Okutoyi in flying start as annual tournament begins at Nairobi Club

Kenya’s queen of the court Angella Okutoyi began the quest for Kenya to get promoted into Billie Jean Cup Group 2 with a bang following a straight sets (6-0/6-0) humbling of Mauritius opponent Tejaswini Jessoo Monday at the Nairobi Club with the home team winning 3-0 for a good start.

Okutoyi, 20, was relentless as she not only frustrated her opponent on serve,but ensured she got no game number on the board.Her fierce service game,he quick mobility and acute defensive skills all created a cocktail of a monster for Jessoo who had limited or no answers whatsoever at outdoor clay surface in Upper Hill.

The 523rd world ranked player took just 39 minutes on the clock to get the job done. Her poise and calm even when the opponent wanted to take control was on another level as each and every time she had solutions on the ready.

Meanwhile, in the first rubber,Kenya’s Cynthia Wanjala also dismissed Maurtitius player Anna Chan Kwai Siong 6-3/6-1 in a match that lasted 62 minutes.It was yet another show of Kenya’s dominance with Wanjala exposing the weaknesses of her opponent early on in the opening set for a double break in the game played at centre court. Wanjala however complicated her issues with a series of unforced errors with nine double faults.

She also had only 50 per cent of her first serves in and 43 per cent of second serve points won. To her credit also,the Kenyan player had 7/9 break points won and and 70 per cent of first service points won. The opponents on her part had only 30 per cent of her first service points won and 24 per cent of her second serve points won.

In the last match of the day for Team Kenya,the duo of Roselida Asumwa and Alicia Owegi also had their moment of success on court with a straight forward win as well.

Their 6-1/6-1 demolition of Reese Desaubin and Tejaswini Jessoo was yet another testament of Kenya’s superiority in the doubles event at home. The match itself had a total 10 double faults with the Kenya team winning 53 points against 24 points.