Tennis player Aryna Sabalenka won her first match at the Masters tournament in Miami after the death of her former boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov. The Australian Open winner from Belarus beat her Spanish friend Paula Badosa 6:4, 6:3 in the second round. Sabalenka, who had a bye for the first round, will now face Anhelina Kalinina from Ukraine.
Before the tournament started, she reacted with great sadness to the death of the former ice hockey professional. “Konstantin’s death is an unimaginable tragedy, and even though we were no longer together, my heart is broken,” the Belarusian said in a statement. The 25-year-old also asked that her privacy and that of her family be respected “during this difficult time.” Koltsow, a former NHL player, died on Monday at the age of 42, the American news agency AP reported with reference to the Miami police.
The game between Sabalenka and Badosa was just one of eight matches that could take place on Friday. The reason for this was heavy rain. The third-seeded American Coco Gauff didn’t seem to mind. The 20-year-old beat Argentine qualifier Nadia Podoroska 6:1, 6:2 in just 1:16 hours and will now face Oceane Dodin from France in the third round.
Meanwhile, there was a surprise for the men. World number five Andrej Rublev lost to Czech Tomas Machac in the second round 4:6, 5:7. For the 23-year-old it was the first win against a player from the top ten in the world rankings.
