By Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE Tennis Federation says all is set for the team to represent the country in the Davis Cup Group 2 playoffs scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in Hong Kong.
Going into the weekend’s fixture, Zimbabwe are ranked 73 in the Davis Cup world rankings, 19 places behind Hong Kong.
Zimbabwe’s team is made up of four players: the Lock brothers, Benjamin and Courtney, Benedict Badza and Tatenda Mutetwa while Takanyi Garanganga is leading the side as non-playing captain.
Zimbabwe progressed to the Group 2 play offs in August last year after finishing top of Group B at the Davis Cup Group 3 hosted by South Africa.
Zimbabwe Tennis Federation president Walter Jera confirmed that the team is now in Hong Kong awaiting the weekend fixture.
“Currently all the players including the captain are now in Hong Kong just to acclamatize, they arrived on the 28th of January.
“So the captain has been monitoring them in the United States because that is where all of them are based,” he said.
Zimbabwe’s team has made two changes from the team that played in group 3 last year. Tatenda Mtetwa and Courtney Lock are coming in for Liberty Nzula and Takura Mhwandagara.
Justifying the changes, Jera said the move will introduce young blood into the team.
“We have been having Courtney and Benjamin in the team for some time, both of them are now in their 30s, so our strategy is to have youngsters in the team to study these guys.
“That is why you have seen Benedict coming through, so we have all this group of youngsters who we would want to see taking over from these senior guys,” he said.
Zimbabwe has participated in the Davis Cup since 1963 and its best performance was in 1998 when it reached the quarter-finals in the elite world group.
