After a tearful week, world no. 2 Aryna Sabalenka opened her Miami Open campaign with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against close friend Paula Badosa.
Sabalenka, a 25-year-old doubles champion at the Australian Open, played her second-round match four days following the passing of her former partner Konstantin Koltsov.
The 42-year-old former ice hockey player Koltsov passed away in Miami from what the authorities called an “apparent suicide.”
On Saturday, Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine will play against the Belarusian Sabalenka.
Following Koltsov’s passing on Wednesday, Sabalenka expressed that her “heart is torn” and called it “an inconceivable catastrophe.”
Before the coin toss for the pre-match, she stared up at the sky while sporting an all-black outfit and low-cut headgear.
After the match, Sabalenka and Spanish player Badosa, who have referred to each other as “best friends” on the WTA Tour, gave each other a lengthy and affectionate hug at the net.
After severe rain caused schedule disruptions on Friday, their match was among the first to be finished.
US Open victor Coco Gauff defeated Nadia Podoroska, an Argentine qualifier. 6-1 6-2.
The Murray match is called off.
Since play in Florida didn’t begin until after 17:00 local time, the weather caused numerous matches to be postponed and eventually suspended.
The first set of British former world no. 1 Andy Murray’s second-round match against 30th-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina was stopped at 3-3.
Play was halted in the opening set between Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner and fellow Italian Andrea Vavassori when Brits Cameron Norrie and Jack Draper failed to appear on the court.
The matches between Flavio Cobolli of Italy and Nicolas Jarry of Chile, the 22nd seed, and Norrie and Draper have been rescheduled for Saturday in place of the suspended ties.
