Having said all that, and acknowledging Sabalenka would have most of the crowd on her side, Kyrgios did refer to a career CV which places him in a rare group of players to have beaten all of the so-called Big Four: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. He was only the second player to win his first meeting with Nadal (2014 Wimbledon), Federer (2015 Madrid) and Djokovic (2017 Acapulco)
“Look, I’m very confident,” he said. “I mean, look there’s been 16 people that have ever walked the earth that have beaten the Big Three and the Big Four.
“So I feel like, look, I’m quite confident but at the same time I’m very aware she’s dangerous.”
Despite a ranking of No. 652 because of his long time on the sidelines, the 30-year-old Australian was confident he’d be fit enough to play well in a month.
“I’m going to be ready,” he said. “I feel good about it.”
