padre.

Nike y Prince aportan todo el material deportivo, demostrando que las multinacionales están al tanto de las futuras estrellas casi desde que escalan los barrotes de la cuna. «Pero todo lo demás lo pagamos nosotros. Le han ofrecido ir a escuelas en Barcelona con todos los gastos pagados, pero prefiero que siga creciendo en casa», detalla Teresa, su madre, que suele acompañarla en todos los viajes junto con el entrenador de turno. Desde hace seis meses, el técnico serbio Niko Paunovic dirige los pasos de Virginia con al menos dos horas diarias de entrenamiento y subiendo…

Los resultados han ido cayendo como fruta madura. A los siete años ganó el Campeonato de Mallorca sub-10; a los ocho, el sub-12 y este año ha sido subcampeona de España alevín y ha ganado el Campeonato del Mundo oficioso sub-10, celebrado en junio en la localidad croata de Pula. Son sólo ejemplos de una progresión meteórica. «El año pasado íbamos a Barcelona a jugar por equipos con el Barcino, pero este hemos regresado a Mallorca y entrena en el Club Royal Tennis Academy, en la Costa de la Calma», detalla Teresa, que prefiere mantener a Virginia fuera de las obsesiones deportivas. «En el colegio ella tiene un círculo de amigos con los que no habla de tenis. Así que si el domingo pierde un partido, el lunes puede pasar página y desconectar. Eso es muy importante, porque hay niñas que viven sólo para el tenis», explica el padre de Virginia.

Los estudios marchan bien y el King Richard III College colabora con un plan flexible. «Menos mal que colabora, porque así puede viajar cuando es necesario», reconoce Teresa. Esto ha permitido a Virginia meterse de lleno en torneos ATP como Acapulco o Indian Wells junto a Flavia Pennetta, su ídolo, Rafa Nadal o Carlos Moyà, a quien ya ganó un punto. El año que viene disputará los torneos de Nike y los mejores internacionales en Francia, «pero siempre sin prisa, con tranquilidad», matiza su padre. «Si en sub-12 marcha bien, quién dice que no a sub-14, pero siempre sin agobios», añade. De momento, ya tiene una derecha matadora y un carácter ganador. «El técnico de ahora le ha inculcado un tenis como el del Djokovic, muy agresivo. Pero ella ya era muy competitiva, muy dura y se crece ante la adversidad», señala Teresa. Toni Nadal ya lo dijo cuando ella tenía dos años. «Esta chica promete».

17/10/07

News

News

12 years of the Smrikva Bowl story through the story of some of its players

Deadline for entries for the 2nd annual "Little Mo" International Open: November 21, 2007

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

11 years old Gianluigi Quinzi arrived in the semifinals of an under 16 tournament

Istria from Smrikve will be soon on www.smrikve.com

Ana Ivanovic is giving two signed t-shirts to the 13th Smrikva Bowl 2008 girls finalists

Giacomo Miccini played his third Future Tournament in Mexico

Smrikva Bowl on Women's Tennis Blog - www.womenstennisblog.com

12 Smrikva Bowl 2007 on www.collegeandjuniortennis.com

Some Smrikva Bowl players that will play Eddie Herr International and Junior Orange Bowl

Giacomo Miccini played his second Future Tournament in Mexico

Ingrid Neel, Karina Vyrlan, Michal Kusznerko and Justin Lee are the under 9 "Little Mo" National Champions and Runners-up and from today they are confirmed by Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation and are eligible to represent the USA - "Little Mo"

Harry George Busby is now on line with his website http://harrybusby.com

Top Smrikva Bowl players on ATP, WTA, ITF and European under 14 and 16 ranking lists

Glasgow Academy trip to Pula - Smrikve

Petra Martic jumped other 66 places on WTA ranking list and is currently ranked 338 in the World

Giacomo Miccini played his first USD 10000 Future Tournament in Ciudad Obregon in Mexico

12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 and 6th"Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl on You Tube

Very nice article about Virginia Pena, 12th Smrikva Bowl 2007 winner, on www.elmundo-eldia.com

The Story of the "Little Mo". "Little Mo" is linked with Smrikva Bowl trough traditional "Little Mo"/Smrikva Bowl