Maria Kirilenko & Alex Ovechkin Engagement Ends; Why?

Some admirers of Russian tennis player Maria Kirilenko had to wait as long as three years for this news. She and Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin are an item no longer, with Kirilenko announcing Monday that the two have parted ways.

The 27-year-old Kirilenko did not detail the reasons why the planned wedding to the three-time NHL most valuable player was shut down, but she broke the news to Tennis Fortuna. In a statement quoted by CBS Sports, she said that "reasons are many," refusing to go into detail. 

The Russian ex-couple started dating in 2011, recalled the report, adding that more than a year later, end-2012, the two confirmed their engagement. From then on, they were often attending each other's sporting events.

The International Business Times observed that never in more than a month now has Kirilenko mentioned Ovechkin in a tweet. Ovechkin had been asked by Russian media when he did not join Kirilenko at the Wimbledon last month, an Associated Press article on Yahoo Sports said, and it would seem what they were getting at was true. 

This happens two months after golfer Rory McIlroy broke off his engagement to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, the same report notes. And now, another power couple in the sports world has been broken.

The Washington Post, in a report, echoed the report, saying they were among "D.C.'s great power couples," and that the news of the breakup was "sad"--you can say final as well, what with Kirilenko retweeting a link to an RSport article quoting her remarks on Monday.

Kirilenko, in comments circulated by the Russian Tennis Federation and quoted by the report, said that she still respected Ovechkin "as a person and as an athlete" and wished him more success in his sport. 

Ovechkin hasn't made public his insights on the split, the report said, and is on vacation with family and friends on the beache of Saint-Tropez, France. Before that, the International Business Times report said, the hockey player went to Las Vegas for a weeklong trip, and also served as judge at the search for Miss Moscow 2014 a few weeks ago. 

But some people believe Kirilenko was to be credited in part for Ovechkin's turnaround for the Hart Trophy in 2013, the CBS Sports article said, hoping the breakup won't cause a performance decline.