adminSoon after quitting professional tennis in 2005, Byron Black, arguably Zimbabwe’s best tennis player, making reference to the game, said: “Unless there is big money and investment from Government, we won’t get anywhere.
“The problem with African countries is that we want to be always getting money from outsiders; we have to forget about that and do it ourselves.”
Ten years down the line those words could be providing bitter lessons as Tennis Zimbabwe is seeking $100 000 ahead of the Davis Cup Euro/Africa Zone Group II tie against Bosnia-Herzegovina next month. The $100k is expected to cover costs to refurbish tennis courts at Harare Sports Club, accommodation for the players and officials and transport, among other needs, ahead of the matches during the weekend of March 6-8.
The Zimbabwe team, which is made of non-playing skipper Martin Dzuwa, Mark Fynn, Benjamin Lock and the US-based duo of Takanyi Garanganga and Tinotenda Chanakira, will launch another bid to raise the profile of a giant tennis-playing nation that has been in a slumber for long. While the lack of investment in young players has left a glaring gap in the sport, the struggling economy has not helped matters either.
Close to two decades ago, with Byron and his brother Wayne being the torch bearers, Zimbabwe graced the elite Davis Cup World Group for three consecutive years from 1998 to 2000.
The free-fall was to coincide with Byron’s period of retirement, with Zimbabwe being relegated in 2001 to Euro-Africa Zone Group One, a rung below the elite world group.
The coming three years became a period of battling to stay afloat in that group.
As the era of Wayne, Genius Chidzikwe and Gwinyai Tongoona failed to blossom, Zimbabwe was to be relegated to the unfashionable Euro Africa Zone Group 2 in 2005.
By 2007, the Davis Cup team was now languishing in the Europe-Africa Zone Group III. While this history mirrors how the mighty have fallen due to lack of investment and proper strategic planning, the determination of youngsters in Chanakira, Garanganga, Lock and Fynn, who are coached by Dzuwa, has provided hope for probable glory in the future.
And these are players who have had to struggle out there, relying on parental financial assistance and handouts for their endeavours, with corporates like Old Mutual chipping in for the Davis Cup missions.
The five-member team raised the Zimbabwe flag high last September as they gained promotion into the Euro/Africa Zone Group II after defeating Namibia 2-0 in Egypt.
And now one of Zimbabwe’s tennis legends, Wayne, has stepped in to technically assist the team ahead of the tie pencilled in for next month.
Wayne and Dzuwa took to the court as they warm up to the tie, with the rest of the players, who average 26 years, set to join training in a fortnight.
“The team is young; they have a long way to go. Their first match is at home and it is going to be difficult from that perspective. They have to prepare hard for the battle because that team (Bosnia-Herzegovina) is better than us on paper. They have been playing in this tournament for some time and have beaten the top two teams,” said Wayne, who made his debut for the Zimbabwe Davis Cup team in 1992.
Bosnia/Herzegovina beat Greece and Finland in the first round as well as the quarter-finals of last year’s Group II ties. The European nation started playing Davis Cup in 1996. Its best performance was reaching the final round of Europe/Africa Zone Group II in 2010 and 2011.
Wayne said intensive training will pick up as soon as the players come back home.
“We will be together for about 10 days before the tie because one is in university and the others in the tennis courts. But they are playing tennis and when we come together, then it shouldn’t be difficult,” said Wayne, who is also coaching at Falcon College in Bulawayo.
While Fynn is in Egypt, Chanakira has gone back to Europe, having toured the US where Lock is playing.
The Davis Cup tie will begin on a Friday at the Harare Sports Club with the two singles matches, the doubles coming on the morrow before the programme rounds off with the reverse singles on Sunday.
With the Black brothers having inspired the nation to become the second best tennis team in Africa and 34th in the world in 2005, Wayne said the promotion was worth celebrating as it is the beginning of attaining that possibility.
“We can celebrate. It is a good achievement to get out of that group. But tennis is a difficult sport; it is an individual sport, except when you play in Davis Cup; so, one needs to focus.
“There is need for lots of money and you have to play from 6-7 years old every day,” the 39-year-old said.
While the pinnacle of the Zimbabwe Davis Cup team was when they won the World Group tie against the then highly-fancied Australia in Mildura in 1998, around 2005 Wayne and his doubles partner Kevin Ullyett were ranked as the best doubles team in the world on ATP tour doubles ranking.
The left-handed Ullyett has also retired from the game.
Online Reporter