Online Reporter
Lovemore Dube
TOP Zimbabwe tennis star Courtney Lock and his doubles partner Niki Poonacha lost in the Delhi Open 4-6, 3-6 on Saturday.
They lost to the duo of Mamichi Imamura and Rio Naguchi in the final.
Courtney and Poonacha were pairing for the first time.
The Zimbabwe doubles specialist had made it to the last four in a three-set thriller by winning 6-3, 2-6 and 10-5 after beating Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki and Kaito Uesugi in the quarter-finals at the DLTA Complex, in Delhi.
In the semi-finals, they beat Great Britain’s Jay Clarke and Johannes Ingildsen of Denmark who went into the event as third seeds.
“Thank you to my partner Niki for our first tournament together, felt at home this week with all the support.
“Special week having her excellency, the Zimbabwean Ambassador to India, and the delegation present at the ceremony,” said Lock on his X account.
The Zimbabwean Ambassador to India, Stella Nkomo, watched the final.
For their efforts Lock and Poonacha pocketed US$2 880.
Lock went into the event ranked 195th in the world with 185 points, being his career best.
