Annabel Croft had a very interesting Battle of the Sexes take as the tennis expert thinks Nick Kyrgios opted to play "junk tennis," and that didn't allow Aryna Sabalenka to play her best tennis.
On Sunday, the Australian and the Belarusian took on each other under special format - the WTA world No. 1's court was reduced by 9 percent and each player had one serve.
Before the match, Kyrgios noted that he would need to make some adjustments. And he definitely did as the 2022 Wimbledon was slicing a lot - went for some unconventional shots - and even pulled off a successful underarm serve. In the end, he won 6-3 6-3.
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On the WTA Tour, Sabalenka is regarded as the most powerful player and she would be the top pick for challenging a male player. But although the four-time Grand Slam champion tried to be aggressive, it didn't work out the way she probably wanted.
However, former-British-player-turned-analyst Croft thinks she knows why.
Croft: Kyrgios was throwing in so much junk tennis and awkwardness
It didnt quite live up to what I thought it might be. I think that was a lot to do with the way that Kyrgios played. He did what he has done on the Tour generally. He is a very awkward customer for anybody. So he was throwing in so much junk tennis. He was slicing and chopping his forehand, slow-balling, awkwardness," Croft said on BBC One.
But the ball was moving a lot, particularly on his serve. The ability with the only one serve he could use, but the way the ball would move in the air. You could see she was returning way outside the court and somewhere above head height where she could not really control the ball and even when she got hold of it she could not do what she usually does on the womens tour, which is strike through the court and do damage."
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After losing to Kyrgios, Sabalenka claimed that she was still happy with her performance. Alos, the world No. 1 hinted at a rematch with the Australian by stating that she would know what to do next time.
