Three Zim players advance to the semi-finals at the ongoing ITF Pro Futures

As the ongoing ITF Pro Futures tournament enters into the last two days it is now down to four players who are set to battle it out in the semi-finals this Friday.

The winners in the two semi-finals will face off on Surtaday for the championship. The last round of matches saw three Zimbabwean players getting tickets into the semi-finals.

First to proceed was the top seed Benjamin Lock who outclassed Schmid Aaron from Switzerland in straight sets (6-2,6-1). Lock dominated the whole match to close it off just after the one-hour mark. He will play South Africa’s Howard Joshua who beat Jacobs Tuki from Namibia in the quarter finals.

In the other match, Takanyi Garanganga knocked out a spirited Isaac Strout from Great Britain in three sets. Garanganga dominated the first set with a lot of variations on his forehand and backhand ground strokes. An early break of serve removed some pressure off him as he eventually took the set 6-3. The second set started with another early break for Garanganga who then failed to consolidate his lead and allowed his opponent to recover his game. The set went up to 4-4 on serve until Garanganga lost his serve only to leave Strout serving for the set at 5-4. It was a different set up in the third set as Garanganga rushed 4-0 up to eventually close the set and match 6-3. Garanganga will play his semi final match on Friday morning against a young and spirited Mehluli Sibanda who keeps impressing with every match he plays.

Sibanda knocked out Blanco Guadalupe from Spain in straight sets.(6-3,6-4) It will be a match not to miss when the two clashes for a place in the final. It will be the first time that the two meets on tour.