Even before the start of this year’s Australian Open, three heroes of the first season of the series “Break Point” about the fate of tennis players in 2022 withdrew from the event. The Australians regretted that they would not see their representatives: Nick Kyrgios and Ajla Tomjlanovic in the tournament.
They lost with an injury
As our correspondent in Australia, Agnieszka Niedziałek, informed, Kyrgios has a problem with his left knee. – The problem is a meniscal cyst in the left knee. Nick has undergone various procedures and forms of treatment. The exhibition match against Djokovic was a test. The tennis player is now awaiting arthroscopy. A return to Indian Wells is very real,” said the Australian’s physiotherapist.
Paula Badosa also withdrew from the tournament. Last season wasn’t as successful for her as the Spaniard’s fans might have expected, but this year she seemed to be back in shape. Before Melbourne, she reached the semi-finals of the tournament in Adelaide.
The next heroes of Netflix’s production dropped out at the initial stages of the competition. On the second day of the event, Matteo Berrettini, 14th in the world, Wimbledon 2021 finalist, said goodbye to the tournament. 35-year-old Andy Murray (66th ATP) turned out to be better than him, who experienced another youth in Australia.
Favorites lose
The biggest surprise was the defeats of Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud in the second round. Both were listed among the candidates for the finals. The American was seeded in Melbourne with “eight”, and the Norwegian with “two”. Ruud proved last year that he is no longer just a clay specialist. In addition to the Roland Garros final (losing to Rafael Nadal), he also reached the final of the US Open, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz.
American Jenson Brookkby (39th ATP) was better than Ruud. In turn, Fritz was eliminated from the tournament by Alexei Popyrin (113th ATP), a representative of the hosts playing with a wild card. Another Australian, Thanasi Kokkinakis, was eliminated in the second round after losing to Murray. Kokkinakis also starred in the Netflix series.
Two heroes of “Break Point” said goodbye to the women’s ladder of the Australian Open. The vice-leader of the Ons Jabeur ranking lost unexpectedly in the second round to Marketa Vondrousova (86th WTA). Seeded number six Maria Sakkari couldn’t make it to China’s Lin Zhu (87th WTA).
There is only one hero left in the Australian Open – Felix Auger Aliassime. On Sunday, in the fourth round, the Canadian (7th ATP) will face the Czech Jiri Lehecka (71st ATP). Auger Aliassime came close to being knocked out of the tournament when he was already losing 2-0 in sets to Alex Molcan of Slovenia in the second round.
Journalists and fans have even coined the term “Netflix curse” for the poor performances of the characters from “Break Point” in Melbourne.
No Iga Świątek
Jokingly speaking, from this point of view, it may be good that Iga Świątek did not appear in the first season of the series. The leader of the ranking explained the reason for her absence in an interview with “Vogue”.
“Before I agreed to be on this show, I really thought about it a lot – almost five months! When I agreed to join, they had already started recording with other contestants. We started shooting after my final at Roland Garros, so quite late. Tennis is my first and most important priority, so my team and I wanted to make sure Netflix’s participation didn’t affect my athletic performance.
The creators of the series did not have the right to use Iga Świątek’s statements, but they could mention her in several places.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
