Zimbabwe Davis Cup Team

The team will be led by 2011 All Africa Games gold medallist Takanyi Garan’anga and also includes United States of America based Benjamin Lock and Mbonisi Ndimande as well as Mark Fyn who is based in South Africa.

Former Zimbabwe Davis Cup player Gwinyai Tongoona is the non playing captain.

Garan’anga who is ranked ninth in Africa will play in both the singles and doubles in the Davis Cup, and is also hoping to get a wild card entry at the 2012 Olympic Games to be held in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe will play in a round robin tournament against Nigeria, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, and Tunisia.

The top two teams will be promoted to the Euro-Africa Zone Group Two for 2013. Zimbabwe missed out of that chance last year when Egypt and Madagascar took the top places.

Zimbabwe has gone through a period of gradual decline since the retirement of Byron and Wayne Black from international tennis. The team which reached the quarter finals of the World Group in 1998 are now among the weakest tennis teams in Africa, and have dropped from that world billing to the Africa.

However, Tennis Zimbabwe administrator, Cliff Nhokwara is confident the team will bounce back this year contending that the players have gained enough experience.

Garan’anga along with Fyn and Lock were part of the team that finished third at last year’s competition coincidentally at the same venue.