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Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
LOCAL tennis had a spring in its step at the weekend as the Zimbabwe’s Davis Cup team provided their fans with something to smile about when they won their Europe/Africa Group II first round tie against Turkey at Harare Sports Club.
Zimbabwe went into the tie as the underdogs, ranked 24 places below their opponents, who are ranked 49th in the world.
The Turkish players were higher ranked than Zimbabwe’s representatives with their number one player ranked 260 compared to Zimbabwe’s top player Benjamin Lock at number 463.
But the home side of Lock, Takanyi Garanganga, Mehluli Sibanda and Mark Chigaazira, who led by captain Gwinyai Tongoona, did not let that distract them.
And it paid off with a 3-1 victory in front of an excited fair crowd that rallied behind the team to the end at Harare Sports Club.
The hosts had taken a 2-0 lead after claiming both singles matches on day one.
After the comfortable victory Tongoona could afford to let his youngest team member Sibanda play his first Davis Cup match in one of the reverse singles, which was a dead rubber ,as they had already secured their victory.
Sibanda lost 5-7, 4-6 to Sarp Agabigun and said the nerves got the better of him.
“I was so nervous the whole match. The atmosphere is great and there were a lot of people watching . . . . I have never played with so many people (watching) and I was so nervous.
“It’s a good start, actually it was a dead rubber, so it was good that they put me.
“Next week I am going to be playing in Egypt for four weeks there and I am going to Nigeria early April (for) Futures,” said Sibanda.
The weekend’s victory for Zimbabwe is a positive development as the team had having previously lost their opening encounters in Group II in recent campaigns.
Zimbabwe are now set to take on Poland who beat Slovenia 3-2 over the weekend.
The two teams will meet in April and it will be an away game for the team. If they beat Poland they will proceed to the third round before they go for the promotional play-offs to the next Group.
“I can’t congratulate our players enough, they played above themselves, they played players who are ranked better than them.
‘’But all our players just excelled. It’s a tribute to the hard work, it’s a tribute to their professionalism. We are so proud of them.
“I must be honest the support we have had from sponsors has been phenomenal. It’s like the Zimbabwe public, companies, the corporates, they have really embraced tennis. They have come on board with us, they have helped us get to a new level.
“And I think it has given just given us a wonderful platform to go forward and we can also deliver back to our sponsors with the performance you have seen today,” said Tennis Zimbabwe president Martin Lock.
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