Tomislav PUCAR (GSTK Zagreb) and Hana ARAPOVIĆ (Mladost) are the crowned Croatian champions and at the finals in Vrsar they both defended last year’s titles.
PUCAR’S dominated throughout the tournament and in the final he was better than his national team teammate Filip ZELJKO (GSTK Zagreb) with 4:3. It was the re-run of the last year’s final with the difference that then Zeljko had led 3:0 before PUCAR leveled to win.
“The results are the same as last year but this time I wasn’t chasing such a gap. It was a good match difficult but I believe that the spectators found it interesting ” said PUCAR.
Andrej GAĆINA is the record holder with 10 titles will PUCAR hunt for a national teammate?
“How many are there? 10? Ugh I’ll play nationals in the next few years so we’ll see how it goes ” he said with a smile.
Filip ZELJKO also had the advantage this time leading 3:2 but not enough for the title.
“We have been playing together since we were kids. There were many more changes than usual and some details went to his side ” added ZELJKO.
Hana ARAPOVIĆ (Mladost) defended the title. Admittedly she won two titles in Vrsar considering that she also won the Croatian junior senior championship on Friday. Impressive performance she dropped a game until the final and in the end she was better than Ivana TUBIKANEC (STK Zagreb) with 4:2.
“It was a very tiring four days but everything is better now. I have reason to celebrate. This last match was difficult for me but the one with RAKOVAC was also difficult although the result may not say so. In pairs Lea and I were good maybe we need to practice a little more but Ivana and Mateja played very well ” said Hana Arapović.
“Before the championship I had no expectations and this is a top result for me. I don’t train as much as before while Hana trains probably 2-3 times a day. I beat Petek my teammate and best friend and then Jeger. It’s a pity for the match with Hana when it came to the game I had no chance I was trying to get everything I could. I am very satisfied ” added TUBIKANEC.
In men’s doubles there were more surprising outcomes. The champions are still juniors Borna PETEK and Luka ZLATKOV (STK Zagreb). The first surprise was directed by Ronald REĐEP and Josip MUSTAPIĆ (Starr/GSTK Zagreb) in the semi-final when they knocked out the defending champions Filip ZELJKO and Ivor BAN (GSTK Zagreb) with 3:2. They even led 2:0 for the gold but then that advantage melted away and Petek and Zlatkov reached their first senior title! Interestingly PETEK and ZLATKOV did not win the championship in the junior-senior competition they were defeated on Friday in the final but they made up for it in the competition where it was much more difficult.
In women’s doubles Hana ARAPOVIĆ (Mladost) failed to defend last year’s crown although this time she played with a new partner Lea RAKOVAC. ARAPOVIĆ and RAKOVAC had a 2:1 lead but in the end Mateja JEGER and Ivana MALOBABIĆ (STK Zagreb/Varaždin) took the trophy.
Ronald REĐEP and Lea RAKOVAC (Starr/ino) are the new mixed doubles champions after defeating the defending champions Ivor BAN and Hana ARAPOVIĆ (GSTK Zagreb)/Mladost 3:1 in the final.
Vrsar will surely remain a fond memory for REĐEP given that he won two medals and was close to the quarterfinals in the singles. And less than a month before his 50th birthday. He has been playing in championships for more than 30 years and according to him he only missed one and that was because of a broken leg. And he almost always comes back with a medal.
Men’s Singles
Semifinal
Pucar (GSTK Zagreb) – Petek (STK Zagreb) 4:0 (4 3 8 9) Simović (Libertas) – Zeljko (GSTK Zagreb) 0:4 (-8 -2 -1 -8)
FInal
Pucar (GSTK Zagreb) – Zeljko (GSTK Zagreb) 4:3 (-10 11 8 -6 -8 9 5)
Doubles
Semifinal
Petek/Zlatkov (STK Zagreb) – Runjić/Vekić (Ino/STK Zagreb) 3:1 (8 -5 9 11) Mustapić/Ređep (GSTK Zagreb/Starr) – Ban/Zeljko (GSTK Zagreb) 3:2 (7 -4 3 -4 9)
Finals
Petek/Zlatkov (STK Zagreb) – Mustapić/Ređep (GSTK Zagreb/Starr) 3:2 (-6 -5 9 4 8)
Woman’s Singles
Semifinal
Malobabić (Varaždin) – Arapović (Mladost) 0:4 (7 5 8 5) Tubikanec (STK Zagreb) – Jeger (STK Zagreb) 4:2 (8 7 -2 7 -7 7)
Final
Arapović (Mladost) – Tubikanec (STK Zagreb) 4:2 (7 8 -9 8 -4 9)
Doubles
Semifinal
Jeger/Malobabić (STK Zagreb/Varaždin) – Vukelić/Pavlović (TIS/STK Zagreb) 3:1 (4 10 -8 6) Vukelić/Franović (Varaždin) – Rakovac/Arapović (Ino/Mladost) 0:3 (-3 -5 -9)
Finals
Jeger/Malobabić (STK Zagreb/Varaždin) – Rakovac/Arapović (Ino/Mladost) 3:2 (4 -9 -7 2 7)
Mixed doubles
Semifinal
Ban/Arapović (GSTK Zagreb/Mladost) – Simović/Pavlović (Libertas/STK Zagreb) 3:0 Ređep/Rakovac (Starr/Ino) – Vidan/Vukelić (TIS) 3:2
Final
Ban/Arapović (GSTK Zagreb/Mladost) – Ređep/Rakovac (Starr/Ino) 1:3 (-9 -6 9 -10)
