Nick Kyrgios’s clean-sweep defeat of four-time grand slam champ Aryna Sabalenka in tennis’s much-hyped “Battle of the Sexes” has fallen flat with fans and the sport’s experts.

Australian maverick Kyrgios fended off the game’s top female player with a 6-3 6-3 victory in front of a big crowd at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena on Sunday, declaring afterwards that he’d been given a gruelling workout in “a really tough match”.

“Honestly it was a really tough match, she is a hell of a player and such a great champion,” Kyrgios said on court afterwards.

“I didn’t really know what to expect. Whatever role I was to play, it was just another great opportunity to go out here.

“She broke my serve numerous times, and I had to strap in.
“Honestly, I would love to play her again and showcase her talent and what I have left in the tank.

“Ultimately it was a really hard fought battle, and there was breaks back and forward.”

The exhibition clash borrowed its name from the classic 1973 match between American great Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, which King won in straight sets in Houston.

It was hosted by Evolve, the agency that represents both players. It pitted Sabalenka, who has held the No.1 spot in women’s tennis for 70 weeks, against Kyrgios, who hasn’t played competitively since March due to injury and is ranked world No. 671.

Kyrgios, who has featured in just six ATP matches since the beginning of the 2023 season, claimed in August that he wouldn’t need to play at 100 per cent to defeat Sabalenka.

So it proved on Sunday night, when he even brought out an underarm serve.

He took just 90 minutes to emerge victorious – despite modified rules that meant Sabalenka’s side of the court was 9 per cent smaller and each player was restricted to a single serve per point.

Tennis fans were scathing.

“Started to watch the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match out of curiosity, switched over after 2 games. Kyrgios wasn’t even pretending to try, wasn’t chasing anything down and wasn’t even using 60 per cent of his power. I know it is an exhibition but it’s pretty flat as a spectacle,” one wrote.

An other declared the match “an insult to a sport I like”.

“Kyrgios is playing without any power, like an amateur and is basically just walking around. Sabalenka agreeing to play under special rules with smaller court dimensions on her side is a farce,” they wrote.

The big-hitting Belarusian gave as good as she got, unleashing an impressive array of groundstrokes to really test her Aussie opponent.

“It felt different, the court was different,” the two-time Australian Open champion said.

“Obviously playing against a guy is different, everything is much faster. I hope for the next couple of days I will have great recovery, I’m pretty much ready for the season and I hope I will bring great tennis.”

But there had been pre-event rumblings that the contest risked undermining advances in the women’s game if Sabalenka was beaten too easily.

There were also concerns about the choice of Kyrgios as her opponent. He has spoken out against equal pay for women players and, in 2015, was fined $10,000 after making vulgar comments about his opponent’s girlfriend during a match. In 2021, he pleaded guilty to assaulting his ex-girlfriend after pushing her during an argument.

Kyrgios has “gone to all lengths” to distance himself from overtly misogynist influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate, who have been criminally charged with human trafficking, rape and assault. But this was only after he faced significant backlash for expressing “low-key” love for the brothers and reposting Andrew on social platform X for “speaking facts as usual”.

Despite not playing in a Tour singles match since March, Kyrgios has received a wildcard entry for the January 4-11 Brisbane International, although he so far remains without an Australian Open entry.

On Sunday, he looked relieved to have come through what was always going to a tricky test.

“Of course I was nervous. Not many people would have put their hand up to be in this position,” he said.

“I’m just glad, from where I was, I wasn’t able to use my right hand. To even get back out here and compete with Sabalenka, honestly it’s emotional.”

And he defended the concept.

“I think this is a great stepping stone for the sport of tennis,” Kyrgios said.

It is the fourth time a man has played a woman in professional tennis. The last time was when nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova came up against Jimmy Connors at Caesar’s Palace in 1992 – Connors won 7-5, 6-2.

-with AAP