Published by the government of Zimbabwe
7 November 2009
Harare — DURING his old days as a rebel when he ran into trouble with Tennis Zimbabwe authorities, Martin Dzuwa reminded a British visitor, John Stonebridge, of former United States and world number one John McEnroe.
That was in 1995.
Dzuwa, then a raw 17-year-old, smashed his racket on the court in frustration during a Bata Zimbabwe Junior Tennis Championship semi-final match against Genius Chidzikwe in Bulawayo in May 1995.
Stonebridge wrote a letter in The Herald that the British would have give everything to have such an aggressive player.
"The British would be delighted to have a player with such aggression since we have not won the Wimbledon men's championship for 59 years," wrote Stonebridge.
"My advice to you is not to destroy your talent. America has aggressive players and has been rewarded with top class players like John McEnroe who broke his rackets without being disqualified or suspended from play.
"The spectators paid to watch him do that."
The Mashonaland Tennis Board believed Dzuwa's fit of rage on the court was unsporting and banned him with the ban being extended to the doubles at the competition.
Neither could he play for his club Mufakose Junior Tennis Club, the Mashonaland Province or Zimbabwe.
When the ban was lifted, Dzuwa went on to make history as the first black player to win the Zimbabwe Open men's singles title.
Dzuwa, the eighth seed, made a mockery of the seedings when he beat top seed Schalk van der Schyff and in the same year he represented Zimbabwe at the 6th All Africa Games in Harare while still at Mufakose 2 High.
In 1996, Dzuwa received a call to the Davis Cup and in October he won the Malawi Open, his first senior regional title.
In 1997, Dzuwa had to run from an irate mob that wanted to mete instant justice on him when a car he was travelling in -- a Datsun 120Y -- ploughed into a group of vendors at Shangara Shopping Centre in Mufakose. After fleeing from the mob, Dzuwa handed himself to police.
But his star in tennis continued to shine, winning the Caltex Open in 1999.
The ugly side of Dzuwa resurfaced again in November 2002 when he allegedly got into a fistfight with top Zimbabwe tennis umpire Ngoni Kufa at Bulawayo Athletics Club.
When tennis sponsorship suffered as Zimbabwe's economic challenges surfaced, Dzuwa went outside the country to play the game that he loved.
Over the past seven years, the Mufakose star has been playing and coaching in Central and East Africa. Now that he is back home, Dzuwa said he is not going into retirement.
He was the top seed at the NetOne Zimbabwe Open Tennis at Harare Sports Club last month.
The fact that Dzuwa lost to third seed Vusa Hove 7-5, 6-4 in the men's singles final does not in any way prove that he is now a spent force, but that the wily old fox is still capable of competing at the highest level in Zimbabwe.
"If I can still hold the racket then I can still play," said Dzuwa recently.
"Now I am no longer playing for competition but to test these youngsters.
"I spent four years in Kenya and then I was in Tanzania for three years. I was playing tennis as well as coaching, especially the juniors. The surfaces there are mostly clay and I had to adjust," he said.
Now Dzuwa is a holder of the International Tennis Federation Level One coaching qualification he attained in 2006.
In 2005, Dzuwa got his USPTR Pro-coaches qualification in Kenya and his biggest challenge as a coach came in 2007 when he was appointed head coach for Tanzania's team to the African Junior Championship.
"It was a good experience to coach a team to the AJC and they did well to finish 13th.
"This was an honour to take care of the juniors in Tanzania,' he said.
Although Dzuwa has refused to shed light on his assets from tennis, his close associates say he has bought a house in one of the high-density suburbs in Mutare as well as a car.
Since coming back to Zimbabwe a few months ago, Dzuwa has taken up a post as head coach at Mantas Tennis Academy in Mutare.Tennis Zimbabwe president Anne Martin is director of the tennis school of excellence that has roped in the former tennis star.
"I have been with Mantas for two and a half months now," he said last month.
Last month Dzuwa brought 14 players from his club to the NetOne Zimbabwe Open and all of them are below 18 years.
His dream is to bring a champion out of the tennis centre, the same way Albert Nhamoyebonde brought the best out of him at the Mufakose Tennis Coaching Agency.
"I am there to stay at Mantas for as long as it takes. I was a good player because a lot of people put so much into me and now I am back to do the same. Most of my peers failed to make it as professionals on the ATP because it's expensive.
"Talent is there but it's expensive to travel, find a coach, train and all. Zimbabwe has lost many players, many of whom have gone into coaching in the United States and South Africa
"Like right now, Vusa is in South Africa and Peter is still in Kenya," said Dzuwa.
A number of former Zimbabwe tennis stars like Chidzikwe and Shingirayi Nyagura have also taken up coaching posts outside Zimbabwe.
Dzuwa's return has been welcomed by Terence Mazungaire, who was the head coach at the school of tennis excellence.
"It was my wish to play, say on the ATP, but it's expensive for people without resources, especially in the early days," said the 22-year-old Mazungaire.
"First a player has to play for points to be considered for certain tournaments and then later if one has won, then you can be able to pay for coaches and travelling.
"However, I am still involved as a coach at Mantas and I'm happy that Martin has come to take over as head coach. There are things I could tell the up-and-coming players to do, but only up to a certain level, but Martin is more experienced and he can do better," he said.
Mazungaire said he had done an instructors' course and hopes their academy will produce shining stars.
"Martin has certainly made life easier for me at the academy. We are using his experience," he said.
A lot has changed in Dzuwa's life since those days in the '90s when he was the face of rebellion in local tennis. He has matured and he believes that -- after seven years on the road in East Africa -- the time has come for him to invest in his homeland and help produce the next tennis great.
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