JOHN LOCK and Ronzai Saurombe have been knocked out of the third round of matches, to conclude what has been a disappointing outing for Zimbabwe junior players in the International Tennis Federation/CAT African Closed Junior 18 and Under Championships.
REPORT BY VITALIS MOYO The championships, currently running in Potchefstroom, South Africa, started on Monday and end today.
Saruombe and Lock were the only two players remaining from the Zimbabwe team that had advanced past the second round of the singles competition. Their counterparts faltered in the opening stages in both the girls and boys’ singles competitions.
Saurombe was outmatched by South Africa’s Wayne Montgomery 6-1, 6-3 while Lock suffered the same fate at the hands of yet another South African Matthew Roussouw, losing 6-1, 6-1.
All the Zimbabwean representatives are now left to compete for ITF ranking in their respective categories for the duration of the competition.
In the boys’ rankings playoffs, Lock faces Saruombe for 13th and 14th place, while Alwyn Mushonga beat fellow player Luca Picci 6-4, 6-4 in the 37-38 position playoffs.
Taremeredzwa Mariga was awarded the match against Mauritius’ Dylan Allec Foo-Kune to settle the 41-42 playoffs.
In the girls’ rankings playoffs, rising star Nicole Dzenga, who had a disappointing tournament, faces South Africa’s Louise-Mare Botes for the 17-18 position, while Thabile Tshatedi faces Kenya’s Stephanie Mbaya for the 27-28 place.
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Meanwhile, Tennis Zimbabwe is expected to send seven junior players to the African Junior Championships which will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, in April.
