Source: The Herald – Breaking news.
Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S hopes of fighting for promotion at the ongoing Billie Jean King Cup Africa Group III were thwarted when they lost 3-0 to Tunisia yesterday in Nairobi, Kenya.
The event is the largest annual international team competition in women’s tennis
Zimbabwe had kept their hopes alive when winning their ties against Ghana, Burundi, Seychelles and Mauritius in Pool B. However, Tunisia, seeded second at the tournament, proved to be a tough opponent.
First on court was Sasha Chimedza and she lost 6-2, 6-2 to Feryel Ben Hassen in the first singles match. It was the same case for Rufaro Magarira, who went down to Chiraz Bechri 6-2, 6-2.
The pair of Tadiwanashe Mauchi and Tanyaradzwa Midzi then lost 6-2, 6-3 to Hiba Heni and Ranim Rassil in the doubles match.
The team is captained by Liberty Nzula and he said despite yesterday’s loss, the team rose above expectations considering the magnitude of the tournament and having to adjust from hard courts to clay courts.
“The girls played really well and from day one they had some really tough matches. I mean this is a big tournament and they had really tough matches but they managed to win a lot of matches.
“I think (its) more of resilience because if I am talking about experience, I don’t think the girls have enough clay court experience because it’s a whole different game from the surface that they are used to, which is the hard court.
“We got here in Nairobi two days before the tournament, so we just had two days to really practice. So it was a bit difficult but they adapted quite well and I think it was really the will to win.
“And of course, Tunisia, they practice on clay courts; this is what they are used to. They are at home when they are playing on clay court and you could see the difference when they played our team.
“They were so comfortable on clay, knowing where to hit, how to hit, when to attack and when to defend, what kind of spin to hit, so you could tell that they were very experienced on the clay court. But our girls really worked hard,” said Nzula.
Going into yesterday’ tie Zimbabwe had defeated Mauritius 3-0 on Thursday.
They completed the group ties in second position, behind Tunisia and are now going to play in the positional play-offs today. They take on Kenya in the third and fourth play-off.
“So now they meet Kenya tomorrow (today) for the final game, for third and fourth position. But whichever way it goes I think I am really proud of the girls, they have done amazing.
“But they actually really do have a good chance against Kenya if they can withstand the pressure from the fans because Kenya they have got a whole lot of support. It’s like the whole arena is full and they are singing, so if the girls can withstand that pressure they actually really do have a good chance of winning the tie to become number three for the whole tournament which is amazing,” said Nzula.
Tunisia are set to clash with Pool A winners Morocco in the promotional play-off.
One country will be and one team will be relegated.
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