World number 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka has called her ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match against Nick Kyrgios at the Coca-Cola arena in Dubai on Sunday “unpredictable”, stating that playing the Australian would be a huge challenge for her. The 27-year-old admitted that she loved to challenge herself and was not sure of what to expect from the match.
“This event is really unpredictable. I don’t know what to expect, and that’s what I love because this is the feeling that you chase when you play sport. I love to challenge myself, and this is a huge challenge, especially playing against Nick, a guy who is unpredictable and crazy.”
“It’s great training for me and a great message to the girls out there – I hope they will see how strong and tough I am by playing against a guy,” the Belarusian said.
When asked who was going to win Sunday’s exhibition match, Sabalenka had a simple, straightforward answer: “Me.”
The match will take place in modified rules in which both Kyrgios and Sabalenka will be permitted only one serve per point, instead of two. The latter will also play in a modified court, whereby her side would be reduced by nine percent in comparison with the regulation dimensions.
The ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match would be played over three sets, with a 10-point tiebreaker deciding the winner if it was level after the opening two sets.
Former world number 1 Billie Jean King, who played against Bobby Riggs in the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ clash in 1973, said that there were no similarities between that match and the one between Sabalenka and Kyrgios on Sunday.
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“The only similarity is that one is a boy and one is a girl. That’s it. Everything else, no. Ours was about social change, culturally, where we were in 1973. Mine was really political.”
“I knew I had to beat him for societal change. I had a lot of reasons to win,” King told the BBC.
‘Don’t know what to expect’
World number 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka has called her ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match against Nick Kyrgios at the Coca-Cola arena in Dubai on Sunday “unpredictable”, stating that playing the Australian would be a huge challenge for her. The 27-year-old admitted that she loved to challenge herself and was not sure of what to expect from the match.
“This event is really unpredictable. I don’t know what to expect, and that’s what I love because this is the feeling that you chase when you play sport. I love to challenge myself, and this is a huge challenge, especially playing against Nick, a guy who is unpredictable and crazy.”
“It’s great training for me and a great message to the girls out there – I hope they will see how strong and tough I am by playing against a guy,” the Belarusian said.
When asked who was going to win Sunday’s exhibition match, Sabalenka had a simple, straightforward answer: “Me.”
The match will take place in modified rules in which both Kyrgios and Sabalenka will be permitted only one serve per point, instead of two. The latter will also play in a modified court, whereby her side would be reduced by nine percent in comparison with the regulation dimensions.
The ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match would be played over three sets, with a 10-point tiebreaker deciding the winner if it was level after the opening two sets.
Former world number 1 Billie Jean King, who played against Bobby Riggs in the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ clash in 1973, said that there were no similarities between that match and the one between Sabalenka and Kyrgios on Sunday.
Story continues below this ad
“The only similarity is that one is a boy and one is a girl. That’s it. Everything else, no. Ours was about social change, culturally, where we were in 1973. Mine was really political.”
“I knew I had to beat him for societal change. I had a lot of reasons to win,” King told the BBC.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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