BY SPORTSCAST WRITER
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s heavy 4-0 Davis Cup defeat to Morocco this weekend, on home spoil, was one of the lowest points in the careers of Benjamin and Courtney Lock, the two gallant brothers who have carried on the tennis legacy of their country with great pride.
31-year-old Benjamin did not play due to injury, leaving his young brother Courtney to team up with Ethan Sibanda, who himself picked up an injury and was replaced by 17-year-old Ronan Mtisi. The 4-0 whitewash by the Moroccans at Harare Sports Club sees Zimbabwe drop down to the lowly Africa Group III of the Davis Cup.
Then tennis stars will however find comfort in knowing that they have the backing and admiration of some of Zimbabwe’s finest sportsmen from different codes.
Zimbabwean football superstar Khama Billiat and the country’s glorious rugby captain Hilton Mudariki were in the stands to cheer on the tennis team, chatting happily with squad members despite the negative results on the court.
“It was awesome to support other Zimbabwean sports that are doing well,” Africa Cup-winning Sables skipper Mudariki told SportsCast on Saturday.
“I’ve known the Lock brothers for a very long time, we went to junior school (St John’s Prepatory in Harare) with them. Courtney reached out to me and said ‘if you are around, please come through and watch us’. Definitely I wanted to go and support the guys because I know how much they’ve done for Zimbabwe and Zimbabwean tennis. And meeting Khama was amazing, we’ve always spoken to each other on Instagram. I’ve always wanted to plan to meet up, we’ve just never had the opportunity. To (finally) meet up was really, really nice. We spoke about supporting each other, just trying to make sure we build each other as Zimbabwean sportsmen. I think it’s very important that we support each other. You’ll definitely see me at some football games in the near future and I will get Khama to come and support the Sables as well.”
Hilton Mudariki with brothers Benjamin and Courtney Lock.
34-year-old Billiat returned to the Zimbabwean domestic league last year after declining to sign a lower contract to extend his stay with South African giants Kaizer Chiefs. He initially signed for Yadah FC in Harare, immediately proving that he was not yet past his peak, emerging as one of the Zimbabwean PSL’s best players of the season.
Attacking midfielder Billiat has recently joined new Zimbabwean top-flight club Scottland FC for an undisclosed fee. The flaunting Harare club is believed to have vastly improved Billiat’s US$5 000 Yadah monthly salary, making him the highest paid footballer in the country by some distance.
On his return to Zimbabwe, Billiat was persuaded by new national team coach Michael Nees to come out of international retirement, going on to help the Warriors to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco at the end of the year.
All these achievements have earned Billiat the respect of a great many, including the captain of the country’s high-riding rugby team.
Khama Billiat and Hilton Mudariki finally meet.
“Khama is a great man, and I think his records speak for themselves, a world-class footballer,” remarked Mudariki.
“For me to meet him today was a real honour. I’ve followed his career throughout and I’ve seen the great things that he’s done so ja, for me to connect with him was special. We just spoke about how we can support each other in our various sports and I think it’s very important for all Zimbabwean sportsmen and women to connect and to share ideas because at the end of the day as much as we are in different sports, I believe that we are trying to head in the same direction. So sharing certain things can definitely help us in our chosen sports. So ja, Khama is a great man, it’s good to have him back in Zimbabwe, we’ve already seen the impact that he has had on Zimbabwean sport, Zimbabwean football and, you know, I’m very excited to follow his progress and to support him as best as I can.”
