Veronika Kudermetova was close to tears despite winning her opening match in Madrid. The world No. 52 faced her younger sister, Polina, for the first time in their careers and earned an easy 6-2 6-2 victory in just over an hour on Wednesday. But she wasn’t happy with the victory and appeared to be crying after hitting the final ball.
The siblings shared an emotional embrace at the net, and Veronika has now confessed that she “wouldn’t wish it on anyone”. The 27-year-old will now face No. 9 seed Paula Badosa and will be glad to put her sibling rivalry behind her.
The Kudermetova sisters had never met on the professional stage until now, drawing each other in the first round of the WTA 1000 in Madrid. They both struggled with the occasion, hitting four double faults each.
But Veronika, the more experienced sibling, came out on top, winning more points on both serve and return, and breaking six times.
The former world No. 9 struggled to come to terms with her victory, immediately putting her head in her hands and appearing to tear up at the conclusion of the match. All was forgiven, however, as Polina hugged her over the net.
Afterwards, Veronika explained just how difficult it was to compete against her 21-year-old sister, admitting she was still struggling with her emotions.
“I probably had very heavy emotions inside me both during the match and now,” she told Championat.
“Because it’s very difficult to play against your closest person, whom you support all the time. You’ve been going together since early childhood, and I probably wouldn’t wish anyone to experience the emotions that I felt today.”
Veronika is now through to the second round to face Badosa, who is returning from an injury layoff.
The Spaniard will have the crowd behind her when they face off in two days’ time, but the 27-year-old will just be glad that she doesn’t have to face Polina again.
While Veronika is an experienced player and a former No. 9, Polina is only now enjoying a breakthrough season.
The 21-year-old started the year by reaching her first WTA Tour final in Brisbane, getting her first top-10 win over Daria Kasatkina en route. She cracked the top 100 as a result and briefly overtook Veronika in the rankings, though Polina now sits two places behind her.
Despite her experience, Veronika has still been inspired by her younger sister. “What she achieved right now at 21 is very good. I’m so proud of her,” she told Tennis Channel last month.
“It’s always nice to have someone from your family on the tour and I wish one day we can play doubles together. It’s one of my goals and maybe in the future you will see us together as a team.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk