The unseeded Slovakia girls team lost in the junior Fed Cup final to USA 0-3 but for tennis in Slovakia it's a great success. Tamara Kupkova from TC EMPIRE Trnava & EMPIRE Tennis Academy was the member of this team and when she returned from Mexico, she was at a press conference in Bratislava to describe how she feels about silver medal.
The team of Slovakia in San Luis Potosi was composed of Viktoria Kuzmova, Tereza Mihalikova and Tamara Kupkova. Slovaks were led by captain Daniel Calik and they gradually defeated French women (2-1), Egypt (3-0) and Japan (2-1) in group C. In the semifinals, they beat Hungary (2-1) surprisingly, and Slovakia Fed Cup team lost in the final to USA only (0-3).
"We arrived there quite tired after a long flight and we went right to bed. The next morning we trained and basically the first three days it was all about guffaw... But then we almost cried that we're not able to train as we wanted. At that high altitude the balls were jumping unexpectedly, it was a disaster. But we were encouraging ourselves, we had to manage it like the others players," Tamara Kupkova described.
In Mexico, there was the exactly same Slovak line-up that won the gold medal two years ago in the under-14 category (in Prostejov, Czech Republic). "Now we enjoyed the tournament more, but both were super. The silver is a great achievement," compared Tamara, who was feeling well in the Mexican resort. "The hotel and resort were beautiful. We had everything we wanted. The players parties were the best, we all danced together," laughed EMPIRE Tennis Academy member in Trnava. This was the last time when these three players played together in one team. "We have the best team ever. We have been together since we were twelve," said Kupkova, who has a break from playing the tournaments now. "Next month, I will work on my fitness and I'm going to prepare for another year. I have to go to school, too," she added.