Lock runs the show
AS THE Old Mutual ITF Futures Series tennis tournament continued yesterday, Zimbabwe’s top ranked player in the event Benjamin Lock booked his place in the quarter-finals when he beat Adriaan De Jager in the second round at Harare Sports Club.
Benjamin won 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets and is the only Zimbabwean who remained on course in the singles matches as his young brother Courtney went down to second seed Nicolaas Scholtz 3-6, 3-6.
In the doubles Benjamin and Courtney dismissed fellow Zimbabwean Tadiwa Chinamo and his partner Kareem Allaf from Syria 6-2, 6-1.
They will take on Mark Fynn and Franco Feitt in the semi-finals today.
Fynn and Feitt seeded second in the doubles beat the pair of Miracle Matanga and Sherwin Foo from Singapore 6-2, 6-1.
The other semi-final match will see Hugo Nys of France and Italy’s Andrea Vavassori clash against United States’ John Lamble and Bernado Saraiva from Brazil.
However, before their doubles encounter, Benjamin has a date against Scholtz in the singles quarter-finals in the morning.
Meanwhile, Davis Cup team non-playing captain, Martin Dzuwa is convinced the ongoing series gives them the opportunity to prepare for next month’s Europe/Africa Group II tie against Georgia.
Zimbabwe has already put in place a provisional squad made up of six players — Takanyi Garanganga, Mark Fynn, Benjamin and Courtney Lock, South Africa-based Mehluli Sibanda and Chinamo.
The quartet of Fynn, the Lock brothers — Courtney and Benjamin — and Chinamo are taking part in the ongoing tournament at Harare Sports Club while Sibanda is expected today ahead of the second tournament starting on Monday.
“This is very good for our preparation. I mean we have three weeks of these futures and we are going to be working together, the whole squad.
“And then obviously we will have an official team I think by next week. And from the six we are going to have the final four. But I think this gives us a chance to prepare.
“This will be the best preparation we have ever had whereby the squad is missing only one player, Takanyi, so this gives us a chance. We will see how it goes during the course of the three weeks,” said Dzuwa.
The tournament underway at Harare Sports Club is the first of three events running until July 10 and Sibanda is expected in the country today ahead of the second event starting next Monday.