Double delight for Okutoyi in USA tourney
12th January 2024
The Kenyan player is through to the Singles quarterfinals and Doubles semis in the W35 Naples tournament.
- Okutoyi overcame Alexa Noel in a closely contested match to book a place in the Singles quarterfinals.
- In the doubles category, Okutoyi and her partner Carolyn Ansari whitewashed Malkia Menguene and Clervie Ngounoue,
- Her next matches will be played on Friday night.
Kenya’s fast-rising tennis player Angella Okutoyi’s excellent
run at the 2023 W35 Naples tournament continues.
Okutoyi has confirmed her place in the doubles semifinals
and singles quarterfinals of the event which is recognized by the International
Tennis Federation (ITF).
The Auburn University student overcame United States’ player
Alexa Noel in a closely contested match to book a place in the quarterfinals
with a hard-fought 7-6, 0-6, 7-5 win.
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Okutoyi is now scheduled to battle it out with Layne Sleeth
of Canada on Friday for a place in the singles semis.
Sleeth also cruised to the quarterfinals after hammering her
American opponent Allura Zamarripa in a similar fashion, the 22-year-old winning
the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The eagerly anticipated clash is expected to begin at 7 PM
Kenyan time at the Emilio Sanchez Academy (court four).
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In the doubles category, Okutoyi and her partner Carolyn
Ansari, who also studies at Auburn University are two matches away from
clinching the title.
They whitewashed Malkia Menguene and Clervie Ngounoue, both
of the United States of America in a straight set 6-2, 6-4 win to proceed to
the semis.
Okutoyi and Ansari will now face off with the pair of
Taiwan’s Chieh-Yu Hsu and Japan’s Mayuka Aikawa.
Aikawa and Hsu also won their quarterfinals match in
straight sets, beating Italian sisters Tatiana Pieri and Jessica Pieri 6-2, 7-5.
Their game is slated to kick off at exactly 9 PM Kenyan time.
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The curtains of the tournament which has a prize money of
$25,000 (approximately Ksh 3,987,500) is expected to close on Sunday, January
14.
W35 Naples is Okutoyi’s first tournament of 2024. The player who came from a humble background ended her 2023 campaign by bagging the W25 Nairobi title.