BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
ZIMBABWE tennis star Benjamin Lock celebrated his second doubles title on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour title after partnering Taiwanese Yu Hsiou Hsu to win the 2021 President’s Cup in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan on Saturday.
Lock and Hsu grinded out a hard fought 6-2, 1-6 (10-7) after a nervy tie breaker in the final to fend off the challenge posed by Canadian Peter Polansky and Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky.
The duo of Polanksy and Stakhovsky threatened to rally back and win the all-important final after losing the first set 6-2 by dominating the second set and putting on a strong fight in the tie breaker.
Lock and his partner had to dig deep and hold on and clinch a memorable win in Kazakhstan.
The 28-year-old Zimbabwean took to social media to express his delight after the victory while also thanking his playing partner Hsu, his young brother Courtney and Brazilian girlfriend Laura Pigossi for the support.
Pigossi, who is also a professional tennis player, enjoyed success in Kazakhstan after winning the doubles title and losing in the singles final in the women’s draw.
“Doing what I love and chasing my dreams. Incredible week here in Kazakhstan, winning my second ATP Challenger Tour, thank you to my partner Yu Hsiou Hsu for the great week on court. Huge shout out to Laura Pigossi, Courtney Lock and the rest of my family for your constant support, this one is for you,” an elated Lock wrote on Instagram.
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Lock, who is a member of the Zimbabwe Davis Cup team and currently the country’s highest-ranked tennis player, has been making some positive progress on his career.
He won his first ATP Challenger Tour tournament in February last year when he teamed up with United States’ Evan King at the Launceston International to win the doubles final in Australia.
The ATP Challenger Tour is the second highest level on men’s professional tennis circuit below the top tier ATP Tour.
In total, Lock has now won 35 career titles with most of his victories coming on the lower tier ITF World Tennis Tour as he continues to make his mark on the lower rungs of professional tennis around the world.
- Follow Daniel on Twitter @danielnhakaniso
