Source: The Herald – Breaking news.
Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S tennis team captain at the just-ended Billie Jean King Cup Liberty Nzula believes the country stands a good chance of earning promotion to the next level of the competition with more time for preparation for the tournament.
The team took on Kenya in the third and fourth place play-off and they lost 2-1, to finish fourth overall and maintain their spot in Group III.
The team consisted of Sasha Chimedza, Tadiwanashe Mauchi, Tanyaradzwa Midzi and Rufaro Magarira.
“So this position, it really shows how much potential the girls have because I think they could have actually done better. We could have beaten Kenya if we had better preparation for this tournament.
“But, I think it gives the association something to think about, that they can actually win this thing. So it gives hope to the ladies or the girls that will play this in the future that we can actually go all the way to win this.
“Zimbabwe can build from this outcome. I think for future purposes they can prepare early because the other teams (like) Morocco… They always make sure they go in camp, the players are playing tournaments on clay, they are always ready for it.
“So for Zimbabwe, I think for (the) future they should take it seriously and have like a two-week camp on the clay court before the tournament.
“The preparation is so important for a tournament this big. Overall the girls have played really well,” said Nzula.
Zimbabwe were among the 12 countries for six days in Nairobi, Kenya for the Billie Jean King Cup Africa Group III that ended on Saturday.
The participating nations were competing for the single slot for promotion to Europe/Africa Group II.
Despite losing to Kenya on Saturday, Nzula said the players put up an encouraging performance.
“I think it was very positive considering one of our opponents, Angella Okutoyi, played at Wimbledon, so she has vast experience.
“But Sasha Chimedza really took the game to her. She was uncomfortable when we started but she got into the game and actually realised she can actually beat the girl (Okutoyi) but it was a bit too late. But she played really well against her.
“Rufaro has improved a lot from the first match and she won easily, so she has really been playing very well. So the team really gave their all.”
The team met in Kenya two days before the tournament and they beat Ghana, Burundi, Seychelles and Mauritius before losing to Tunisia in Pool B to finish second and as a result missed the promotional play-off.
“We had so many team meetings where you have to manage the girls and I think they got the message that you have to work hard for every game, not give excuses that you are not accustomed to the surface, the clay court, which was very slippery actually.
“But I think it was the will to win, so they fought really hard each and every match and not too many people actually expected the girls to perform to this level. But they really played well, all of them,” Nzula said.
Morocco topped Pool A to book their place in the promotional play-off final and they beat Tunisia 2-1, to secure their place in Europe/Africa Group II.
Seychelles were relegated to Africa Group IV following a 2-0 defeat to Uganda in the relegation play-off.
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