The Sunday Mail
Sports Reporter
It is likely that Courtney Lock did not sleep a wink last night.
This is because he carries Zimbabwe Davis Cup hopes when play resumes between the 26-year-old and Uruguay’s Ignacio Carou after yesterday’s rain-induced stoppage.
With the scores tied at two wins apiece, the younger of the Lock brothers finds himself down a set and on the brink of a break early in the second set.
Carou and Lock will resume their duel at Harare Sports Club this morning.
Play starts at 11am.
The two teams went into yesterday’s action with the scores even, but Zimbabwe got off to the worst possible start as Benjamin and Courtney Lock lost their doubles match 2-6, 4-6 to the South American pairing of Martin Cuevas and Ariel Behar.
The Lock brothers started well in the match, maintaining their serve and coming close to breaking their opponents a couple of times in the opening set.
Unfortunately, that did not last long as the South Americans finally found their opening and broke both the Lock brothers back-to-back in the fifth and seventh games to take the set 6-2.
It only got worse in the second set, which turned into a one-sided affair, as Cuevas and Behar again broke the Zimbabwean pair in the third game and maintained their serve to take the set 6-4, and the match 6-2, 6-4.
Much like he did during the opening game, Benjamin Lock was on hand to rescue the tie.
He restored parity when he eased past Uruguay’s top seed Cuevas 6-4, 6-4, and avenged his younger brother, who lost to the world 464th seed.
This left the tie between the two nations tied again; this time at two wins apiece.
Enter Courtney Lock.
The 26-year-old is subbing for an injured Mehluli Sibanda and had to fight through a slight illness during the first day of the contest.
The younger Lock lost his serve in the sixth game of the opening set of his match against Carou, who then held on to take the set 6-3.
Both players had won their opening games of the second, but the Zimbabwean soon found himself on the brink of another break in the third game.
The heavens then opened up and play was stopped with the Zimbabwean trailing.
Should he lose the match against Carou today, Zimbabwe will need to play in the relegation play-off to retain their place in the World Group ll.
