"The final set up for 9pm in the evening had everything and SQUASHLAND was full.

I started very nervous and Pertos won the first 11-7. In the second Petros hit nick shots from every position of the court and I had really no chance. As it sometimes happens with the shot players after playing such a great game, Petros started to make mistakes in the third and I got my confidence back. I manage to win it 11-7 and also the fourth 11-6.

 In the final set Petros got back to his game and hit some great shots again. I found myself 6-2 behind, but I saw that Petros was getting tired and so I just tried to keep the ball in the game and not to make mistakes. At 9 all, it finally happened…I hit my first nick shot of the game. It was risky to go for nick at 9 all, after it didn’t work whole match, but it worked this time. Petros hit the tin at 10-9 and the match was over after 50 min. It is a great feeling to win a tournament at home and I am really happy that I’ve managed it."

Ivan Djordjevic

"Hi Serbian friends ,
The experience of the Balkan Cup was absolutely amazing thanks to the Serbian Federation and in particuraly Cedomir,Ivan and Darko. I traveled together with two more competitors from Greece, Nikos Moustroufis and Nikos Symeonidis. We all enjoyed the Serbian hospitality and also enjoyed a perfect organised tournament.

I lost unfortunately in the final by two points from Ivan who played really well and all the credits to him. I wish I had won but I will keep it for the next time. It is very nice having with me the two Nikos and especialy for Symeonidis this was his first tournament abroad (finished 9th).

I am very happy to see squash grow in Serbia, which is also good for the whole Balkan region, and hopefully see you again very soon."

Petros Tzamaloukas

"I am very pleased that so many players from abroad entered the tournament thus giving it a real international value.

"The members of the Serbian team performed up to and even above all expectations. The guys are working hard and we all have big plans for the future.

"Their best is yet to come, which they'll surely prove in the upcoming events."


Coach of the Serbian national team

25-Nov:
Finals Day
Ivan Djordjevic reports:
 

The final day of the Balkan Cup 2006 had some great matches. In the semis top seeded Petros Tzamaloukas beat Niki Angelov 3-0 and Ivan Djordjevic beat Nikos Moustroufis 3-1. Bratislav Zivadinovic continued his great run and finished 5th. In the play off for third place, after a hard fight Nikos Moustroufis had more power left and beat the Bulgarian number one.

After the closing ceremony, held by the president of Serbian Squash Association , Mr. Cedomir Vitorovic, the final party started.
It is great to see that squash is growing in the Balkans and I am sure that very soon there will be more players from this area making their way up the PSA rankings.
I want to thank all players for coming and hope to see more of them next year.

24-Nov:
Day 1
Ivan Djordjevic reports:

After Mr. Darko Glavas, the general secretary of Serbian Squash Association (www.squash.co.yu) opened the tournament, all matches started. It is the first time that we have a tournament in Serbia using PAR to 11 scoring, so it took bit time for local players to get used to it.

The biggest sensation of the tournament is for sure Holland based 23 years old Serbian Bratislav Zivadinovic who qualified for the quarters. In the quarters he lost to Bulgarian number one Niki Angelov. Apart from Angelov, the top seeded Petros Tzamaloukas reached the semis in the upper half of the draw.

I am happy to reach the semis as well, in my home town and will meet in the semis another Greek Nikos Moustroufis.

Everything is fine here and we are very lucky with the weather. In the Serbian capital it is 20°C, so people are also sitting outside. Today is a big day as our best players are fighting for a place in the top 10 supported by the home crowd.

Preview

After the SQUASHLAND BELGRADE TROPHY 2006, the Balkan Cup 2006 is the second international tournament this year in Serbia.

For the first time in Serbian history of squash a tournament was registered as a PSA tournament. With prize money of $1.5k it is “just” a challenger, but a big step for squash in our country.

The Serbian Squash Association (www.squash.co.yu), is happy to see lot of players from Balkans (Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Turkey, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), registered for this event and also players from other countries.

Top seed is Petros Tzamaloukas from Greece followed by Serbian No.: 1, Ivan Djordjevic.

The tournament gets underway today at SquashLand Belgrade (www.squashland.com), and finishes tomorrow evening.

The final tomorrow evening will be shown on big video screen and the local press is already promoting the tournament.

Our new national coach, Slovenian Marko Podgorsek was training hard with Serbian squash players for this event and we also gave wild card to our best juniors.

Nowadays squash in Serbia is growing fast and we hope that we can organise bigger PSA tournament next year.