Tennis

Janette Husarova won WTA Championships Doubles 2002
Tennis     November 11 2002
In the doubles finals of the WTA Championships in Los Angeles the Slovak tennis player Janette Husarova and Elena Dementieva from Russia (third-seeded team) defeated Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Elena Likhovtseva of Russia 4-6 6-4 6-3.

Slovakia won Fed Cup 2002
Tennis     November 03 2002
The Slovak tennis players won the women's team championships Fed Cup 2002 beating Spain 3:1. Earlier that week they eliminated Italy 3:1 in the semifinal. On the first day of the final Janette Husarova lost to Conchita Martinez 4-6 6-7(6) and Daniela Hantuchova defeated Magui Serna 6-2  6-1. On the second day both Slovak players won their matches, Hantuchova with Martinez 6-7(8) 7-5  6-4 and Husarova with Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 6-0 6-2. In the new Fed Cup Nations Ranking: 1. Slovakia 2. Spain 3. Belgium 4. USA 5. Russia 6. France 7. Italy 8. Austria.

Daniela Hantuchova won Australia Open Mixed Double 2002
Tennis     January 27 2002
Daniela Hantuchova, together with Kevin Ullyett (from Zimbabwe), won the Australia Open mixed doubles title. The unseeded pair only met a month ago in Capetown (during Hantuchova's vacation) and did not even practice together before their first match, but they claimed the title in 57 minutes with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Argentine duo Gaston Etlis and Paola Suarez. Hantuchova also reached the women's doubles final of this grand slam tournament, with Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, but they lost to the pair Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova in three sets.

Daniela Hantuchova won Wimbledon Mixed Double 2001
Tennis     July 09 2001
Eighteen-year-old Daniela Hantuchova, together with the Czech player Leos Friedl, won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title. The unseeded couple beat Mike Bryan (USA) and Liezel Huber (Australia) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final lasting just 1 hour and 23 minutes. The previous day in the semifinal match, the winning couple eliminated David Rikl (Czechia) and Karina Habsudova (Slovakia) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.

Slovakia won ATP Tour World Team Cup 2002
Tennis     May 27 2000
In the final matches Slovak players defeated Russia 3-0. Results: Dominik Hrabty beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-4, 7-6 (1); Karol Kucera beat Marat Safin, 6-3, 6-2; Hrbaty and Jan Kroslak beat Kafelnikov and Safin 6-4, 6-2 in doubles.

Slovakia won Hopman Cup 1998
Tennis     Jan 19 1998
In the final Slovak players defeated France 2-1; Results: Karina Habsudova lost to Mary Pierce 4-6, 5-7; Karol Kucera beat Cedric Pioline 7-6 (9/7), 6-4; Habsudova and Kucera defeated Pierce and Pioline 6-3, 6-4 in mixed doubles.

Miloslav Mecir won Olympic Gold 1988
Tennis     Sep 19 1988
At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the Slovak player Miloslav Mecir (representing CzechoSlovakia) won the gold medal in tennis singles, defeating Tim Mayotte (USA) 3-6 6-2 6-4 6-2 in the final and Stefan Edberg (Sweden) 3-6 6-0 1-6 6-4 6-2 in the semifinal. With Czech Milan Srejber, Mecir also won the bronze in doubles.

And by the way:
The famous tennis player Martina Hingis was born in Kosice, Slovakia, (and spent her early years there), to a Czech mother and Slovak father (who still lives there), both former tennis players.

Slovakia won World Hockey Championships 2002
Ice Hockey     May 11 2002
After beating Canada in the quarterfinal, Sweden in the semifinal and Russia in the final match, Slovakia won its first-ever gold medal at the World Hockey Championships 2002 in Gothenburg, Sweden. More about this tournament.

Slovak Ice Hockey players second at the World Championships
Ice Hockey     May 14 2000
After defeating American and Finnish teams, Slovaks lost to their Czech counterparts 3:5 in the "Czecho-Slovak" final. More about this tournament.

Other Sports

Slovakia at the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney 2000
Olympics     Sep 15 - Oct 01, 2000
Sportsmen from Slovakia represent their country at the 20th century's last Olympic Games. More about the Games.

Slovakia before the Soccer World Cup 2002
Soccer     Jun 25 2000 (and later)
Slovak soccer (in Europe called 'football') players will compete with five other teams in the Group 4 of the European zone for preliminary round of the World Cup 2002 in Japan and Korea. More about the World Cup.