PARIS – The exhibition tournament Negometal Open had quite an unexpected climax during the weekend. In the women’s part of the spider, the Russian tennis hope Mirra Andreeva (16) and the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk (21) were supposed to meet in the final. However, their match did not take place in the end and Andreeva competed against the 1145th man in the world ranking, Yanis Ghazouani Durand (23).
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the situation between Russian and Ukrainian athletes has been very tense. Proof of this is also the culmination of the tournament in France, where Mirra Andreeva and Marta Kostyuk were supposed to face each other.
The talented Russian started this year at the 405th place in the world ranking and during that time she reached the position number 57. Her opponent is currently at the 39th place. However, nothing came of the expected final, as Kostyuk decided not to enter the final. The organizers also commented on the whole situation and explained everything.
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Marta Kostyuk (Source: SITA)
“Due to reasons beyond our control and the geopolitical situation in Ukraine, Marta Kostyuk will not be able to play in the final match of the 6th Negometal Open,” they wrote on their Facebook profile.
However, the management of the tournament finally found an unexpected replacement for the Ukrainian tennis player. “We did everything we could to get a replacement, but we had very little time. That’s why we decided that Peageois Yanis Ghazouani Durand will face her. Thank you for understanding,” added in their status.
The climax of the tournament went around the world. The French tennis player managed it better, winning in two sets 7:5 and 6:2. Despite this, Andreeva took home the trophy intended for the winner.
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Mirra Andreeva (Zdroj: SITA)
2023-12-19 19:00:00
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