When Sabalenka won the toss and elected to serve, it was clear neither player knew how seriously to take the match. The answer: serious if youโre winning, not so serious if youโre losing.
It seemed to be the mantra of both players, who were toeing the line between being jovial enough to entertain fans and to shrug off the match if they lost, but trying hard enough to make sure they won.
The match very much felt like a family board game night โ everyone is smiling, but no one wants to lose.
Australian Nick Kyrgios during the Battle of the Sexes against Aryna Sabalenka. Credit: Getty Images
At times Sabalenka, who is known as the Tiger of womenโs tennis thanks to the tattoo on her forearm and her fierce style of play, found it hard to keep a lid on her competitive nature.
When a line call didnโt go her way, she didnโt know how much to protest. When she sent a Kyrgios serve into the net, she was unsure how hard to be on herself.
It was clear there was so much more on the line for her, and while Kyrgios didnโt go too hard too quickly, he also made sure he did just enough to win comfortably.
The Australian deployed his two weapons โ the serve and drop shot โ to get the job done, despite Sabalenka having a smaller court and both players only having a first serve.
Many of Kyrgiosโ balls that were called out would have been in if the court was equal on both sides.
Aryna Sabalenka reacts during her match against Nick Kyrgios.Credit: Getty Images
On match point, in what was a swift service game for Kyrios, Sabalenka looked up at the scoreboard. It was easy to see that the womenโs world no.1 wasnโt having fun any more.
Sabalenka managed to save one match point to make it 30-40, before Kyrgios decided to use that moment to take his novelty timeout. Sabalenka had used hers earlier in the match, and spent half the time doing the macarena.
Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka embrace at the end of the match.Credit: Getty Images
You have to wonder if at that moment, as Kyrgios was slowly drawing out the slaughter, Sabalenka regretted it at all.
When Kyrgios finally sealed victory, the two shared a hug at the net.
As Kyrgios lifted the trophy to Queenโs We are the Championโs, you could see even Kyrgios was questioning whether it was a good idea, as he tried to share victory and his trophy with Sabalenka.
But thatโs not how the Belarusian rolls. She either wins, or she doesnโt.
The question now is whether another womenโs star will take up the challenge of playing Kyrgios like King did all those years ago, and how much damage this match has done for womenโs tennis.
