Aryna Sabalenka, again on courtroom for the second time in as many days following the obvious suicide of her former boyfriend, had a troublesome and emotional week come to an finish with a three-set third spherical loss on the Miami Open to Anhelina Kalinina.
After a gutsy second spherical win on Friday over good pal Paula Badosa, the world No.2 appeared to have little left within the tank bodily, mentally or emotionally for a late evening Saturday stadium courtroom battle with Ukrainian Kalinina.
When her return large gave Kalinina the 6-4 1-6 6-1 outcome, the 25-year-old Belarusian bowed her head, took a couple of steps then flew right into a rage, venting her frustration by smashing her racquet to items at centre courtroom.
With racquet destroyed, she then turned and walked off courtroom with out shaking the Ukrainian’s hand.
“It’s always tough to play on big stages against these top players,” stated Kalinina. “Today was really tough with nerves but I managed in the tough moments to deal with it.
“So I’m a bit of bit happy with myself as we speak.”
The result and outburst are hardly a surprise coming at the end of a pressure-packed week for the Australian Open champion.
Sabalenka issued a brief statement on Wednesday saying her “coronary heart was damaged” by the “unthinkable tragedy” of the death of ex boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov, but has otherwise remained out of the spotlight.
The statement was also the first mention since the tragedy that the couple had split.
The Miami-Dade police department confirmed on Tuesday they had responded to a call the day before at a Miami resort about reports of a man jumping off a balcony. The police said no foul play was suspected.
Koltsov, 42, played for the Belarus national team at the 2002 and 2010 Olympics and spent parts of three seasons with the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penguins between 2003 and 2006.
The news of Koltsov’s death sent a shockwave through the Miami Open as Sabalenka’s fellow players rallied around her, including her opponent Badosa.
Sabalenka was very much in control of her emotions and slowly found her form in a 6-4 6-3 win over Badosa but slowly unravelled against Kalinina and could never regain her composure.
Her usually reliable forehand never consistently hit the mark while managing six double faults against just three aces.
“I missed a number of alternatives, she began to play extra aggressive within the second set,” said Kalinina. “I feel she performed actually, like, she stepped in and did some unimaginable, like, very quick rallies.
“But third set, yes, I was also more aggressive. That was my goal.”
Kalinina will play Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan within the spherical of 16 after the Kazakh’s 6-2 2-6 6-4 win over Belgium’s Greet Minnen.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
