Determined Okutoyi shows character to get W25 title quest off to a high

Kenya’s tennis ace Angella Okutoyi once again lived up to the billing of flying her country’s flag high as she became the only local representative to progress to the second round of the inaugural W25 International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament being played at the Karen Country Club.

The 19-year old sensation showed incredible character to come from behind in a thrilling three set match played on Tuesday morning as she knocked out Switzerland’s Sophie Luescher following a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 win.

Down in the opening set and trailing 1-4 in the second set, Okutoyi, who been erratic all through, managed to turn the tie on its head as she broke twice to force the game into a deciding third set in order to get the winner.

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The final set would see Luescher showing incredible fight as she kept fending off Okutoyi who could not get a firm command of the advantages that came her way.

The 2022 Wimbledon Girls Doubles champion initially broke twice but failed to hold onto her serve on both occasions as her Swiss opponent managed to level the tie at 3-3.

When Okutoyi broke for a third time to lead 4-3, there was no looking back for the Kenyan girl who held her serve as she went on to seal the 2-6,7-5,6-4 victory much to the delight of the local fans who had been taken through a rollercoaster of emotions in the epic clash.

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“I feel like I played myself throughout the match instead of relaxing and just playing my own tennis one point at a time because I knew Luescher was not stronger than me. I was too tentative and relied more on her instead of believing in my shots.

I was not moving with my legs and I was too sloppy in the opening set where there were too many unforced errors.

However, I am happy I managed to pull through by fighting through each and every point even when I was three set points down in the second set surviving on the second serve,” Okutoyi remarked after the game.

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After Okutoyi’s game, Kenya’s other representative Stacy Yego saw her tournament end in the first round after succumbing to a straight set 0-6, 2-6 defeat against Italy’s Matilde Mariana, leaving Okutoyi as the only Kenyan remaining in the main draw.

Alicia Owegi, who was the other Kenyan in the main draw, failed in her quest of advancing deep into the tournament as her journey ended in the first round with a 2-6, 2-6 loss against Slovakia’s Viktoria Morvayova.

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Okutoyi will now face the winner between Gaia Squarcialupi (Italy) and Jia-Jing Lu (China) in the second round on Wednesday.