• Okutoyi keen on improving her rankings.
• Ominde wins first round match by beating Majdi Ben Abdelwahid of Tunisia 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Kenya Open champion Angela Okutoyi has set her sights on winning the ITF Grade 3 tournament in Tunis.
Okutoyi won her first round match on Thursday after beating Madagascar's Mialy Ranaivo 6-4, 6-1. "It was a good start for me and I believe I can play better and improve my ranking for future tournaments,” she noted.
Okutoyi is fresh from winning the doubles category last week in Hammamet in Tunisia in the World Tour tennis category, where she teamed up Burundian Aisha Niyonkuru.
Okutoyi said she has tweaked her approach to the game and hopes the move will pay dividends. "I have e changed a bit of my serve and returns and so far it's working,” added Okutoyi.
Okutoyi said she is happy to have adapted fast to the slow murram surface courts in Tunis for the event. "The murram surface here is slower than the other places I have played,” she noted.
Derrick Ominde also advanced to the second round after beating Majdi Ben Abdelwahid of Tunisia 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in a tough first-round match. Ominde credited the win to a never-say-die attitude in the match. "It was not easy but I dug deep in the third set and fought hard for every point,” added Ominde
Elsewhere, the Kenya 14 and under tennis team left the country last night for the Africa Junior Championships in South Africa. The team comprises of Cynthia Cheruto, Raja Radha, Raymond Riziki and Edmond Ogega.
The quartet has set their sights on reaching the semifinals and amassing as many ranking points as possible.
Cheruto was confident about Kenya's chances in the event. "We had a good tournament on home soil where we qualified and now we have trained well. We expect to be competitive,” added Cheruto.