- Exhibition match slated for January in Hong Kong
Tennis bad boy Nick Kyrgios has boldly stated he won’t have to ‘try 100 per cent’ when he faces women’s world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in a Battle of the Sexes exhibition match next year.
The eagerly anticipated clash is likely to take place in Hong Kong ahead of the Australian Open in January, and the sporting maverick also revealed how the rules have been changed to make it harder for him to win.
Kyrgios revealed there will be no second serves in the match, which will make him hedge his bets on his booming first serve, and he will also have to hit the ball into smaller service boxes.
Speaking on a podcast with Kazakh tennis star Alexander Bublik, Kyrgios said he is ‘super excited’ to face Sabalenka, but doesn’t think she poses even a slight threat to him.
‘She’s the type of player who genuinely thinks she’s going to win,’ Kyrgios said with a smile.
‘She’s not going to beat me. Do you really think I have to try 100 per cent?’
Tennis bad boy Nick Kyrgios has boldly stated he won’t have to ‘try 100 per cent’ when he faces women’s world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in a Battle of the Sexes match next year
The eagerly anticipated clash is likely to take place in Hong Kong ahead of the Australian Open in January next year, with the rules changed to favour Sabalenka (pictured)
Bublik responded with: ‘I think you can just go there, have a nice night out before that and say “OK, I don’t care”. My question was, will you try?’
Kyrgios was adamant he won’t play in a completely half-hearted fashion.
‘I’m going to try. I’m representing you, the men’s side. I would say like 6-2 maybe,’ he said.
‘Our [men’s] serves, women can’t return them and then we can just chip and drop shot.’
The Canberra-raised star also knows plenty of eyes will be on him – and the ‘internet would go crazy’ if he loses to the three-time grand slam winner.
‘I think I’m going to be OK,’ he said. ‘I don’t want her to win, that’s for sure.’
Whether the exhibition match actually goes ahead remains to be seen given Kyrgios’ ongoing injuries.
The 30-year-old has not played a match since March and withdrew from Wimbledon, the French Open and the US Open this year.
In 1973, women’s tennis icon Billie Jean King and six-time grand slam champion Bobby Riggs famously took to the court with gender bragging rights on the line.
In a landmark moment, King defeated 55-year-old Riggs 6-4 6-4 6-4.
Riggs earlier defeated Margaret Court, who at the time was the No.1-ranked woman in the world.
