adminEllina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S top player at the ongoing International Tennis Federation Twenty Third Century Systems tournament Mark Fynn had a good start in the opening matches of the event when he beat Miracle Matanga 6-1, 6-0 yesterday at Harare Sports Club. Fynn made light work of fellow Zimbabwean Matanga in a one-sided match and took less than an hour to progress to the next round.
The 29-year-old had a good day but feels his next match tomorrow is likely to be tougher.
“It was a Zim affair, I mean, it’s never easy playing against a friend, someone you know quite well, but at the end of the day it’s tennis, you just have to go out there and try to do the job.
“I got off to a pretty good start and I managed to keep my head for the whole match.
“I think I was able to get a break of serve and was managing to hold my serve so, I think, the fact that I was serving well today made everything a lot better for me.
“For the next match I am not sure whom I am playing yet but it will be definitely a tough match, possibly the number two seed, so I will have to see who comes through that.
“But that will only be on Wednesday so, a good training tomorrow, and be ready to play on Wednesday,” said Fynn. In another singles match featuring a Zimbabwean, Tinashe Chikanda beat South Africa’s Rayne Roselt 6-4, 7-5.
“It’s been a while since I have played very competitive tennis, it’s been almost three years.
“I think, really, what kept me in there was just the tenacity just to keep the points, trying to pull out my best when things were down.
“I was studying software engineering in Malaysia and I finished my degree earlier on this year and I have been just trying to get back after a couple of injuries as well,” said Chikanda. In the doubles matches, the pair of Martin Dzuwa and Derrick Namanya beat Chikanda and Matanga 4-6, 6-1, 10-4. The South African pair of Lance Cohen and Johannes Myburgh beat Fynn and his partner, Arkadiusz Kocyla of Poland, 7-6(2), 6-2.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter