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Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE will be looking to cause an upset when they play against Uruguay in the two-day Davis Cup World Group II play-off tie starting at Harare Sports Club today.
Ranked number 67 in the world, Zimbabwe will be eager to upstage the number 42 ranked Uruguay who will be banking on their seasoned campaigners like Ariel Behar and Martin Cuevas. Behar has a world doubles ranking of 48. The other members of the Uruguayan team are Ignacio Carou, Franco Roncadelli and Joaquin Aguilar Cardozo. They will be led by Enrique Perez-Cassarino.
The home side who have Takanyi Garanganga as the non-playing captain, have their hopes pinned on the experience of the Lock brothers, Benjamin and Courtney, who have been part of the team for some time and have proved to be key members. The brothers come with vast capabilities having participated in different Challenger Tours globally.
Other members of the Zimbabwean team are Mehluli Sibanda and Benedict Badza. Uruguay and Zimbabwe will be meeting for the first time in this competition.
Courtney told our sister paper, The Herald that having played against Uruguayans in Challenger tours, they know how they play and are looking forward to the tie. He also promised spectators top grade tennis.
“So we are playing number one seeds, Uruguay, they are a good team but me and my brother have had a really good season.
Leading up to this we have been playing on the Challenger Tour.
“So we know a lot of their players and we have played against them before. We are really looking forward to it and we are just trying to adjust back to the altitude and get ready for the tie.
Courney said people are going to see some world class tennis.
“I think their doubles player (Ariel Behar) has just come from the Australian Open. So it’s tennis at the highest level and I think everyone is looking forward to it. I think it will be very good tennis,” he said.
Zimbabwe earned promotion back into World Group II in August last year when they beat Namibia 2-1 in a promotional play-off at the Africa Group III event in Algiers,
Algeria and will be hoping to also secure promotion to the next stage which is Group I of the decorated tennis competition. — @brandon_malvin
Online Reporter