ZIMBABWEAN tennis players, Benjamin and Courtney Lock at the weekend sailed to their first ATP Challenger title at the Internationaux de Tennis de Blois.
The victory made the duo the first Zimbabwean pair to win an ATP Challenger or tour-level event since 2005. Tennis legend Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyet lifted the Australian Open in 2005, to win their historic ATP title.
The Lock brothers defeated French doubles team of Corentin Denolly and Arthur Gea in a thrilling final, winning 1-6, 6-3, 10-4.
The indoor match, lasting 2 hours and 8 minutes, was officiated by umpire Aurélie Vasseneix.
Benjamin Lock (31) celebrated the victory on X posting that hard work had indeed paid off.
“ATP Challenger title, years of hard work and complete dedication to this sport and journey. Special day getting the biggest title of my career so far and the first Zimbabwean duo to win an ATP challenger/tour level event since 2005.”
The two siblings are set to be part of the Zimbabwe team that will compete in the Davis Cup Group III Championship to be held in Nigeria next month.
Zimbabwe will compete for the promotion slots alongside Benin Republic, Namibia, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, and host Nigeria from July 15 to 20 in Abuja.
The games will be played in a round-robin format and the top three teams will get promotion to Group II in 2025, while the bottom two sides will be relegated to Group IV.
