BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE
ONCE upon a time in Zimbabwe tennis were the Black brothers, Byron and Wayne, who hoisted the country’s flag up high on the international stage as well as in the Davis Cup while their sister Cara also had a successful professional tennis career.
Then came the Lock brothers, Benjamin and Courtney, who have formed a formidable doubles partnership on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Men’s World Tennis Tour and are currently the backbone of the Zimbabwe Davis Cup team.
And now, a new set of siblings has emerged within the Zimbabwe tennis ranks following the rise of the Sibanda brothers Mehluli and Ethan, after the latter were invited to train with the Davis Cup team ahead of this weekend’s tie against Syria as the country’s top junior.
The 15-year-old top junior player Ethan joins his older brother Mehluli, who is now a constant feature in the Zimbabwe Davis Cup squad as they seek to scale the heights reached by their predecessors.
Another Sibanda brother from the tennis crazy family, Mzingaye Andile (22), also plays on the ITF circuit.
The Sports Hub caught up with the Sibanda brothers on the sidelines of the Davis Cup draw at Harare Sports Club on Thursday, where they opened up on their delight at making the team together.
“It feels really great to be playing in the same team with my brother. It’s a great experience for him to be in the team with the older guys. He (Ethan) has been getting good practice the whole week, has tournaments next week and I think it’s going to come in handy for him,” the older of the two brothers Mehluli said.
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The 20-year-old Mehluli burst onto the local tennis scene five years ago when he reached the final of the ITF South/ Central Circuit 2 Under-18 competition at Harare Sports Club.
Mehluli, who is currently ranked 813 in the world, has been part of the Zimbabwe Davis Cup team since 2016 and has already featured in a number of matches.
Ethan, on the other hand, could not hide his joy for being part of the Davis Cup team for the first time in his fledgling career.
“I feel great practising with these guys, top players, it’s nice and good for me in my young career. “And being in the same team with my brother also gives me confidence. He has been a great influence to me, he has taught me a lot of the things I didn’t know,” he said.
Talking about his younger brother, Mehluli feels the lad has greater potential than he had when he was his age.
“He (Ethan) is a good player because he has a higher ranking than what I had when I was 15. I think he is a way better player than I was at the same stage, which speaks to a great future. I think he is in an incredible player,” he said.
The younger of the two Davis Cup future stars dreams of one day getting into the ATP Tour top 100 and play in Grand Slams.
And as brothers, they dream of playing together on the ATP Tour.
“Our dream as brothers is to play on the ATP Tour together and play against each other including my older brother Mzingaye. We want to be the best in world tennis,” he said.
The Black brothers played at the highest level and won Grand Slam titles as well as taking Zimbabwe to the Davis Cup World Group.
Benjamin and Courtney Lock have been winning doubles titles for fun on the ITF circuit, but what inspiration have the Sibandas drawn from the two.
“We didn’t really watch the Black brothers play because we were too young, but only heard about them. We look up to the Lock brothers, they are playing well,” Mehluli said.
“I play on the same tour and Ben won a big tournament recently. We will just try to follow in their footsteps, but I will try and do my own thing because I am my own person.”
But how did they come to be tennis players?
“My sisters played tennis, but they did go far. Our parents never played tennis, but I think my father watched tennis on TV and he liked it. He is the one who introduced us to the sport.
“My older brother (Mzingaye) also plays tennis me and there is Ethan and another younger brother who plays as well. Basically all my siblings have played or play tennis,” revealed Mehluli.
