At the clay tournament EMPIRE Slovak Open 2015, Czech Klara Koukalova (33) lost the first match of the day. But after that, the Czech players did not stop winning the matches. Tereza Smitkova (20) managed to beat the promising talent of the Slovakia, Jana Cepelova (20) and Barbora Krejcikova (19) beat the Slovak Kristina Schmiedlova (17).
The greatest surprise of the one hundred thousands EMPIRE Slovak Open 2015 tournament was Danka Kovinic from Monte Negro. She managed to beat the experienced Koukalova 6-1, 6-4.
She was expecting the three sets
Kovinic, 20-year-old born in Podgorica, now belongs to the one hundred best players of the world. And she has currently reached her maximum: No. 95. The win both pleased and surprised her. „Today I started with the difficult fight of the first round. I expected it to be harder. The second set was close, everything could have been different. Just few balls could have changed the course of the match. I expected to play three sets and a long match,“ explained Kovinic, who had already been in Trnava at the last year's 75K event when she played singles quarterfinals.
Smitkova did not give a chance to Cepelova
The seeded number one Smitkova had not hesitated and won easily over Cepelova in the first round 6-2, 6-3. Cepelova had not broken a run of bad luck even after her fourth start in Trnava. In the years 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015, she lost in the first round of singles. „Each of her balls was maximally fast. It was very hard for me. Just take a look at my opponent, you see she is so tall and well-built, I cannot push stronger than her,“ says Jana, in a resigned voice. Soon, she is going to 50K tournament in France, and after that, she plays the Roland Garros qualifying. Cepelova also plays in Trnava in doubles quarterfinals partnering Skamlova on Thursday.
Jurikova cannot train full time
Lenka Jurikova, the one who surprised in Trnava when she passed the demanding qualifying of the singles, has now lost in the first round of the main draw. Katerina Vankova beat her 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. „After some time, this is a better result but the problem is Lenka's chronicle healthy issue related to her knees. Moreover, she has not fully recovered from mononucleosis. We still cannot train as intensely as we desire, still trying to arrange what is possible. Then, after some time, the knee stopped troubling her. So we were able to train more systematically and soon we could see the results. Our success is not just a good luck,“ says Lenka's brother and coach in one person Peter Jurik. He is a coach of Lenka in the LOVE 4 TENNIS Academy in Bratislava. Jurikova advanced into the main draw of the 100K tournament after the four years.