Paula Badosa has described Aryna Sabalenka as a “strong woman with a strong personality” after being overwhelmed by the Belarusian simply days after the loss of life of her former boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov.
Sabalenka returned to the tennis courtroom after Koltsov died on the age of 42 on Monday, in what police described as an
“apparent suicide” in Miami.
Sabalenka stated her “heart is broken” following Koltsov’s loss of life, however she was capable of present unimaginable composure and poise to beat Spain’s Badosa 6-4 6-3 after an emotional few days.
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Highlights of Aryna Sabalenka’s win over Paula Badosa on the Miami Open
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Sabalenka and Badosa embraced on the web after an emotional week for the Belarusian
“Honestly, both of us are pretty strong mentally,” Badosa stated. “We’re strong women. She proved it. I proved it. We knew how to disconnect in that match.
“She performed rather well. I performed rather well for the place I am coming from (following damage). I feel it was fairly respectable.
“That all comes from because we know we’ve been through a lot in our lives, we’re strong women, and we know how to separate that in that moment.”
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Badosa was left applauding Sabalenka’s gorgeous backhand winner following a lung-busting rally
Requested if she was stunned by Sabalenka’s degree of play within the circumstances, Badosa added: “No, I wasn’t stunned in any respect. As I stated, she’s a really, very sturdy lady, sturdy character. You may see it on the courtroom. Particularly as I do know her off courtroom. It does not shock me in any respect.
“I knew she was going to play very well or like normal. I told her I wish her the best. Let’s see if she can go very deep in this tournament.”
Sabalenka was welcomed onto the Grandstand courtroom to heat applause, whereas wearing black and with a baseball cap on, she seemed as much as the sky earlier than giving Badosa a fist pump on the coin toss together with her opponent additionally kitted out in all-black.
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The wind was relentless in Miami as Sabalenka misplaced the ball throughout her serve however managed to search out the humorous aspect
The 25-year-old sealed the primary set in windy situations earlier than breaking Badosa twice within the subsequent set to safe victory.
The buddies embraced on the web because the second seed opened her account for the event with an emotional win.
Subsequent up for Sabalenka is a third-round conflict with Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina after she beat Caroline Wozniacki on Thursday.
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Sabalenka and Badosa shared a light-hearted second once they could not determine which towels to make use of earlier than their conflict
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