Kournikova married, divorced

TORONTO:  Detroit Red Wings forward Sergei Fedorov has admitted that he and tennis player Anna Kournikova were married but are now divorced and no longer talk.

The 33-year-old, rated as one of the top players in the NHL, confirmed his relationship with 21-year-old Kournikova in the Hockey News, which went on sale yesterday. “They are true,” said Fedorov, when asked about rumours concerning their wedding. “We were married, albeit briefly, and we are now divorced.” Fedorov has had a long-running relationship with the Russian dating back to when she burst onto the tennis scene as a teenager. His mother told reporters back in 2001 that they had been married in a Moscow registry office. Kournikova, who has also been linked with several other high profile athletes and entertainers, including NHL sniper Pavel Bure and singer Enrique Ingles-ias, has suffered a decline in her tennis fortunes since reaching No. 8 in the world in 2000. She is now ranked a lowly 67th in the WTA rankings and is still looking for her first singles title. Things reached a new low in the second round of the Australian Open in January when she was thrashed 6-0 6-1 by Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne — her worst defeat in a grand slam tournament.