Lock reaches final

NEW YORK.- Florida State University’s senior and Zimbabwe Davis Cup tennis team star player Benjamin Lock won two more matches at the National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships on Saturday, knocking off Florida’s Diego Hidalgo 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals and TCU’s Guillermo Nunez 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 in the semi-finals to advance to yesterday’s final match.

The two wins (Hidalgo is ranked No. 33 and Nunez is ranked No. 19) bring the 25th-ranked Lock’s win total against ranked players this fall to seven, including three in this tournament.

“Ben played really well today,” head coach Dwayne Hultquist said. “It was two tough matches against good players. Against Nunez, Ben overcame a disappointing first set and got physical and aggressive, winning points at the net and dictating play. His strength and fitness played into the results today.”

With a spot in the finals on the line, Lock won the final six games against Nunez and 12 of the final 15 in taking the second and third sets. In yesterday’s finals, Lock was scheduled to face No. 23 Dovydas Sakinis of Dartmouth. Last season, Sakinis beat Lock in Tallahassee, 6-4, 6-2.

The NIIC, which runs November 12-15, is the fourth national championship on the 2015-16 ITA National Tournament calendar. Earlier this fall, national champions were crowned at the inaugural Oracle/ITA Masters, Men’s and Women’s All-American and National Small College Championships.

The NIIC features 32 of the nation’s elite men’s and women’s singles players, as well as 20 outstanding men’s and women’s doubles teams. Champions from the USTA/ITA Division I Regional Championships, USTA/ITA National Small College Championships Super Bowl, Oracle/ITA Masters and the consolation champions, doubles finalists, men’s singles quarter-finalists and women’s singles semifinalists from the Saint Francis ITA Men’s and Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships earned automatic entry into the NIIC.

Both the USTA and ITA selected at-large and wildcard participants, while Columbia University received a wildcard entry into each draw for serving as event host. – AFP.