NICK KYRGIOS lost in straight sets on his latest singles comeback at the Brisbane International, dealing a blow to his hopes of an Australian Open wild card.

The 30-year-old has played just six official singles matches in the last three years following surgeries on his wrist and knee, and his clash with American Aleksandar Kovacevic was his first since March.

Kyrgios has been a prominent figure on the exhibition circuit over the last month, not least with his victory over Aryna Sabalenka in their Battle of the Sexes clash in Dubai, but he could not replicate that on home soil, losing out 6-3 6-4.

Kyrgios admitted his physical struggles had dented his confidence, telling a press conference: “I thought I was the best player in the world.

“After you have these surgeries, I guess they kind of pull you down and it’s like you don’t have that belief anymore. It’s sad in a way, but that’s just the reality.

“I guess the people out there, they think that you just go under the knife and come back, you sit on the couch until he recovers and you throw him back out there and he’s the same player. That’s just not how it is.

“I’m still extremely happy with myself and proud of myself.”

Kyrgios, who is ranked down at 670, is still waiting to find out whether he will receive a wild card for the Australian Open which begins on January 18.

“This is a stepping stone,” he said. “As long as I feel good and I’m going to be able to try and use it as a building block, that’s my goal, obviously, and not just AO but this year, for whatever this year holds, I do want to continue to play as much as I can.”

Sabalenka shrugged off her defeat to Kyrgios and the criticism she received for taking part in the match by racing to the joint quickest victory of her career.

The world number one and defending Brisbane champion needed just 47 minutes to see off Spain’s Cristina Bucsa 6-0 6-1.

The controversy around the Battle of the Sexes continues to rankle, with Sabalenka saying: “What I’m sad about is that some people got it wrong, the whole idea of that event.

“I’m not even thinking about that exhibition. It was fun. It was a great challenge. I think we brought so many eyes on tennis. It wasn’t about proving something to anyone. It was about to show that tennis can be really huge.”

While Kyrgios is still waiting on an Australian Open wild card, 45-year-old Venus Williams has her place in the draw secured and she put up a good fight against Magda Linette in her first match outside North America for two-and-a-half years.

Williams eventually fell 6-4 4-6 6-2 against the fifth seed at the Auckland Open, saying: “It’s not always easy, but I’m happy with a lot of the things that I did today.”

Top seed Elina Svitolina made a winning return after taking a mental health break at the end of the last season, beating Varvara Gracheva 6-3 6-1.