JUNIOR GIRLS & BOYS
AND SUPER SENIORS TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
By Katarina Tepesh
Every year during the US OPEN the ITF or International Tennis Federation organizes the JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS for JUNIOR GIRLS and JUNIOR BOYS to compete. The event provides the stars of tomorrow with plenty of opportunities to make their dreams of tennis glory come true.
In the world of international junior tennis, several Croatians created a buzz.
Among seeded players is MIRNA MARINOVIC, ranked 73rd and seeded No. 4. Unfortunately, Mirna did not qualify to compete among "Girls' Singles" and lost in the 1st round in "Girls' Doubles."
Sixteen-year-old SANJA ANCIC from Split also lost in the first round of Girls' Singles and Doubles. "My ambition in tennis is to reach the top 10," says Sanja. Her sponsor is "Prince," tennis racquet and clothing company, as well as her parents, owners of a supermarket chain. "I began playing tennis at age 5. I play right-handed and prefer to play on clay courts. My favorite players are Martina Hingis (retired), Jennifer Capriati and of course, Goran Ivanisevic." Her coach is Jozo Dumanic and Neno Ancic. "When I'm not in school or playing tennis, I like to read and go to the cinema."
Brother MARIO ANCIC, seeded No. 28, had an unfortunate experience competing among professionals by losing in his first round in Singles and Doubles. Mario's next tennis tournament is in Florida. Due to hurricane Frances, Mario continues to practice at the US Open tennis courts in Corona, Queens. The tennis center, home of the US Open, is the world's largest public tennis facility. It has 45 Deco Turf II courts, 3 stadium courts, 33 outdoor courts (22 of which have "US Open quality lights" for night play) and 9 indoor courts.
Chosen as the LL or lucky loser during the qualifying matches, ANTONIO VEIC had the most successful run among Croatian boys and girls. He reached 3rd round of Jr. Boys Singles. In the 2nd round, Veic defeated Spanish player Pablo Andujar, seeded No. 12. In the 3rd round, Veic lost to a Russian player seeded No. 7, Sergey Stakhovsky 6-0, 6-4. On tennis court, Veic moves really well and plays aggressive tennis. Using diversified shots and strong serve, his game looks very promising. Given proper guidance, the talented junior will have a terrific future in tennis.
Qualifier MARIN CILIC reached 2nd round in Jr. Boys Singles, but lost in 1st round Doubles.
FRANCO SKUGOR lost in 2nd round of Jr. Boys Singles and 1st round in Doubles.
Qualifier JURICA GRUBISIC lost in 1st round of Jr. Boys Singles and Doubles.
PETAR JELENIC arrived in New York City, played and lost in qualifying matches.
Representing Canada, Katarina Zoricic played in qualifying Jr. Girls Singles and lost.
WTA or Women's Tennis Association www.wtatour.com lists several Croatian players who did not qualify to compete at the US OPEN due to their ranking. IVANA ABRAMOVIC ranked 148, DARIJA JURAK ranked 203, IVANA LISJAK ranked 223, SANDA MAMIC ranked 229, LUCIJA KRZELJ ranked 259, LANA POPADIC ranked 293, MIRJANA LUCIC ranked 335, NIKA OZEGOVIC ranked 360, ANA VRLJIC ranked 365, MATEA MEZAK ranked 379, IVANA VISIC ranked 477, PETRA DIZDAR ranked 528, NADA PAVIC ranked 648, MARIJA ABRAMOVIC ranked 696, IVANA SOKAC ranked 943, ANA ABRAMOVIC ranked 951, GIANNA DOZ ranked 1051 and IVANA BRACUN ranked 1072.
WTA members established a first mentor program in pro sports, which helps rising stars shine even brighter. Among protégés and mentors who have completed formal requirements of Partners for Success are MIRJANA LUCIC and her mentor MARTINA NAVRATILOVA. The professional Development Department tried to help Lucic to continue to compete in tennis tournaments. Mirjana won 1996 US OPEN Junior Girl's Singles Champion and was the youngest to win a WTA tour Singles title in 1997 at 15 years, 1 month and 25 days old. It happened at Bol, the island of Brac. Mirjana won again in 1998. The tournament owned by a native of Hvar, Mr. Plenkovic, is no longer active due to shortage of sponsors. In 1998 Mirjana and Martina Hingis won Australian Open Doubles Championship.
IVA MAJOLI announced retirement from Tennis. She lives in Zagreb and is in the process of building a tennis academy. Iva won the French Open 1997 Roland Garros and reached her career high No. 4 on February 5, 1996. Iva's total career prize money reached over $4,390,192. Recipient of WTA Tour 1993 Most Impressive Newcomer and 2000 Comeback Player of the Year Awards.
SENIOR TENNIS LEGENDS
The US OPEN sponsors annual MASTERS INVITATIONALS where the leading figures in the sport of tennis compete in following categories:
Men's 35s Doubles Masters, Men's 45s Doubles Masters, Women's Doubles Masters and Super Senior Doubles.
The international Masters Invitational includes legendary champions such as Pat Cash from Australia, Jana Novotna from Czech Republic, Guillermo Vilas from Argentina, Virginia Wade from Great Britain, Ilie Nastase from Romania, Stan Smith from USA and MIMA JAUSOVEC from Maribor, Slovenia. Representing former Yugoslavia, Mima won the French Open 1977 Roland Garros. She was a finalist in 1978 and 1983 in Singles and won 1978 Roland Garros Doubles Championship. At Wimbledon Mima was a finalist in Doubles. Having won in total 5 Singles titles including 1976 in Rome, 1976 Canadian Open, 1978 Hamburg German Open and 1982 Avon Los Angeles.
Mima cracked top 10 on March 20, 1977 as No. 9 while she reached her career high as No. 6 on March 22, 1982. Her career prize money reached $933, 926.
Mima opened a tennis club in Zagreb. Demolished due to improper building permits, Mima moved to Slovenia.
I hope that someday we will see Iva Majoli and Goran Ivanisevic, 2001 Wimbledon Champion, participating at the Masters Invitational along with Nikola Pilic, 1970 US Open Men's Doubles Champion. Pilic had 7 wins in total and 9 as a finalist, while his winning % in finals is .437 .
One of the regulars at the US Open is Donald Trump with his Slovenian fiancée Melanie Knauss.
To acknowledge the third anniversary of the attacks on America, on September 11, the internationally renowned opera star Jessye Norman will sing "Amazing Grace" and "America the Beautiful." 38 members of the American Boychoir and the Orchestra of St. Luke's, and color guards will accompany Norman from the New York Police and Fire Departments.
Tennis players from over 50 countries, along with over 30,000 hours of international TV coverage in more than 160 nations - make the US Open a showcase for tennis with a global reach.
Steffi Graf is the Founder and Chairperson of Children for Tomorrow, a nonprofit foundation. With the goal of implementing and developing projects to support children who have been traumatized by war or other crises. During her tennis career, she earned well over 22 million dollars. Steffi is directly involved in the running of the foundation and makes regular financial contributions to the organization.
