THE SECOND SANTI SILVAS MEMORIAL IN THE MEDIA
The press coverage of the Second Santi Silvas Memorial has also been of great importance. The media has followed the tournament daily and the men and women’s single finals have been broadcasted on TV3, the Catalan TV channel.
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STEFAN OLSSON AND DANIELA DI TORO, WINNERS OF THE SECOND SANTI SILVAS MEMORIAL
- Stefan Olsson-Michael Jeremiasz
Stefan Olsson has won the second Santi Silvas Memorial. The world number 5 defeated Michael Jeremiasz 6-2 7-6(4) and has thus become champion for the second consecutive year. From last Wednesday until this Sunday, the tournament has brought the world’s best wheel chair tennis to the Garrotxa. As well as winning the men’s individual title, Olsson and Tom Egberink also won the men’s doubles title.
In the women’s final, world number 6 Daniela Di Toro has defeated reigning champion Aniek Van Koot 6-4 6-3. Di Toro, who won the women’s doubles title yesterday in partnership with Van Koot, has also been deemed the Santi Silvas Memorial’s most valuable woman player.
Tommy Robredo with Daniela Di Toro, Stefan Olsson and Michael Jeremiasz
Today’s midday prize giving has been the final act on the last day of the Santi Silvas Memorial, which has filled the Olot Swimming Club’s spectator terraces. The tournament’s director, Tommy Robredo, emphasised “the good response from business and institutions, that have made the Memorial possible as well as the volunteers and ball collectors, who have all worked with patience and dedication during several days of rain affected play”. According to Robredo, although rain forced a delay in the start of the tournament, “we have been able to see high quality tennis and we end this edition more than happy with the results”.
Memorial Santi Silvas 2010
STEFAN OLSSON- TOM EGBERINK AND ANIEK VAN KOOT-DANIELA DI TORO WINNERS OF THE SANTI SILVAS MEMORIAL DOUBLES
Stefan Olsson and Tom Egberink have won the first trophy at the Santi Silvas Memorial. In a game that lasted an hour and a quarter, Olsson and Egberink defeated Michael Jeremiasz and Gordon Reid to take the tournament’s men’s doubles final in a tight 1-6 6-3 (11-9) win. The game began at 1pm and was eventually decided by tiebreak.
In the women’s doubles, victory has gone to the pairing of Aniek Van Koot –tournament first seed and world number 4– and Daniela Di Toro –tournament second seed and world number 6. Van Koot and Di Toro, winners in the doubles at this year’s Roland Garros- beat Francisca Mardones and María Antonieta Ortiz 6-0 6-1. The Dutchwoman has therefore repeated her victory last year, when she won the women’s doubles with Lucy Shuker. Tomorrow she will again play for the individual title in a game that will see her up against her doubles partner, Daniela Di Toro.
At midday today a special exhibition game was also played at the Santi Silvas Memorial. On court 1 of the Olot Swimming Club, Tommy Robredo played the promising young Olot player Júlia Payola, in a game that attracted a large number of spectators. The other special activity that took place today was the visit by Unió Esportiva Olot’s first team. The players and the president wanted to give their support to the organiser of the tournament, Tommy Robredo, the day before the football team plays the return match in qualification for promotion to the Catalan First Division.
OLSSON-JEREMIASZ AND VAN KOOT-DI TORO, SANTI SILVAS MEMORIAL FINALISTS
Semifinal Michael Jeremiasz
Stefan Olsson and Michael Jeremiasz will be playing the final of the second Santi Silvas Memorial. In the semi-finals Olsson beat Tom Egberink 4-6 6-4 6-0 and Michael Jeremiasz defeated Gordon Reid 6-3 5-7 6-1, both in rain interrupted games. Whilst the day’s play began on time at 10am, at 1.15pm play had to be suspended until 5pm due to rain, making today the third consecutive day that the tournament has been affected.
In the women’s tournament Daniela Di Toro has advanced through to the final after defeating María Antonieta Ortiz 6-1 6-1. Di Toro will play last year’s Memorial winner, Aniek Van Koot in the final after Armelle Fabre was unable to play. This means that in Sunday’s finals, which begin at 10am with the women’s final, Olsson and Van Koot will both be defending the titles they won last year.
Tomorrow the Santi Silvas Memorial will begin at 10am. Amongst the activities planned for Saturday is the exhibition game between Tommy Robredo and Júlia Payola, the young Olot tennis player who at only 12 years of age has won the 2010 Under 13 Albert Costa tournament and the Drosbakkem Cup Flickor 12 tournament in both the individual and doubles categories, amongst other titles. The clinic will begin on court 1 of the Olot Swimming Club after the first game of the day (at approximately 12 midday). At 12.30h the Unió Esportiva Olot’s football team will make a visit to the Memorial.
OLSSON AND VAN KOOT ADVANCING IN THE SANTI SILVAS MEMORIAL
Stefan Olsson (autor: Joan Juanola)
Rain has again delayed play on day two of the Santi Silvas Memorial. Play began at 3pm with the most notable games involving the tournament's top players. The Men’s World Number 5 and tournament top seed Swede Stefan Olsson beat Quico Tur 6-3 6-1. A large crowd mostly made up of school groups that are visiting the tournament today, followed the game being played on court 1 at the Olot Swimming Club. In the following game on court 1, Aniek Van Koot defeated Paloma Oñate 6-1 6-0, whilst in another game, the tournament number 2 seed and world ranked number 6 Daniela Di Toro, beat Lola Ochoa 6-0 6-1.
DAY ONE OF THE SANTI SILVAS MEMORIAL
- Stefan Olsson-Alvaro Illobre
Rain forced a suspension of play on the first day of the second Santi Silvas Memorial. Play could not begin until 3pm this afternoon and at the time of writing games were still in progress on the courts at the Olot Swimming Club. The tournament‘s number one seed and last year's winner Stefan Olsson has begun with a 6-0 6-2 win over Alvaro Illobre. Olsson will now play against Quico Tur, who also won his game today against Philippe Bonnet (6-3 6-0).
Despite the delay in the start of today’s play, the other games are progressing without incident. The women’s world ranked number 4 and last year’s winner, Aniek Van Koot, will be playing tomorrow.
ACTIVITIES SCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY 10 JUNE:
11.30h. The start of play on day 2 OP_thurs-2
16h. Visit of the ITF Vice President and Executive President, Joan Margets.
18h. Conference. Psychological Intervention in High Performance Tennis (cognitive control) by Alexandre Latinjak, Professor of Psychology applied to physical activity and sport at EUSES (institute attached to the University of Girona)
THE SECOND SANTI SILVAS MEMORIAL BEGINS
Today‘s tournament draw signals the start of the second Santi Silvas Memorial, which is being played from tomorrow until Sunday on the courts of the Club Natació Olot. The pairings in the men’s main and second tournament, the women's tournament and the doubles were decided this afternoon at an event in the Olot Town Hall. From tomorrow on, 36 of the best wheelchair tennis players in the world will be competing for the top places in an ITF2 category tournament organised by Tommy Robredo in memory of his friend Santi Silvas, who died at the beginning of 2008.
The most significant changes in the second Santi Silvas Memorial are the expansion of the women’s competition (with 12 women players, 4 more than last year, and 24 men, 16 in the men’s main competition and 8 in the second competition) and an increase in prize money up to 15,000 euros.
The following gives details of the games and the order of play for tomorrow in the second Santi Silvas Memorial.
EVERYTHING READY FOR THE SECOND SANTI SILVAS MEMORIAL
Wednesday 9 June sees the beginning of the second edition of the Santi Silvas Memorial international wheelchair tennis tournament, an ITF2 category competition organised by the Tommy Robredo Foundation. The men’s world number 5, Swede Stefan Olsson, and the women’s circuit‘s number 4 Aniek Van Koot, from Netherlands, will be defending the titles they won last year (Van Koot also won the women’s doubles in 2009). Also competing in the tournament are the Spanish champions Quico Tur –who was unable to participate last year due to injury– and Lola Ochoa –who is competing again after her good results last year, when she reached the semi-finals of the individual competition and the final of the doubles. The Australian Daniela Di Toro (women’s world number 6), Michael Jeremiasz (gold medal winner in the doubles competition at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing) and Alvaro Illobre (runner-up in the Spanish Championships), are some of the other players participating in the tournament, which is being held from 9 to 13 June at the Club Natació Olot (Girona).
BALL BOY/GIRL TRAINING SESSIONS FOR THE SECOND SANTI SILVAS MEMORIAL
This week has seen the first training sessions for the forty students from Olot’s Pia School, who will be acting as ball boys and girls for the second Santi Silvas Memorial tournament. According to Magalí Ruiz, the director of the Tommy Robredo Foundation, “after last year’s very good results we are giving the responsibility to the Pia School for the second year running”. 80% of the students, who are aged between twelve and sixteen, participated in the 2009 edition of the tournament. As Pia’s head of extracurricular activities Xevi Coma explains, the students selected “are or have been tennis players or if not have been trained as sports leaders at the Catalan Plan for Sports in Schools”. According to Coma, in the days leading up to the tournament “we are working on reinforcing their teamwork, their knowledge of the rules of tennis and above all that they know they always have to be giving their full attention to the players”.
Students from Pia School listening to Josep Maria Coma, who is running the ball boy and girl training sessions for the second Santi Silvas Memorial.
Federation rules stipulate that ITF2 category tournaments such as the Santi Silvas Memorial must have ball boys and girls. The tournament is being played at the Olot Swimming Club from Wednesday 9 to Sunday 13 June. The draw is taking place on 8 June with the women’s competition expanded by four up to twelve this year and an increase in total prize money up to 15.000 euros.
PLAYERS PARTICIPATING IN THE SECOND SANTI SILVAS MEMORIAL
With less than a month to go before the first day of competition, inscriptions have closed for the second Santi Silvas Memorial wheelchair tennis tournament, which is taking place at the Olot Swimming Club in La Garrotxa (Catalonia). World ranked men’s number five Stefan Olsson, and women’s number four Aniek Van Koot, will be defending the titles they won last year. Among the competition’s 36 players (details of which are given in the tables below) are the Spanish Champions Quico Tur and Lola Ochoa. The tournament begins on 9 June and public entry is free. Four more players are competing this year than last year and the amount of prize money has increased up to 15.000 euros.
