Okutoyi, Rowinska through to J1 Repentigny doubles final
What you need to know:
- The other doubles semi-final pits fourth-seeded Ella Seidel (Germany)/Amelia Waligora (Belgium) against top seeds Yaroslava Bartashevich (France)/Nina Vargova (Slovakia). Okutoyi is using the J1 Repentigny to prepare for the prestigious US Open junior championships slated for September 4-10 in New York.
Wimbledon doubles junior champion Angella Okutoyi has qualified for the final in doubles at the J1 Repentigny without breaking a sweat at Laroche Park, Repentigny, Canada on Thursday.
Okutoyi with her partner Malwina Rowinska have been given free passage to the final after Canadians Ellie Daniels and Alexia Jacobs left for New York for the US Open junior championships qualifiers. This semi-final was scheduled to serve off at 7pm Kenyan time.
“We feel good, well not the best way to get into the finals but we are ready for the finals,” said 2018 Kenya Open champion Okutoyi after the pair got a walkover.
Okutoyi herself is in the main draw of the US Open junior championships. “I might be leaving on Friday for New York depending on the matches here,” noted Okutoyi.
The Africa Under-18 2021 champion Okutoyi and her partner Malwina Rowinska, who are seeded sixth in Repentigny, sailed to the semi-finals on Wednesday night after stunning top seeds Irina Balus and Nikola Daubnerova from Slovakia 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.
On their way to the semi-final stage, Okutoyi and her Polish partner got a bye in the first round and then showed their might by defeating Canadians Eliana Kook and Anna-Raphaelle Serghi 6-4, 6-2 in the second round.
Okutoyi noted that Rowinska, who is also in the qualifying draw at the US Open juniors, is a good partner and strong in doubles.
Twelfth-seeded Okutoyi, who made history as the first Kenyan to reach and win a Grand Slam final after lifting the junior doubles title in Wimbledon in July partnering Rose Marie Nijkamp, got a first round bye in singles in Repentigny before being stopped by unseeded Ela Nala Milic from Slovenia 7-6(4), 6-4 in the second round.
Rowinska reached quarter-finals in singles after dismissing Canadian Naomi Xu 6-3, 7-6(2) and top-seed Daubnerova 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 before she lost 6-3, 6-3 against 14th-seeded Waligora in the third round.
“My performance in singles was good. I played good tennis but it is always tough for me to convert breaking points,” she observed.
The other doubles semi-final pits fourth-seeded Ella Seidel (Germany)/Amelia Waligora (Belgium) against top seeds Yaroslava Bartashevich (France)/Nina Vargova (Slovakia). Okutoyi is using the J1 Repentigny to prepare for the prestigious US Open junior championships slated for September 4-10 in New York.
