Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
NEVER has a word carried so much meaning!
THAT was the story of the day as Zimbabwe’s Davis Cup top seed, Courtney Lock, punched the air and yelled an emphatic “yeah” after wrapping up a commanding 6-3, 6-2 victory over Arnold Ikondo Moke of the Democratic Republic of Congo in an Africa Group IV match at the Nairobi Club in Kenya yesterday.
The result effectively wrapped up the tie for Zimbabwe, who took an unassailable 2-0 lead after Ronan Mtisi had earlier beaten DR Congo’s Isaac Bokungu 6-2, 6-3.
Unfortunately, the Zimbabwean duo of Zamani Moyo and Makanaka Whata failed to replicate the success of their singles counterparts as they went down 6-4, 2-6, 2-6 to the Congolese pairing of Bokungu and Moise Kumase.
This handed the Zimbabwe Davis Cup team a 2-1 win over the Democratic Republic of Congo and kept them firmly in the running for a play-off place on Saturday.
The Zimbabwe Davis Cup team round off their group-stage campaign with a tie against Angola today, as they continue their quest for promotion and a return to Davis Cup Africa Group III.
Eight nations are currently in Kenya battling for promotion in the Davis Cup Africa Group IV tournament. They are Ghana, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola, Botswana, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The top two nations from each pool advance to the promotion play-offs, where the two available places in next year’s Davis Cup Africa Group III will be up for grabs. Pool A consists of Ghana, Algeria, Kenya and Botswana, while Pool B comprises Mozambique, DR Congo, Angola and Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe remain firmly in contention for Saturday’s play-offs after recording victories over Mozambique (3-0) on the opening day and the Democratic Republic of Congo (2-1) yesterday.
The Zimbabwe Davis Cup team currently find themselves in uncharted territory as they continue to slide down the pecking order on the Davis Cup circuit.
And in the absence of his older brother, Benjamin, Courtney Lock appears to have taken much of that responsibility upon his shoulders.
Zimbabwe were relegated to Africa Group IV after suffering four consecutive defeats to Senegal, Algeria, Nigeria and Namibia during last year’s five-nation Africa Group III tournament.
The event was held at Harare Sports Club, and Courtney is one of only two survivors from that campaign, alongside Mtisi.
While yesterday’s singles match against Moke was largely a one-sided affair, Lock played with considerable emotion throughout.
It is that emotion which perhaps best encapsulates the current state of Zimbabwean tennis.
The tie itself did not get off to the best of starts for the Zimbabwean, as Lock and Moke exchanged breaks during the opening stages of the match.
However, after regrouping, the 29-year-old Zimbabwean top seed took complete control of proceedings, winning 65 points compared to Moke’s 48.
He fired three aces while operating at 78 percent on his first serve and 77 percent on his second serve.
Lock successfully converted four of his six break-point opportunities during his victory over the DR Congo player, with the match lasting one hour and 47 minutes.
The doubles match remained the only blemish on an otherwise productive day for Gwinyai Tongoona’s charges.
Moyo and Whata raced through the opening set of their doubles encounter, taking it 6-4.
Unfortunately, DR Congo responded emphatically as Bokungu and Kumase claimed both the second and deciding third sets by identical 6-2 scorelines.
They won 85 points in total compared to Whata and Moyo’s 63, while converting five of their 13 break-point opportunities.
Whata and Moyo, by contrast, managed to break their opponents only twice from four opportunities.
