Greece’s Maria Sakkari says staring in tennis’ first Netflix series has only brought her good luck after some of her co-stars experienced misfortune at this year’s Australian Open.
The world No.6 is among a series of players to star in the Break Point series that documented their life on the Tour during the last season. Among those who feature in the programme were Ajla Tomlajanovic, Paula Badosa and Nick Kyrgios who all had to pull out of the first Grand Slam of 2023 due to injury. Meanwhile, Matteo Berrettini, who was also filmed, lost in the first round to Andy Murray in a five-set thriller. The unfortunate outcome involving four of the players involved in the show has led to some fans on social media describing the situation as the ‘Netflix curse.’
However, Sakkari has a somewhat different perspective on the matter. The Greek sealed her place in the third round at Melbourne Park on Wednesday by edging out Russian teenager Diana Shnaider 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, in what was a roller-coaster match that lasted more than two-and-a-half hours.
“Netflix curse? I have never heard that,” Sakkari said during her press conference.
“I mean, the only one (loss) that I can think of is Matteo, but Matteo lost his match 7-6 on the fifth set. I have to say that they (the Break Point production team) only bring us luck and I enjoyed my time with them because they are nice people.’
“If you let these thoughts and this energy affect you, then it’s when bad luck comes. Obviously some tournaments I play badly because I play bad. It’s not because of them.”
Sakkari wasn’t the only person not to be aware of the so-called Netflix Curse. Taylor Fritz, who also features in the show, was quizzed about the theory following his win on Tuesday.
“Actually, I didn’t know that was a [thing],” Fritz said during his press conference. “Obviously I noticed the people pulling out of the tournament, but I didn’t know it was a thing, like, I’m going to lose my first round because I’m in the Netflix show. I didn’t think of that.”
Break Point was inspired by the highly successful Drive To Survive series which documents life on the F1 circuit. That programme proved to be an award-winning hit and helped generate interest in the sport from new fans, according to data. It is hoped that a similar effect will happen to tennis.
Besides talk of curses in tennis, Sakkari’s focus now switches to her upcoming clash with China’s Zhu Lin who dropped only four games in her second round win over 32nd seed Jill Teichmann, winning 6-2, 6-2. It is the first time in Lin’s career she has won back-to-back matches at a major tournament.
“I know that I haven’t been playing my best tennis yet, but it’s better to keep improving and keep the good part for the later stages of the tournament,” Sakkari evaluated of her current form.
The third round match between Sakkari and Lin will take place on Friday.
