When the 1997 US Open runner-up shared his thoughts on the Battle of the Sexes, he took a neutral stance and said his final judgment would come only after it was over.
Less than two months after it was announced, Sabalenka and Kyrgios went to court at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. The WTA world number 1’s court size was reduced by 9 percent and each player had only one serve.
Kyrgios, who underwent two operations and has barely played in the past three years, recorded a 6-3 6-3 win.
Before the defeat, Sabalenka recovered twice from a break in the first set and she also led 3-1 in the second set.
Rusedski watched the match on TV and found virtually nothing interesting about it.
Rusedski praises the match between Sabalenka and Kyrgios: Don’t think we needed this
“I asked before the match on our podcast if it was a gimmick and the answer is… Gimmick, gimmick-gimmick. I didn’t like it. I just thought Kyrgios was dictating. Let’s not forget he was number 671 in the world. Did we really need this and was it good for tennis? I’m not so sure,” Rusedski said on his podcast.
“It didn’t really feel like a match. Sabalenka is a brilliant tennis player. The number 1 in the world, a multiple Slam winner. I just don’t think we need this for our sport. This is a guy who is out of shape and who hasn’t played in three years. You can see him sweating profusely on the court and it just didn’t work for me.”
When Sabalenka responded to the criticism that came her way, she responded by saying that she “didn’t understand how people could find anything negative in this event.”
Kyrgios was also very defensive of their match, describing it as ‘a cultural thing’.
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