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Tennis legend Boris Becker lauded Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko for having a "real perspective" after the latter lashed out at naysayers for celebrating her defeat to World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of the 2024 Australian Open
On Friday, January 19, it took defending champion Sabalenka only 52 minutes to beat Tsurenko 6-0, 6-0 at the Rod Laver Arena and advance to the fourth round at Melbourne Park.
Taking to social media afterwards, Tsurenko hit out at people who criticized her for the rather tame loss, asking them to find "real reasons to feel happy" for rather than finding happiness in the misery of others.
Tsurenko also revealed how one of her friends broke free from Russia and returned home on the eve of new year -- an example of 'real happiness,' according to the Ukrainian.
“I noticed that my loss yesterday made a lot of people happy. So, my new post is for you. Please free to express whatever you want me to. I hope this will make you happy for a little bit longer. But you know, on the eve of the new year, my friend returned from Russian captivity after 1.5 overs, lost 55 kilograms of body weight and with an infection in his legs, but the main thing is that he is alive.
“This is real happiness. So, I hope you will also have real reasons to feel happy in your, and not because of the loss of some random tennis player who you have never even met in your life,” Tsurenko wrote.
Boris Becker reacted to her comments on Twitter, saying:
“It’s called ‘keeping real perspective’. Well done, Lesia.”
Lesia Tsurenko refused to shake hands with Aryna Sabalenka after Australian Open loss
Earlier, 34-year-old Tsurenko also refused to shake hands with Sabalenka, keeping in line with the custom of Ukrainians rejecting handshakes from Russian and Belarusian opponents since the beginning of the Ukraine war in 2022. Interestingly, last year, Tsurenko had pulled out of her Indian Wells match against Sabalenka due to ‘personal reasons’.
As far as her latest match against Sabalenka was concerned, it was no less than a nightmare for Tsurenko, who had very little clue about her opponent.
Sabalenka earned six breaks of serve and pulled off 16 winners to dictate terms against her Ukrainian opponent. She was also helped by the six double faults that Tsurenko made in the match.
Sabalenka will next be up against USA’s Amanda Anisimova, who knocked out Spain’s Paula Badosa 7-5, 6-4 in the third round.
