This archive report was first published on 22 November 2019.
On Friday, November 22, 2019, Kenya's Angela Okutoyi suffered a setback in her tennis career after losing to Iran's Safi Meshkatolzahra in the semi-finals of the International Tennis Federation Juniors tournament.
Okutoyi, who had won the first leg final against Aisha Niyonkuru in straight sets just a week prior, was defeated 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-2 in a three-hour-long semi-final tie at the Nairobi Club.
Despite challenging Meshkatolzahra's strong serves, Okutoyi ultimately succumbed to the Iranian player's powerful backhand shots in the final set, losing her chance to feature in the final.
However, Okutoyi did manage to recover in the doubles event, teaming up with Niyonkuru to edge Mialy Ranaivo of Madagascar and Meshkatolzahra from Iran 6-4, 6-4 in the semis.
Meanwhile, in the boys' category, Italy's Roberto Miceli outclassed fifteen-year-old Alessio Basile of Belgium 6-3, 6-3, while Toky Ranaivo of Madagascar suffered a similar fate, losing to South Africa's Devin Badenhorst 6-2, 6-2.
