Citing his particular place within the tennis historical past books, Nick Kyrgios is “very assured” of caring for Aryna Sabalenka within the sport’s much-hyped and newest Battle of the Sexes showdown.

However Kyrgios admits he is cautious of the world number-one’s firepower and will not be taking Sabalenka evenly as he feels the complete duty of defending the repute of the boys’s locker room.

“I used to be in Hong Kong not too long ago, and plenty of the male gamers have been like, ‘Look, you are representing all of us’. So right here I’m within the firing line once more,” Kyrgios instructed AAP.

“I am not no stranger to taking the warmth from the media, however I am excited, regardless of the consequence could also be.

“I will go on the market and present the world that pretty much as good as she is, she’s acquired some weaknesses.”

Kyrgios and Sabalenka will square off for two sets in Dubai on December 28.

A primary-10-point tiebreaker can be performed in the event that they break up units, with court docket dimensions 9 per cent smaller on Sabalenka’s facet, giving Kyrgios much less room to land winners.

Each gamers can be restricted to 1 serve per level.

Conscious that tennis is suffering from girls beating males in earlier encounters down the years, Kyrgios mentioned he’d be silly to not be respectful of the Belarusian’s recreation.

“Clearly, you have acquired one probably, I feel, one of many biggest of all time girls’s gamers and she or he’s not even virtually near scratching the floor of what she will obtain,” Australia’s 2022 Wimbledon finalist mentioned.

“I feel she wins a number of extra grand slams.

“She’s truthfully been speaking a bit bit extra about this match than I’ve to be trustworthy, however I am able to take the problem, clearly.

“I will go on the market and, in all honesty, it is plenty of stress for me too.

“The analysis mentioned that males weren’t 9 per cent superior, however I suppose with the scale they’re utilizing, it form of evens it up as a lot as we will for us to go on the market and compete.”

Requested for a scoreline prediction, Kyrgios was guarded however cited why he would win.

“Look, I am very assured,” he mentioned.

“I imply, look there have been 16 those that have ever walked the earth which have overwhelmed the massive three and the massive 4 [of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray].

“So I really feel like I am fairly assured, however on the identical time I am very conscious she’s harmful.

“If I’m going on the market with a smaller court docket and she or he will get an early break, then the stress begins hitting.

“It is not nearly tennis at that time, and the group’s positively going to be on her facet.”

Kyrgios insists there will be no repeat of the late-night shenanigans at a Wimbledon village pub the evening earlier than going through Rafael Nadal on tennis’s most well-known centre-court earlier than he faces Sabalenka.

“No manner, no manner,” mentioned Kyrgios, who’s right down to quantity 652 on the earth, having solely performed six matches in three years attributable to wrist and knee accidents.

“I will be prepared. I am pretty assured. I be ok with it.”

Ever since Billie-Jean King put a 55-year-old Bobby Riggs in his place within the unique Battle of the Sexes in 1973, girls’s stars have made a behavior of exhibiting up the boys in exhibition matches.

Evonne Goolagong Cawley trumped Ilie Nastase two years later, whereas Australian-born Brit Johanna Konta most not too long ago defeated a 50-something former Wimbledon champion, Pat Money.

AAP