体坛英语新闻：Kenya tennis team upbeat ahead of Africa Junior championships

NAIROBI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Kenya Open champion Angela Okutoyi will face a reality test as she seeks to extend her dominance at the Africa Junior Under-18 Championships in Tunisia from April 9-14.

Okutoyi will lead the Kenya team that also has Derrick Ominde, Alicia Owegi and Rosehilda Asumwa at the tournament where they are expected to weather the storm from a spirited challenge from giants South Africa, Egypt, hosts Tunisia, Morocco, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda.

Okutoyi has just returned to the country after competing in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Africa Junior circuit in Algiers and Marrakech.

She lost to Lucie Nguyen 6-3, 6-1 in Algeria and Oumaima Aziz of Morocco 6-4, 6-3. But the 15-year-old believed these matches was critical in her preparation ahead of the Tunis competition.

"I had time to study my game and opponents and it is important for my development. This will come in handy at the Africa Junior championships. ITF events help me gain experience and preparation for the Africa competition. I hope to improve in Tunis," Okutoyi said on Wednesday.

Kenya is hopeful that the four players will go on to do well in the Olympic qualifiers and secure a few slots for the Tokyo 2020.