Lep pozdrav iz Športno rekreacijskega centra Marina v Portorožu, kjer se bodo pomerili najboljši gluhi tenisači sveta. Med njimi prvouvrščeni na svetovni lestvici gluhih Mikael Laurent iz Francije ter drugouvrščeni Mathe Gabor iz Madžarske, lanskoletni zmagovalec teniškega turnirja v Portorožu. Tekmoval bo tudi slovenski predstavnik Marino Kegl, ki je 17. na svetovni lestvici gluhih. Oglejmo si reportažo in izjave nekaterih tekmovalcev. Naj še omenimo, da bodo prvi štirje uvrščeni prejeli pokale in tudi denarne nagrade. Tekmovanje poteka po sistemu izpadanja. Zmagovalci napredujejo do finala, poraženci pa se pomerijo za razvrstitve od 8. do zadnjega mesta. Igra se na dva dobljena niza. Tekmovanje poteka na trdi podlagi. Zakaj? Ker je ta turnir hkrati priprava na svetovno prvenstvo gluhih, ki bo potekalo od 20. do 27. julija v Nottinghamu v Angliji.

Gabor Varcoly, Madžarska Gabor Varcoly prihaja iz Madžarske. Že lani se je udeležil turnirja in se vrnil tudi letos. Zakaj? – Ker mi je tukaj všeč in tudi zato, da bi čim več treniral s čim več igralci. – Treniraš pa tudi s svojim rojakom. – Da, Gaborjem, včasih trenirava skupaj, po navadi pa trenirava vsak zase. Ko sva skupaj, me uči tehnik igranja. Ker nisva iz istega kraja, le občasno skupaj trenirava. Mi je pa veliko pomagal. – Danes sta se pomerila drug z drugim. – Da, vedel sem, da bo on zmagal, a sem nabiral izkušnje. – Kakšen je bil rezultat? – 6:0, 6:0. – Ali se boste udeležili svetovnega prvenstva? – Da. – Veliko sreče! – Hvala!

Robert Gravogl, Avstrija Z nami je Robert Gravogl iz Avstrije. Lani ste na turnirju osvojili drugo mesto. Danes ste v prvi tekmi zmagali, na drugi tekmi pa ste izgubili proti Rusu z rezultatom 6:0, 6:0. Lahko poveste kaj več o tekmi? – Na prvi tekmi sem se pomeril proti Švicarju. Tekma ni bila težka, težka pa je bila igra proti Rusu. Njega poznam že od prej. Na Deaflympics v Sofiji sem videl, kako dobro igra. Premagal je prvega nosilca. Tako, da sem vedel, da je res dober. Bil sem vesel, da sva se pomerila. Sicer sem upal, da bova enakovredna, vendar je bil močnejši od mene. Čestitke! Težko usklajujem službo in hkrati treniram tenis, medtem ko on tenis igra profesionalno. Bomo videli, kdo bo osvojil ta turnir. – Ali se boste udeležili svetovnega prvenstva in kakšen je vaš cilj? - Za svetovno prvenstvo, ki bo v Angliji v Nottinghamu, ciljam na tekmovanje v dvojicah. Igral bom tudi posamezno, ampak smo močnejši v parih. Bomo videli. - Zdaj ste izpadli iz nadaljnjih tekmovanj… - Da, ampak saj sem prišel tudi zaradi nabiranja izkušenj za svetovno prvenstvo in… tudi zato, da bi se malo kopal. - Hvala.

Mario Attanasio, Švica Moj sogovornik prihaja iz Švice in je najstarejši med igralci. Koliko ste stari? – 62 let. – Že lani ste bili tukaj, v Portorožu, in ste v igri za pokale ostali do konca, letos pa je konkurenca močnejša. – Da, opazil sem, da je močna konkurenca, s tem, da letos tudi sam bolje igram. – Ste na prvi in drugi današnji tekmi izgubili? – Prvo tekmo sem izgubil z Avstrijcem Gravoglom, bil je močnejši nasprotnik, čeprav sva dobro igrala. Žal sem si med igro malce natrgal mišice na nogi. Že na treningih sem se malce poškodoval. Treniral sem na pesku, saj nisem vedel, da bomo tukaj igrali na trdi podlagi. Nič hudega, ostajam optimist. Pomembno mi je sodelovanje z gluhimi. – S kom ste se pomerili na drugi tekmi? – Igral sem proti Francozu, Cezauxom. Je dober tenisač, igra je bila neagresivna, tako da sem z lahkoto sledil igri. Igral sem dobro, a na koncu nisem mogel več tekati po igrišču. Stisnil sem zobe in dostojanstveno igral do konca. Važno je ohraniti nasmeh na ustih in sprejeti poraz. To ne pomeni, da sem kar popustil. In zaradi svojega poraza zdaj nimam slabega mnenja o Sloveniji. Ne! Slovenija je res prečudovita, tu je odlična klima in hotel, igram tenis, kolesarim, se kopam… Vse je odlično! Tukaj sem že drugič in naslednje leto, upam, da privabim tudi druge švicarske teniške igralce.

Vincent Novelli, Francija Dvoboj je bil zelo težak. Marino je igral bolje od mene, ampak je občutil velik pritisk domačega terena. Vesel sem, da sem zmagal to tekmo. Tudi močno sonce je oteževalo pogoje za igro. – In kaj pričakujete jutri? – Jutri želim zmagati, se boriti proti nasprotniku. Mislim, da bo zelo težko, zato se želim zdaj dobro naspati in spočiti. Prvi del tekmovanja je zaključen. Žal se naš predstavnik Marino Kegl ni uvrstil v polfinale; uvrščen bo od 5. do 8. mesta. Jutri se bodo pomerili štirje igralci: Mikael Laurent iz Francije, Mathe Gabor iz Madžarske, Vincent Novelli iz Francije in Egor Panyjushkin iz Rusije. Vabljeni k ogledu našega neposrednega prenosa tekmovanja za tretje mesto in finale. Spremljajte nas jutri na naši spletni strani www.gluhi.si in na facebooku. Na svidenje!

Marino Kegl eliminated in Portoroz open 2015 quarterfinals

Greetings from Sports-recreation centre Marina Portorož, venue of international deaf tennis tournament. World’s best deaf tennis players are among participants: Mikael Laurent from France, number one deaf player, and runners-up Mathe Gabor from Hungary, also the winner of tennis tournament Portoroz 2014. Slovenian representative is Marino Kegl, ranking 17th deaf player in the world. Let’s have a look at the ideo and same statements. Let us also mention that the first four ranked on this tournament will bring back home a cup and cash prize. The system of competition eliminates the losers, while the winners are progressing to the finals. The winner of a game must win with a two point advantage. The competition takes place on a hard surface. Why? Since the tournament serves as a preparation for the World Deaf tennis Championship, which will take place from 20th to 27th July in Nottingham, England.

Gabor Varcoly, Hungary Gabor Varcoly is coming from Hungary. Last year he attended the tournament and returned again this year. Why? - Because I like it here, and also to train as much as possible with as many players as possible. – You also train sometimes with your countryman. - Yes, Gabor, We train together sometimes, but usually we train individually. When we're together, he teaches me some techniques. Since we come from different cities, we can only occasionally train together. But he have helped me a lot to improve. - Today, you have competed against each other. – Yes. I knew he would win. Nevertheless, I gained experience. - What was the result? - 6: 0, 6:0. – Will you attend the World Cup? - Yes. - Good luck! - Thank you!

Gravogl, Austria Robert Gravogl, Austria, is here with us. »You won second place on last year's tennis tournament; today, you won the first match, and lost second match with Russian player with result 6:0, 6:0. – The first match with player from Swiss wasn’t very difficult, while match against Russian was hard. I knew him from Deaflympics in Sofia. I saw him defeating number one player. So I knew that this was going to be a hard match. He is really excellent. I hoped to be equal, but he was stronger than me. Congratulations! It is hard for me to work and train tennis at the same time, while my challenger  plays tennis professionally. We shall see who will win this tournament at the and. – Will you compete at World deaf tennis championship in Nottingham and what do you expect? – My goal is to play doubles; we are stronger in doubles than in singles. We shall see. – You haven’t  qualified for tomorrow’s semi and finals. – It doesn’t matter, it is more important that I have trained and get experiences for the world championship... and I will take advantage of free time to swim. – Thank you. Mario Attanasio, Switzerland My guest comes from Switzerland and is the oldest among the players. How old are you? - 62 years. – You attended last year’s tournament here in Portoroz and managed to stay in the game for cups until the end, this year there is stronger competition. - Yes, I have noticed that players are strong, but also I am better prepared than last year. - You have played two matches today. - I lost the first match against the Austrians Gravogl. He was a powerful opponent, although I played well. Unfortunately, I had to play with a little damaged and painful muscle. I trained on clay courts before, since I was not aware that we are here to play on a hard surface. Never mind, I remain optimistic. It is important to cooperate with deaf. - Who did you fight in the second match? - I played against the Frenchman, Cezaux. He is a good tennis player. Our game was non-aggressive, so I can easily follow. I played well, but in the end I could no longer run around the pitch. I clenched my teeth and played to the end with dignity. The important thing is to keep a smile on your face and accept defeat. This does not mean that I have just receded. And because of my defeat I have no bad opinion about Slovenia, of course. Slovenia is really beautiful, there is a great atmosphere and hotel. I play tennis, cycle,  swim... Everything is perfect! I am here for the second time and next year, I hope to persuade more Swiss tennis players to attend the tournament. Vincent Novelli, France The match was very difficult. Marino was playing better than me, but he got great pressure. I am very happy that I won this match. Sun made conditions very difficult for us. - And what do you expect tomorrow? - Tomorrow I want to win, to fight against an opponent. I think it will be very difficult, so now I want to get plenty of sleep and rest. The first part of the tournament is completed. Unfortunately, our representative Marino Kegl did not rank in the semi-finals. He will be ranked from 5th to 8th place. Four players will compete tomorrow: Mikael Laurent from France, Mathe Gabor from Hungary, Vincent Novelli from France and Egor Panyjushkin from Russia. You are welcome to visit our live transmission of semi-finals and the finals. Follow us on our website www.gluhi.si and on facebook. See you tomorrow! [gallery ids="28148,28149,28150,28151,28152,28153,28154,28155,28156,28157,28158,28159,28160,28161,28162,28163,28164,28165,28166,28167,28168,28169,28170,28171,28172,28173,28174,28175,28176,28177,28178,28179,28180,28181,28182,28183,28184,28185,28186,28187,28188,28189,28190,28191,28192,28193,28194,28195,28196,28197,28198,28199,28200,28201,28202,28203"]