Takanyi gets ball rolling

THE SPIRIT OF SPORTSMANSHIP . . . Opponents (from left), Zimbabwe’s doubles partners Mark Fynn and Courtney Lock, shake hands with Andrei Soltoianu and Egor Matvievici of Moldova, soon after the draw at Harare Sports Club.

Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S number one tennis player Takanyi Garanganga will be hoping to lead his team to a positive start in this weekend’s Europe/Africa Group II relegation play-off against Moldova when he takes on Maxim Bulat today at Harare Sports Club.

Number two player Benjamin Lock has a date against Moldova’s number one player Dmitrii Baskov in the second match of the day.

The two singles matches will be followed by the doubles match tomorrow with Zimbabwe’s Mark Fynn partnering Courtney Lock against the pair of Egor Matvievici and Andrei Soltoianu.

The reverse singles matches will be played on Sunday with Garanganga playing Moldova’s number one player Baskov while Benjamin will take on Bulat.

Zimbabwe were promoted into Group II last year and, after losing 1-4 to Bosnia-Herzegovina in the first tie in March at Harare Sports Club, the team returns to the same venue hoping for a win to stay in the Europe/Africa Group II. However, it’s not going to be an easy game as Moldova, who lost to 1-4 to Hungary in March, are also seeking to stay in this group. The losing team will be relegated to Group III.

“It’s very important, I mean, we are in Euro/Africa Group II, so playing at home it’s always good,” said Garanganga.

“We got a good draw . . . hopefully we will get a win and go on to the next match. We are all competing, they have competition and we have competition here so it should be good.”

Courtney, who got his first call-up for the Davis Cup team, said he was excited to be part of the team and playing alongside his brother Benjamin.

“Obviously, it’s always an honour to play for your country and it’s always been a dream for me and my family to see Benji and I both playing Davis Cup.

“It’s definitely an honour and I am really excited. I think the hard work I put in this paid off. You know I got some good results in the Futures here which got my name called up so I am really excited.

“The team has been training hard this week, we have really been working hard. We are happy to have Takanyi here and we are feeling good for the tie,” said Courtney.

Fynn said their previous tie against Bosnia-Herzegovina gave them an insight of what is expected at this level.

“We are hoping for a win. We have had a good week of preparation and our match in March against Bosnia gave us a good idea of where our level needs to be. We have learnt a lot from March and the whole team is really excited for this weekend,” said Fynn.

Moldova’s number one player, Dmitrii, said he was looking forward to the showdown.

“This surface is very different and we are not used to play on this surface, so probably I will have to change something because it’s very fast.

“We will see what we can do, what we will manage,” said Dmitrii.

Moldova has a young team with Bulat and Mativievici aged 18.

Their captain, Gorban Iuree, said they have just started competing on the professional circuit.

NetOne presented a $35 000 cheque to Tennis Zimbabwe yesterday for the Davis Cup tie soon after draw.

The mobile company came on board to assist the national association in hosting the three-day event.

Programme

Today: Singles Matches

Takanyi Garanganga v Maxim Bulat (9:30am)

Immediately followed by

Benjamin Lock v Dmitrii Baskov