Up Close and Personal with Newest Croatian Tennis Sensation Marin Cilic

by Jeffrey Lesser
 

Men's tennis returned to Zagreb this week for the first time in nine years. Along with the PBZ Zagreb Indoors came a chance for Croatia to showcase its players. Croatia's three marquee players, Ivan Ljubicic, Mario Ancic, and Ivo Karlovic, were all featured, and Ljubicic actually put together terrific tennis to win the event. However, the biggest story of the tournament was of the player who received a special wild-card invitation to the tournament- 17-year-old Marin Cilic, the 585th-ranked Zagreb resident. Fans may remember Cilic, the 2nd best Junior in the world, as the boy who won the 2005 French Open Junior Championships. To put it in fewer words, he is the future of Croatian tennis.
Cilic had played only one ATP match in his entire career, which was at the Croatian Open in Umag, where he was also a wild-card invite. In that match, Marin lost to 73rd-ranked Kristof Vliegen of Belgium, 7-5 6-2. In the first round at the Zagreb Indoors this past week, Marin was given an even tougher task- to play the 7th seed and 25th-ranked player in all the world, Igor Andreev of Russia. The extreme underdog, Marin Cilic showed his potential to be a great player, as he shocked the tennis world by defeating Andreev. In the second round, Cilic even had a one-set advantage over 55th-ranked Andreas Seppi of Italy before losing, 4-6 6-4 6-4. In his performance, Marin showed that the future for Croatian tennis is shining brighter than ever.
I had the opportunity to meet with and interview Cilic at the 2005 US Open. In our sit-down conversation, I learned much about Marin's inherent desire to succeed and found out that he truly has what it takes to be a great pro.
First, we talked about the French Open. He conceded that he was not confident that he could win the French Open until he reached the semifinals. While I was extremely impressed by his results at the Juniors level, Marin downplayed his past. He said that it was far easier to win on clay in the Juniors, because there are no real clay court specialists, whereas in the pros, it is a different story. Cilic, who practices on clay courts in the hot Croatian weather and on hard, indoor courts for the remaining six months of the year, had past experience on clay that proved vital during the tournament. He continued to put his success into perspective rarely seen in a kid his age. "Juniors in Grand Slams are good to improve your game," he remarked. Not dwelling on Juniors success, Marin seems to look towards life as a pro.
This professional mindset was never more evident than when I asked him about his favorite match he ever played. I expected to hear that winning the French Open Juniors was his greatest moment to date. However, he had another response in store. Marin said that his favorite match was his only pro match, the "big experience" against Vliegen. His greatest moment was his only professional moment. This sophisticated answer showed unbelievable poise and determination to become a great pro.
Cilic said he is also willing to put in the hours necessary to succeed at the professional level. He currently practices about five hours every day and "will do a lot in my training" to become stronger physically in the next few years. Marin wants to improve his serve, adding power and placement. Even though he plans to be a hard-serving baseliner (much like the man off whom he models his game, Marat Safin of Russia), Cilic wants to improve his volleying. He considers his current groundstrokes strong enough to enable him to compete at a high level in the pros.
Marin said that the main difference between himself and professionals is his lack of mental strength. "Professional players are very calm," he said, whereas he occasionally throws his racket. However, mental toughness comes with experience. Marin believes that he could have defeated Vliegen at Umag, except that due to his lack of match experience, Cilic was "a little nervous" playing in front of his country. I brought to his attention that Andrew Murray, the Brit who Marin defeated at the semifinals of the French Open Juniors, has been achieving success at the professional level. He said that this success happened as a result of Murray playing lots of challengers and futures events. Cilic resolved that in 2006 he "will try to play more Futures and Challengers" in order to gain match play experience and mental toughness, as well as valuable ranking points. He plans to officially turn pro and ditch the Juniors after succeeding in the Futures and Challengers events.
By dismissing most of his Juniors success as mere practice for the pros, Marin Cilic has showed he is ready for the pros and ready to commit his life to becoming a better tennis player. Still, while he is playing on the tour, he is separated from his parents and brothers. Being on the road means that there is "not a lot of time for friends and family," but Marin is prepared to sacrifice this to become a successful pro.
This past week, Marin Cilic confirmed my belief that he has what it takes to become a fantastic pro. Forget about Futures and Challengers. After beating Igor Andreev and giving Andreas Seppi all he could handle in the second round, Marin Cilic proved that he is not only the future of Croatian tennis, but also the present.

Croatia needs thousands of immigrants, daily says.
 

(Op-ed: Is that so? How come that Croatian Diaspora is not aware of it? NB)

04.02.2006

Croatia needs 15,000 immigrants annually to preserve the present number of its population and the government is working hard on its plans to attract citizens of Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgarian newspaper Sega reports. The front page article entitled "Croatia Seeks Immigrants from Bulgaria" says that immigrants Croatia is interested in, should be aged below 40 and be well educated, referring to Yakov Gelo, member of the Croatian government’s Demographic Policy Council. The average salary in the country is 700 dollars, the newspaper adds.
Source: AXIS INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS (AIA)

http://www.southeasteurope.org/subpage.php?sub_site=2&id=16291&head=hl
 

Croatia Sending 24 Athletes to Compete in Turin Olympiad

Text of report in English by Croatian news agency HINA

Zagreb, 4 February: Seven days remain before the start of the 20th Winter Olympic Games in the Italian city of Turin. Croatia will be represented by 24 athletes in six sports. The most numerous Croatian team will be in Alpine skiing with 12 skiers: five representatives in women's competitions and seven in men's races. Croatia's team has also qualified for four man bobsleigh competitions. Other Croatians will compete in figure skating, Nordic combined, skeleton and biathlon.
The triple Olympic gold winner, skier Janica Kostelic, will carry the Croatian flag during the ceremony of the opening of the games on 10 February. It will be Italian Giorgio Rocca to take the solemn oath of the athlete at the ceremony. Over 2,500 athletes coming from 85 nations will compete in the Games.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/379838/croatia_sending_24_athletes_to_compete_in_turin_olympiad/index.html?source=r_technology

July 2006 in Zadar: Croatian World Games

 Are you a Croatian aficionado? Have you ever wanted to meet Croatians from all over the world in one place? Are you found of sports?

Spread the word - the first Croatian World Games are awaiting you from July 15 - July 22, 2006 in Zadar, Croatia!

Participants from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Argentina, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and other countries have started to apply and will be competing in 15 disciplines, such as Athletics, Swimming, Tennis, Basketball, Volleyball, Table Tennis, Soccer, etc. Imagine the Olympics with only Croatian players competing!

The goal of this event is to bring Croatians from Croatia and Croatians from all over the Globe closer together!  Don't worry if you are not a pro in any of these disciplines; join the crowd and compete for your own fun and pleasure. If you feel that you are a pro, go and prove it to the world! You might be discovered as a talent and accepted into one of the Croatian national sport teams!

For the price of EUR 285, you get a seven day accommodation with two meals a day in a bungalow at the popular tourist district of Zaton, a chance to participate in the athletic part of the Games, to enjoy free entrance to all Games sites and an entertainment program, to use the recreation facilities in the sports village and transportation within the sports village, as well asthe unlimited access to the IT center.

Visit www.zadar2006.com and find out more about this first global  Croatian sports event.

Sign up today and be part of this unique Croatian event! However, if you already have other plans for the Summer 2006, send this article to all of your friends, relatives and acquaintances. Give everybody you know a chance to participate in this truly unique opportunity!

Men’s Tennis Blanks Utah State
Courtesy: New Mexico State University
Release: 02/05/2006

Courtesy: Julie Baish
The men's tennis team downed WAC foe Utah State 7-0, Saturday afternoon.

Las Cruces, N.M. – The New Mexico State men’s tennis team dominated the Utah State Aggies 7-0, Saturday afternoon at the NMSU Tennis Center. The Aggies are now 2-0 in WAC matches in 2006 and 3-1 overall.

NMSU started strong in doubles action as they won two of three matches where the team of Stjepan Beg (Rab, Croatia) and Brice Magnanou (Montauban, France) defeated Zelle and Pinho 8-6 in the number one position andRoman Stoisavljevic (Zagreb, Croatia) and Tim America (Roermond, Netherlands) beat Tyden and Young 8-4 at the number two spot.

In singles action, the Aggies won all six matches, five of them in straight sets as Beg defeated Zelle (6-2, 6-4), Magnanou defeated Pinho (7-5, 6-3) and Stoisavljevic beat Netto (6-0, 6-2) in the one, two and three spots. In the four, five and six positions, Ricardo Gorostiaga defeated Young (6-1, 6-2), America dropped Marchant (6-2, 7-5) and Halligan beat Tyden (6-0, 1-6, 6-2).

“We played a little shaky in doubles play, but managed to hang on for the win, so that was good,” Aggie head coach Don Ball said. “Then we won five of six singles matches and the number six match was pretty close, but the others were never really in question. Both of our tennis teams are now 4-0 for the weekend and you can’t complain about that. The men now have two conference wins under their belt and overall it was a pretty good day.”

The Aggie men will be back in action tomorrow as they take on Northern Colorado at 9:00 a.m. at the Youth Tennis Center in El Paso.

Aggie Results

Doubles:

1. Beg/ Magnanou (NMSU) d. Zelle/ Pinho (USU) – 8-6
2. Stoisavljevic/ America (NMSU) d. Tyden/ Young (USU) – 8-4
3. Banks/ Marchant (USU) d. Gorostiaga/ Pfeifer (NMSU) – 8-6

Singles:

1. Beg (NMSU) d. Zelle (USU) – 6-2, 6-4
2. Magnanou (NMSU) d. Pinho (USU) – 7-5, 6-3
3. Stoisavljevic (NMSU) d. Netto (USU) – 6-0, 6-2
4. Gorostiaga (NMSU) d. Young (USU) – 6-1, 6-2
5. America (NMSU) d. Marchant (USU) – 6-2, 7-5
6. Halligan (NMSU) d. Tyden (USU) – 6-0, 1-6, 6-2

http://www.nmstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1900&ATCLID=234711

Tamara Boros won European Top 12

Tamara Boros of Croatia returns a shot to Liu Jia of Austria during the women's final at the European Top 12 table tennis tournament at the KB Stadium Hall in Copenhagen February 5, 2006. Boros won 11-9, 4-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-8. NORWAY OUT DENMARK OUT SWEDEN OUT NO THIRD PARTY SALES REUTERS/Jakob Boserup/Scanpix
 

PROMOCIJA KLAPSKE GLAZBE

Intervjui Nenada Bacha na hrvatskim radio postajama u runju 2005

Zvuci Sredozemlja - Hrvatski Misticni Glasovi

Mediterranean Sounds Croatia's Mystic Voices

http://www.011385.com/text06/nbach_190106.htm

audio - 1. program Hrvatski Radio- Vrijeme je za narodnu glazbu - Nenad Bach , Mojimir Cacija - razgovor vodio Mladen Magdalenic, 18 IX 2005

audio - 1. program HRT Glas Hrvatske - emisija 'Gost Glasa Hrvatske' - Nenad Bach - razgovor vodio Kresimir Sockovic 21 IX 2005

audio - Obiteljski radio - Nenad Bach , Ivo Pervan , Mojimir Cacija - razgovor vodio Goran Kurjak 14 Rujna 2005

audio - 1 dio - Radio Sljeme - Radio Pozornica - Nenad Bach, razgovor vodio Boris Ciglenecki 16 Rujna 2005

audio - 2 dio - Radio Sljeme - Radio Pozornica - Nenad Bach, razgovor vodio Boris Ciglenecki 16 Rujna 2005


Photo: Klapa Sinj i Nenad Bach, koncert 2. prosinca 2005, Society for Ethical Culture 2 West 64th Street, New York City, New York SAD

Photo: Mario Novak

 

Cuba, Croatia Explore Trade Areas

Havana, Feb 1 (Prensa Latina) Cuba and Croatia will run from Feb 1-3 the 3rd Joint Commission for economic and commercial exchange.

The meeting is led by Ricardo Guerrero, Cuban vice minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, and Vladimir Vrankovic, minister for Economy, Labor and Business of Croatia.

Vrankovic expects an ample exchange with the ministries of Foreign Trade, Transportation, Basic Industry and Computer and Communications. He also mentioned as areas of interest the nickel industry, genetic engineering, medicine, foreign relations and transportation. Vice Minister Guerrrero said bilateral exchange with Croatia gained momentum in 2004 despite political adversities like the US over 40-year blockade and the effects of three hurricanes. The MINVEC release says Cuba's Institute of Civilian Aeronautics will sign a cooperation accord with Croatia's Ministry for Maritime, Tourism, Transportation and Development.

The visiting delegation will also tour places of social and economic interests.

http://www.plenglish.com/Article.asp?ID=%7B3BA7B517-1BC3-4CD6-BAD5-F32F984AE5AF%7D&language=EN

Traveling man with a big plan
 

Vukusic survives war, injuries, SAT to become NU star

By Terry Bannon
Tribune staff reporter

January 31, 2006

In the fall of 2001, Vedran Vukusic left his home in Split, Croatia, and arrived in Evanston ready to play basketball and go to college. Alas, it wasn't that simple. "I had no idea what I was getting into," he said.
And Bill Carmody wouldn't have predicted he was getting a player who will leave Northwestern as one of the school's career scoring leaders. "No," the Northwestern coach said. "The guy's improved a lot."
Vukusic does not disagree, if only because he had a long way to go. "I couldn't shoot at home," he said.

Carmody and his staff fixed Vukusic's awkward shooting mechanics, turning an all-around player into a scorer. Vukusic is on pace to finish as Northwestern's No. 3 career scorer and all-time leader in three-point field goals.

While the Wildcats haven't gone to a postseason tournament with Vukusic, they've come within one victory of NIT eligibility (.500 record) the last two seasons and are once again on the postseason bubble with a 10-8 record going into Wednesday night's game at Indiana.

"He has been an extremely important part of taking Northwestern from the bottom of the pack to a competitive team," Carmody said.

Back home

The fates have been kind to Vukusic, whose childhood memories aren't all pleasant.

Growing up in Croatia in the early 1990s meant more than going to school and learning how to play basketball in the same city that gave the Bulls Toni Kukoc.

It meant surviving a war with Yugoslavia, and Serbian attacks on his coastal hometown from the Adriatic Sea.

Vukusic remembers being awakened by his father and rushing to a bomb shelter, not that an 8-year-old totally understood.

"My mother later told me I thought it was fun—it was all a game to me," he said. "She said, 'You were laughing, it was all fun, bombs dropping and you're running down the street smiling.'

"I remember my dad waking us up at 6 a.m. and walking down the street, everyone running. I remember everything that happened."

His family survived the war, but his uncle, Jozo Bajamic, still has shrapnel in his shoulder.

Peace came in 1995, allowing a return to school—and basketball. Vukusic's parents wouldn't have had it any other way. His father, Nediljko, is a retired factory supervisor, his mother, Radojka, a nurse.

But before there were issues with Vukusic's jump shot, there were other considerations. He suffered from chronic ankle injuries, and his parents were concerned they could prevent his basketball odyssey from working out.


http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/cs-060130nuvukusic,1,6016912.story?coll=cs-home-headlines


By Terry Bannon
Tribune staff reporter

January 31, 2006

"My parents wanted to make sure I always had an education," he said.

Moving to America

Vukusic wanted to pursue both basketball and school. But in Croatia, as in most of Europe, it can't be done.

"At home you have to choose," Vukusic said.

"The USA was the only solution for him," said Vjeran Bosnjak, his coach in Croatia. "He would have been too young (18) and inexperienced to get the opportunity to play enough at the professional level. He couldn't continue his studies because [basketball] wouldn't leave him any free time."

Before recruiting Vukusic, Carmody talked with Loyola assistant coach Pat Baldwin, who played in Crotia professionally after his Northwestern career ended.

"The (professional) money for those kids isn't that great to start out with, and that seven-year contract binds them," Baldwin said. "They're not able to test the market."

Vukusic could have signed with a pro club in Europe, but a starting salary of $250 per month and the long contract turned him off. "It would have ruined my future," Vukusic said.

His friend and teammate, Davor Duvancic, felt the same way. When Carmody came visiting in the spring of 2001, they were interested in what he had to say.

"It was a great opportunity for us," said Duvancic, who completed his Northwestern eligibility last year and now works for the insurance conglomerate Aon.

But there were complications. Language wasn't one of them, because Croatian children study English in grade school. But there was the little matter of the SAT, which would not be offered again in Croatia in time for the players to enroll at Northwestern in the fall.

There was one more chance to take the test—in Vienna.

So one summer day, Duvancic and Vukusic piled into a Nissan Altima with their fathers in the front. It's a 300-mile trip from Split to Vienna as the crow flies, but a 10-hour drive as the Balkan roads bend.

In the back seat, the prospective Wildcats crammed.

"There was pressure," Duvancic said. "We had to pass the test."

It was a short night of sleep. "We woke up an hour before the exam started," Vukusic said.

Northwestern

Vukusic and Duvancic were among Carmody's first international recruits Another Croatian, Ivan Tolic, followed a year later. Tolic's NU career ended after last season because of injuries.

Vukusic battled shoulder problems early in his college career, losing what would have been his sophomore season to a shoulder operation, his second. Vukusic's absence was a factor in the Wildcats' 12-17 record, the worst of Carmody's seven seasons in Evanston.

This season, Carmody challenged Vukusic to be the Wildcats' leader in many ways. He has responded with a career-best 20.5 points per game, including 18.6 in the Big Ten.

"He's taken the team on his shoulders and he didn't do that before," Carmody said. "The other night he went 1-for-14 against Illinois and in the next game he gets 29 away from home (at Purdue). That's saying something."

Carmody has noticed other little areas of improvement, like Vukusic's willingness to go for dunks instead of layups.


"It doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is," Carmody said. "Now he's gotten the fact that 'I have to be the guy.' He's more forceful in his game, not letting it come to him. He's taken over some games for us."

Vukusic has earned his bachelor's degree in communications and is pursuing a second major in international studies. As his college career winds down, he would like to be remembered for leading the Wildcats into the postseason.

"A couple of years before I came we didn't win a Big Ten game. Compared to that we've made some progress," he said. "But it's not what I want it to be, obviously."

Vukusic's legacy

Next year Vukusic will be playing professionally—in Europe if not in the NBA. But his impact on Northwestern will last.Next year's freshman class will include at least two 6-foot-8-inch players—Jeff Ryan from Glenbrook South and Kevin Coble from Scottsdale, Ariz.—who signed letters of intent in November.

"When we're recruiting other guys, they just love the way [Vukusic] plays," Carmody said. "It shows what you can do with big, rangy kids. Not only has he helped us while he's here, but he's helped us in recruiting, and however intangible it is, it's real."

Vukusic's success also has kept Northwestern's name alive in Croatia, where the Wildcats are recruiting another 6-8 prospect, Nikola Baran.

As Vjeran Bosnjak, Vukusic's youth coach, put it, "[Northwestern's style] fits the sensibility of players coming from this region."

tabannon@tribune.com

Copyright © 2006, The Chicago Tribune
 

Passion Makes the World Go Round

Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)

BOOK REVIEW
February 3, 2006
Posted to the web February 3, 2006

Sheridan Griswold

J. M Coetzee (2005) "Slow Man". Parktown, Random House, 263 pages, hardcover, P170, ISBN 0-436-20611-0.

Nobel Prize winning author J.M. Coetzee has moved to Australia and has set his 17th book, "Slow Man", in Adelaide, South Australia. Paul Rayment is ready to retire at 60 when he has an accident and a leg is amputated above the knee. How he copes with this disaster, his paths to recovery and his infatuation with his caregiver and her family are the subjects of this unusual novel.

The reader slowly learns about Paul Rayment. He is probably a character you would soon move on from if you met him at a party (but then he wouldn't be there, because he is a bit of a recluse). Paul is originally from France, but his mother remarried and they moved to Australia when he was small. There was little exceptional in his life, except he became a professional photographer.

He did return to France when he was a late adolescent, but found he did not really fit in. He was shocked to find his relatives called him "l'Anglais", though he had never even been to England.

He fell in love with a young woman from Morocco, then a most unsuitable passion in everyone else's eyes. He learned he was more Australian than French. So he returned to Australia and made it his home.

Paul was married, but had no children. His wife left him, perhaps because he was so bland. He ran a studio in Unley and taught evening classes in photography. At a young age he began collecting original photographs by early Australian photographers of the mid 19th century.

He has thus amassed a significant collection, which he will bequeath to a library on his death. The parts in this novel on the mysteries of photography are excellent.

What Coetzee has given us is a case study of one man, Paul Rayment, and his alter ego, the famous older Australian woman writer Elizabeth Costello (why Coetzee falls back on using her we may never know). Much of what Costello has to observe, call attention to and pronounce on could have been done in other ways by an author writing in the third person. For example she says:

"Paul here is unhappy because unhappiness is second nature to him but particularly because he has not the faintest idea about how to bring about his heart's desire" (p. 141).

Costello is privileged to information about Paul and the other characters that normally is reserved for angels, gods or an author. Coetzee has used her in other works and in his previous novel of that name. Instead of the stream-of-consciousness, first-person narrative that he achieved in "In the Heart of the Country" (1977) the author plays god and writes about his characters from outside and above. This allows a little more flexibility.

There are all too frequent references to what "God knows"-and not what the author knows-in this strange and extremely well written novel.

"God knows what Elizabeth Costello really wants, for him or for herself or for this Marianna; God knows to what theory of life or love she really holds; God knows what will happen next" (page 112).

Another time Elizabeth tells Paul "We don't have much time left, either of us". He comments, "Don't we", and she replies; "No. Under the gaze of heaven, in the cold eye of God, we don't" (page 203). At one point Paul aspires to become like a god by proposing that he be accepted as a godfather.

All very frustrating to the reader when an author within a novel by another author plays God. Le me quote Woody Allen: "If it turns out there is a God, I don't think that he's evil. But the worst you can say about him is that he's basically an underachiever." Paul's accident results in a circumscribed life and places him in the clutches of social services. He does what he is told, but not completely. He refuses to consider having an artificial leg installed.

Instead he learns to cope using crutches and a Zimmer Frame. He cannot tolerate the first frail care nurses sent his way. He eventually is assigned one he likes:

"Marijana Jokic is a shallow-faced woman who, if not quite middle aged, exhibits a thickening about the waist that is quite matronly. She wears a sky-blue uniform that he finds a relief after all the whiteness, with patches of dampness under the arms; she speaks a rapid, approximate Australian English with Slavic liquids and an uncertain command of 'a' and 'the' coloured by slang she must have picked up from her children ... " (page 27).

Marijana has three children. She sometimes brings the youngest, pretty Lujba, to work with her. He is not Rocket Man, but Slow Man, observes Ljuba. The oldest, Drago, is an angelic 16 year-old with strong aspirations for himself in this "sunny land of opportunity". Marijana's husband now works in an automobile assembly plant. Before migrating from Croatia in former Yugoslavia, Marijana had trained as an art restorer and she and her husband worked at the Art Institute in Dubrovnik.

Paul Rayment is not a character that will long be remembered or become part of world literature. His nemesis Elizabeth Costello, at least as treated in this novel, also does not win our affection or admiration.

Turning his sights on ageing and its complication, Coetzee has perhaps found a niche and a growing audience, as the demographic profile of people over sixty who purchase and read (not just put on their shelves) novels is growing dramatically. Also the number of older people who have accidents, from broken hips to amputations due to Diabetes and other events, is expanding exponentially. Perhaps John Michael Coetzee, who will be 66 on February 9, also identifies with Rayment?

Paul's relationship with Marijana and her son are explored in great detail. Paul at sixty finds there are feelings he has never really had before and he succumbs to them, but they only complicate everyone's lives further.

Elizabeth Costello appears, supposedly to rescue everyone from a quagmire, but her methods are most unorthodox, and include procuring another woman (the Marianna mentioned above) for Paul.

The novel turns into an exploration into the nature and meaning of love. But do the elderly need love, or only care? Is Coetzee writing tongue-in-cheek or are deeper meanings hidden here?

http://allafrica.com/stories/200602030772.html