Benjamin Lock completed a rare sweep of titles on the ITF Men’s World Tennis Tour after winning both the singles and doubles title at the M25 Medellin 2022 Tennis Tournament in Medellín, Colombia on Sunday.
Zimbabwe’s top ranked player Lock completed a remarkable week in the South American nation after beating American Olive Crawford 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(5) in the men’s singles final played on the clay courts at the Club El Rodeo de Medellín.
For the 29-year-old Harare born tennis ace it was his eighth professional title in singles on the ITF Men’s World Tennis Tour, as well as the first since 2019 when he took the M15 Johannesburg, in South Africa.
To win the crown, Lock had to beat Colombian Nicolás Buitrago 6-3, 6-1 in the first round, before overcoming a first set scare to dispatch Spaniard Pol Toledo 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2 in the second round.
In the quarterfinals beat American Felix Corwin 7-6(4), 6-4 to progress to the semi-finals where he comfortably won 6-2, 6-2 against another American opponent Evan Zhu.
The win in the singles competition came less than 24 hours after Lock had combined with his young brother Courtney to win the doubles competition in the US$25 000 tourney.
The all-Zimbabwean pair emerged victorious after beating Australian Akira Santillan and New Zealander Rubin Statham 4-6, 6-4, (10-6) in a fiercely contested final which could have gone either way.
It an emotional win for the Lock brothers, who last won a tournament together two years ago in Mozambique, before Courtney was side-lined for almost a year after undergoing a hip surgery.
The win will also go a long way in erasing the memories of their recent disappointing Davis Cup tie at home against El Salvador, which Zimbabwe lost 3-1 to be relegated to the Davis Cup World Group III.