Aryna Sabalenka dropped a very confident remark ahead of the Battle of the Sexes versus Nick Kyrgios as the top-ranked female tennis player said she was "going to win that one."
On Saturday, Sabalenka was in Atlanta for an exhibition tournament. In the opening match, the reigning US Open champion defeated former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka in three sets 6-3 4-6 10-4.
After the Belarusian and the Japanese finished their match, the stage was set for Kyrgios and Ben Shelton. While speaking on Tennis Channel following her win over Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion was asked whether she would watch the Australian and conduct some scouting.
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No, I know Im going to win that one, so I dont even have to be there to watch his game. Come on! [Laughs]," the WTA world No. 1 said.
Kyrgios' admission ahead of the Sabalenka match
A month ago, it was officially confirmed that Sabalenka and Kyrgios would square off in Dubai. The exact date is December 28th and the location is Dubai's Coca-Cola Arena.
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When asked how he was feeling about facing one of the best female players in the world, the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up revealed that several players reached out to him and directly told him that he was representing men's tennis. The 30-year-old also admitted to feeling "a lot of pressure," but also said that he was excited about the challenge.
"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 percent 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," Kyrgios said last month.
