THE Zimbabwe Davis Cup team blew the more-fancied Turkey out of the water to progress to the second round of the Euro Africa Zone Group II, after winning the doubles rubber at the Harare Sports Club yesterday.
BY KEVIN MAPASURE
The hosts went into the third rubber yesterday with a 2-0 lead, following victories in the singles on Saturday.
The pair of Benjamin Lock and Takanyi Garanganga, who both won their singles matches on Saturday against Altug Celikbilek and Llkel Cem respectively combined for the doubles to ensure Zimbabwe’s success.
In the doubles, they took the pair of Altuna Tuna and Cem, winning the match in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 although the match encountered a long stoppage due to rains.
After play had been suspended in the morning, with the second set tied at 2-all, players returned to the court just after 2pm to continue with the match.
Zimbabwe made sure there was no need for another set, as they coasted to victory to stay in the hunt for a place in the Euro Africa Zone group I.
On Saturday, Zimbabwe’s number one player, Lock, set the tone with a 6-4 1-6 63 win over Celikbilek in just under 2 hours.
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Garanganga won in straight sets against Llkel, as Zimbabwe put themselves in a good position to take the tie.
And yesterday, they completed the job in fine fashion and never really looked like they would lose this tie.
Lock expressed his delight at the victory and the manner which the team achieved the success.
“This is one of the best weekends in my life. We are happy that we won the tie. I enjoyed myself out all weekend. Takanyi was unbelievable and I enjoyed watching him in the singles,” Lock said.
“We are happy with ourselves, we performed very well all weekend and we help each other a lot. The fans were great too and we want to thank them for supporting and believing in us.”
