Aryna Sabalenka demonstrated her supreme inner strength as she returned to the tennis court and played with total focus and drive during a devastating period in her life, defeating her close friend Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-3 to reach the third round of the Miami Open on Friday. On Monday morning, Sabalenka’s former boyfriend, Konstantin Koltsov, died at the age of 42 in Miami with police describing his death as an “apparent suicide”. Instead of withdrawing from the Miami Open, Sabalenka, the second seed and Australian Open champion, opted to continue competing in the tournament, returning to the practice court on Tuesday to defeat Badosa. “She’s a very, very strong woman, strong personality,’ said Badosa after the match. ‘Especially I know her off court. So it doesn’t surprise me at all.'”
