sabalenka

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — The Battle of the Sexes exhibition was a bit of fun for Aryna Sabalenka and a showdown she regarded as good preparation for the Australian Open.

In her first match since playing Nick Kyrgios in Dubai last month, No. 1-ranked Sabalenka overwhelmed No. 50 Cristina Bucsa 6-0, 6-1 on Tuesday to start her title defence at the Brisbane International. The aim was to lay down a marker ahead of a potential quarterfinal against Madison Keys, who beat Cartney Kessler 6-4, 6-3.

The exhibition attracted some criticism but also, at least as far as Sabalenka was concerned, a lot of positive attention.

“It was fun. It was a great challenge. I think we brought so many eyes on tennis,” she said. “What I’m sad about is that some people got it wrong, the whole idea of that event. And I don’t care.

“I feel like there’s always going to be people who don’t like you, don’t respect you, don’t support you, but there’s so many people who support me, who really cheer me on and who find inspiration in me. I’m focusing on that part.”

Sabalenka’s focus now is getting back onto a winning roll in Australia. She won back-to-back Australian Opens in 2023 and ’24 and was on a 20-match winning streak at Melbourne Park until a loss in last year’s final to Keys.

Sabalenka said the exhibition with Kyrgios has helped her. “When you play against the guys, the intensity is completely different, especially when there is Nick who is like drop-shotting every other shot, so you move a lot. So there was a great, great fitness for me.”

It wasn’t so great for the often-injured Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist and former Brisbane International winner who lost to No. 58 Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 6-4 in his first ATP match since March.

He’s been restricted to just six matches in the last three years because of knee and wrist surgeries.

The mercurial Australian has been playing exhibitions in an effort to get back into touch and if he doesn’t get a wild card for the Australian Open, he’s planning on entering qualifying.

It was a day for fit-again players returning to court.

Grigor Dimitrov beat Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-2 in his first match since October and just the second since Wimbledon, where he had to retire with a pectoral injury while leading Jannik Sinner by two sets in the fourth round.

“I am just grateful,” Dimitrov said. “My body had so much to go through, but just to be able to compete again today it is already a success and winning is just an added bonus.”

Fourth-seeded Tommy Paul was beaten 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (6) by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in his first match since the U.S. Open in August. Mpetshi Perricard’s serve was typically big and he fired 24 aces.

Other seeds losing were Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 7-6 (4), 6-4 to Brandon Nakashima, and fifth-seeded Denis Shapovalov, 6-4, 6-2 to Raphael Collignon.

Seventh-seeded Cameron Norrie saved three match points in the second-set tiebreak in a 1-6, 7-6 (6), 7-5 win over Ugo Humbert.

For women’s No. 7 Keys, preparation for an attempted Australian Open title defence will go via Brisbane and then Adelaide, where she won last year to kickstart her run to a first Grand Slam title.

“Last year was a dream come true,” Keys said. “I would obviously love a repeat of last year. That is always the goal.”