“Battle of the Sexes” rivals Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios opened their seasons on sharply different notes at the Brisbane International on Tuesday.
Sabalenka backed up her faith in the much-criticized exhibition by storming past Cristina Bucsa in straight sets, while Kyrgios’ long-awaited return fizzled immediately in a 6-3, 6-4 loss to American Aleksandar Kovacevic.
The world No. 1 needed just 48 minutes to dismantle Bucsa 6-0, 6-1 in the second round, ripping through the opener in 22 minutes and closing the match with equal ease. The emphatic win over the world No. 50 served as an early warning shot to her rivals ahead of the Australian Open, which begins Jan. 18.
Sabalenka said her sharp start to the season vindicated her decision to play the Dec. 28 exhibition in Dubai against the mercurial Kyrgios, insisting the match helped set the tone for her dominant return to competition.
“I mean, when you play against a guy, the intensity is completely different,” she said.
“Especially when there is Nick, who is drop-shotting every other shot, so you move a lot, so there was great fitness for me.
“And today I was like, whew, let’s move around, you know.”
Kyrgios is making a tentative comeback to the sport after an injury-ravaged three years saw him slip to No. 671 in the world.
In his first tour-level match since March, the former Wimbledon finalist showed glimpses of his talent but lacked consistency against the steady Kovacevic.
“I feel good and I’m going to be able to try and use it as a building block,” Kyrgios said.
“That’s my goal, obviously, and not just the Australian Open but this year, for whatever this year holds.
“I do want to continue to play as much as I can, and we’ll see.”
Sabalenka will next play either Jelena Ostapenko or Sorana Cirstea in the third round and remains on track to meet Madison Keys in the quarterfinals in a rematch of last year’s Australian Open final, won by the American.
Keys reached the Brisbane third round with a 6-4, 6-3 win over fellow American McCartney Kessler.
Like Sabalenka, Keys had a bye into the second round and said she found it difficult to settle early.
“I think it’s sometimes a little bit harder when the person you’re playing has already played a match, and then you’re kind of trying to still knock off a bit of the rust,” she said.
“I felt like it took a little bit to find my rhythm, but once I did, I settled in a little bit better.”
There was carnage among the men’s seeds, with second-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Tommy Paul (4) and Denis Shapovalov (5) all losing.
