adminEllina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
BENJAMIN Lock continued with his good performance in the Old Mutual Zimbabwe F2 ITF Futures tournament when he upset fourth seed Evan Song of United States yesterday at Harare Sports Club to pull through to the semi-finals.
Lock, seeded seventh, overpowered last week’s finalist Song 7-5, 6-4 in a closely-contested match that could have gone either way.
Both players had some good moments on the court, but it was Zimbabwe’s Lock who proved to be the winner on the day.
The Davis Cup team member could not hide his joy yesterday.
“I thought I played really well today. I really had a tough opponent, he fights really hard and is a very good player,” said Lock.
“So, I was just really happy I came out on top and I was happy with the way I played, probably some of the better tennis I have played in Zimbabwe over these two weeks.
“I am just going to go out there and focus on myself and play my game.”
Lock, however, has a tough match today when he takes on top seed Tucker Vorster from South Africa in the semi-finals.
Vorster beat Matias Descotte 6-7 (3), 7-6 (10), 6-2 in yesterday’s quarter-finals.
But after yesterday’s win Lock believes he has a good chance against the top seed.
“I know Tucker Vorster is a good player, top seed, but we have grown up playing tennis together and I have a lot of respect for his game and I know he has respect for my game, too,” said Lock.
“So, I think it’s going to be a good match and I am in some really good form right now and I just want to recover tonight, sleep well and come out really focused tomorrow.
“Evan Song is really a good player and for me to win this match is really big and I thought I really played well today and it gives me confidence for sure.”
In the last event Lock lost to United Sates’ Evan King 7-5, 6-3 in the semi-finals.
King, who beat Portugal’s Vasco Mensurado 6-0, 7-5, will play Lloyd Harris of South Africa in the other semi-final match.
Harris dismissed second seed Nicolaas Scholtz 6-3, 6-4 yesterday.
Online Reporter