Citing his special place in the tennis history books, Nick Kyrgios is “very confident” of taking care of Aryna Sabalenka in the sport’s much-hyped and latest Battle of the Sexes showdown.
But Kyrgios admits he’s wary of the world number-one’s firepower and won’t be taking Sabalenka lightly as he feels the full responsibility of protecting the reputation of the men’s locker room.
“I was in Hong Kong recently, and a lot of the male players were like, ‘Look, you’re representing all of us’. So here I am in the firing line again,” Kyrgios told AAP.
“I’m not no stranger to taking the heat from the media, but I’m excited, whatever the result may be.
“I’m going to go out there and show the world that as good as she is, she’s got some weaknesses.”
Kyrgios and Sabalenka will square off for two sets in Dubai on December 28.
A first-10-point tiebreaker will be played if they split sets, with court dimensions 9 per cent smaller on Sabalenka’s side, giving Kyrgios less room to land winners.
Aryna Sabalenka is the top female player in the world. (Getty Images: Amadolu/Artur Widak)
Both players will be limited to one serve per point.
Mindful that tennis is littered with women beating men in previous encounters down the years, Kyrgios said he’d be foolish not to be respectful of the Belarusian’s game.
“Obviously, you’ve got one potentially, I think, one of the greatest of all time women’s players and she’s not even almost close to scratching the surface of what she can achieve,” Australia’s 2022 Wimbledon finalist said.
“I think she wins multiple more grand slams.
“She’s honestly been talking a little bit more about this match than I have to be honest, but I’m ready to take the challenge, obviously.
“I’m going to go out there and, in all honesty, it’s a lot of pressure for me too.
“The research said that men were not 9 per cent superior, but I guess with the dimensions they are using, it kind of evens it up as much as we can for us to go out there and compete.”
Asked for a scoreline prediction, Kyrgios was guarded but cited why he would win.
Nick Kyrgios has had to deal with a number of injuries in the past few years. (AP: Lynne Sladky)
“Look, I’m very confident,” he said.
“I mean, look there have been 16 people that have ever walked the earth that have beaten the big three and the big four [of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray].
“So I feel like I’m quite confident, but at the same time I’m very aware she’s dangerous.
“If I go out there with a smaller court and she gets an early break, then the pressure starts hitting.
“It’s not just about tennis at that point, and the crowd’s definitely going to be on her side.”
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Kyrgios insists there’ll be no repeat of the late-night shenanigans at a Wimbledon village pub the night before facing Rafael Nadal on tennis’s most famous centre-court before he faces Sabalenka.
“No way, no way,” said Kyrgios, who is down to number 652 in the world, having only played six matches in three years due to wrist and knee injuries.
“I’m going to be ready. I’m fairly confident. I feel good about it.”
Ever since Billie-Jean King put a 55-year-old Bobby Riggs in his place in the original Battle of the Sexes in 1973, women’s stars have made a habit of showing up the men in exhibition matches.
Evonne Goolagong Cawley trumped Ilie Nastase two years later, while Australian-born Brit Johanna Konta most recently defeated a 50-something former Wimbledon champion, Pat Cash.
AAP
