Aryna Sabalenka's boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov sends touching message on her 25th birthday
Aryna Sabalenka's boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov had a special birthday message for his significant other on Thursday. Sabalenka's birthday falls on May 5 and she turned 25 years old shortly after booking her place in the Madrid Open final with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Maria Sakkari.
Sabalenka's boyfriend, former ice hockey player Konstantin Koltsov, took to Instagram to wish her on her birthday. The 42-year-old called her the 'sweetest, most tender' and told her to 'burn on the court'.
"Happy Birthday my dear!!!! May you be surrounded by love, tenderness, warmth and care (in my face)!!! You are the sweetest, most tender, incredibly beautiful, amazing and you deserve the happiest life ever (you know who) !!! Let everything be easy and effortless for you in general, burn on the court my tiger!!! I love you madly," Koltsov wrote.
Aryna Sabalenka will face Iga Swiatek in the final of the Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka will face Iga Swiatek in the final of the Madrid Open on Saturday. Swiatek booked her place in the title clash with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Veronika Kudermetova.
When asked about facing the World No. 1, Sabalenka stated that she was prepared for a tough battle.
"Yeah, I think it's a different match, and of course, I prefer play against her in the final than in the quarters," Sabalenka said. "I think it's really good that we are playing so consistently so we are meeting each other in the finals, and hopefully it can be the same."
"But, yeah, it's always tough. It's always great battles. You always have to fight really, really hard against Iga. I'm ready for that," she added.
Sabalenka further claimed she found it hard to play Swiatek during her early matches against the Pole last season due to a lack of weapons. However, once the Belarusian fixed her serve, she realized she could beat her.
"I would say that before like our first matches last season when I didn't feel my best, it was really tough to play against her because I didn't have so much weapons," Aryna Sabalenka said. "I had my character and that's it. Later on in the season when I fixed my serve, I understand that actually, I can play well against her, I can beat her."
Sabalenka and Swiatek will be locking horns for the eighth time, with the latter leading the head-to-head 5-2.