Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema, Zimpapers Sports Hub
GWINYAI TONGOONA looked every bit the relaxed, satisfied coach.
The Zimbabwe Davis Cup boss had just seen his team drawn against Senegal for the opening day of the Africa Group III competition, which serves off this morning at Harare Sports Club. He liked what he saw.
“It’s going to be a tough match but we are very much looking forward to it,” said Tongoona.
“I think we have prepared well. We know the court and the conditions here, so I am very pleased.
“We have had a very good run-up to the tournament. The lads practised hard every day and we managed to cover and work on a lot of crucial areas.”
Zimbabwe are hosting the event, running from August 12 to 16, with hopes of securing promotion to the World Group II Play-off next year. The round robin format features Algeria, Namibia, Nigeria and Senegal.
The stakes are clear. The top three nations earn promotion while the bottom two drop to Africa Group IV.
Zimbabwe enter without their talisman, top-ranked Benjamin Lock, still sidelined with an elbow injury. But there’s good news: Mehluli Sibanda returns after missing the last tie against Morocco with a back problem.
“We knew beforehand that Benji would not be available, so that helped us plan ahead,” said Tongoona.
“We have also played a tie without him and the guys know what’s expected. Obviously, with Benji we are a much stronger team, but it is what it is. We hope he recovers soon and is back with us for the next outing.
“I’m just glad Mehluli is back and fit again. He’s a great player, who strengthens both our singles and doubles teams, so we are in better shape than we were back in February.”
Sibanda and Courtney Lock will lead the singles line-up as the number one and two seeds. Tongoona has yet to finalise his doubles pairing, but hinted at pairing them together. Ronan Mtisi and Ethan Sibanda are also in contention.
“Fitness-wise, everyone is looking good and ready to play,” he said. “We do not have any injury issues, so that is good.”
Senegal have promised to push the hosts hard. The draw, conducted by Tennis Zimbabwe officials, paired teams based on rankings. Namibia are the highest-ranked side at 75 in the world, followed by Zimbabwe in 77th. Nigeria sit at 77th, with Senegal at 88th and Algeria at 96th.
Namibia face Algeria in the other opening fixture, while Nigeria have a bye.
“Like every other team in this competition, we are here to win and earn promotion,” said Senegal’s Hassimiyou Dieng.
“Zimbabwe are a very strong side and we expect a tough match. We know some of their players from two years ago when we lost to them. It was a close one. This year, we have our two best players back, we are feeling confident and we will see how we fare. We know they are the host nation and the crowd will be on their side. However, we have a good group, a solid group, and we are going to try get the win.”
Dieng shrugged off his country’s world ranking.
“I think rankings are just numbers. We will see what happens once we’re on court.”
