Wimbledon doubles champion Angella Okutoyi is the J1 Repentigny Doubles champion after a come-from-behind victory at the Larochelle Park in Canada on Saturday night.
Okutoyi and her partner from Poland Malwina Rowinska, who were seeded sixth, suffered a 3-6 loss in the first set against fourth seeds Ella Seidel (Germany)/Amelia Waligora (Belgium) but bounced back to bag the second set 6-2 before wrapping up with a 10-8 win in the tiebreaker.
“The final was good. The first set we started a bit slow and our opponents were on top of us but after the first set we told ourselves we needed to start on a high and aggressively. The win is motivating because it improves my confidence,” says Okutoyi who now heads to New York on Sunday for the US Open junior championships slated for September 4-10.
She says her target at the US Open is to win both Singles and Doubles title.
On their way to the final in Repentigny, Okutoyi and Rowinska got a bye in the first round and then defeated Canadians Eliana Kook and Anna-Raphaelle Serghi 6-4, 6-2 in round two and Slovakians Irina Balus and Nikola Daubnerova, who were top seeds, 6-4, 6-4 in quarter-finals.
They benefited from a walkover in semi-final stage after Canadians Ellie Daniels and Alexia Jacobs withdrew to participate in the qualifying draw at the US Open junior championships.
Tennis Kenya Secretary General Alice Wanjiru wished Okutoyi all the best in her last Grand Slam as a Junior player. Okutoyi turned 18 in January this year, so this is her last Grand Slam as a junior.
“Her hard work is showing and she is one of the best junior players in the world at this moment and can beat anyone. She has everything it takes to be a champion again and most importantly she needs to enjoy herself on that court,” said Wanjiru who leaves for New York on Sunday night. “A very big thanks to Kenya Airways and I will be there to cheer on Angie, God willing,” said Wanjiru.
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