Kenya’s Angella Okutoyi and British partner Savannah Dada-Mascoll clinched the women’s doubles title at the W75 Glasgow tournament in Scotland, upsetting second seeds Elena Malygina of Estonia and Amelia Rajecki of Britain in straight sets.
The pair triumphed 6-3, 6-3 in just 52 minutes, earning a combined winner’s prize of KES 434,023 (USD 3,344). Okutoyi receives half, KES 217,011.
The champions had to bounce back from early deficits in both sets. They fell behind 1-3 in the opener before tightening their service games and winning five consecutive games to take it 6-3. In the second set, Malygina and Rajecki moved ahead 2-0, but Okutoyi and Dada-Mascoll replied with steady returns and stronger court coverage, again turning the set around to complete the straight-sets win.
Their serving performance proved decisive. They won 74 per cent of points on their first serve, compared with 59 per cent for their opponents, and claimed 44 per cent on second serves against 29 per cent. They also edged Malygina and Rajecki in break points won, 71 per cent to 69 per cent.
The victory brought a valuable ranking boost as well as prize money. Okutoyi and Dada-Mascoll will share the winner’s purse equally, leaving each with KES 217,011. Runners-up Malygina and Rajecki receive KES 108,505 apiece. Okutoyi and Dada-Mascoll also collected 75 WTA doubles ranking points each, while the runners-up earned 49 apiece.
Enroute the morale-boosting victory, Okutoyi and Dada-Mascoll trounced British pair Rosie Cho and Lara Savic 6-3, 7-6. They then upset top seeds Freya Christie and Eden Silva 6-7, 6-2, 10-8 in the quarter-finals before outwitting Germany pair Tessa Brockmann and Ella Seidel 7-5, 6-0 in the semi-finals. The African Games singles champion and doubles silver medallist Okutoyi has been based in Britain since moving there in early July.
Elsewhere, Austria’s Hector Freitas and Denmark’s Sofie Espersen won the first week of the J60 Nairobi tournament on Saturday. Freitas overcame Mexican Moreno Mendoza 7-6, 5-7, 6-3, while Espersen saw off Egyptian Sara Dessouky 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to claim the girls’ singles title.
In the girls’ doubles final, second seeds Stacy Yego of Kenya and Ecrin Yavuz from Turkey were outdone 6-1, 6-3 by top seeds Deniz Cakil and Milana Kolesova. The second J60 Nairobi tournament is expected to serve off on November 1.
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