The Australian Open 2022 has thrown classic causation versus correlation conundrum, after all the ten players who featured in the latest Netflix Docuseries, Break Point failed to reach beyond the fourth round in Melbourne. Whether these players lost because they were featured in the docuseries, or it was just a wild coincidence is something that will never be known. But it surely makes up for a spicy read.

When Felix Auger-Aliassime, a player featured in Break Point, was asked about the Netflix Curse, he said, “I don’t think it’s connected, anyhow.” A couple of days later, his words will come back to bite him, after his journey ended with a surprising defeat to a 21-year-old Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round.

If the main objective of Break Point was to hype up the next-gen players, who remain under the sprawling shadow of the Big Three – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic – safe to say it has failed big time. Many of them were favorites to make it to the deep end of the season’s first grand slam, but none of them could last for the second week in Melbourne.

Nick Kyrgios pulled out of the tournament after sustaining a knee injury, while his compatriot and old friend Thanasi Kokkinakis’ journey was cut short by Andy Murray, who battled out for over five hours to win the five-setter. Previously, Murray wiped
another Break Point star Matteo Berrettini in the first round of the competition.

Ajla Tomljanović, the top-ranked Australian, also withdrew her name because of injury, while the world number six Maria Sakkari’s campaign ended with a third-round defeat to Zhu Lin. Paula Badosa too suffered a fate similar to Kyrgios and Tomljanovic. The biggest upset of the tournament, however, came in the second round when Ons Jabeur
was knocked out by Marketa Vondrousova.

With Nadal getting knocked out early, Casper Ruud was the favorite to win his maiden grand slam, but he blew up in the second round against Jansen Brooksby. Taylor Fritz, the highest-ranked American in men’s tennis, also got pummelled by the homeboy
Alexei Popyrin. Netflix intends to release the next five episodes of the docuseries during the grass season. Players who are featured in the upcoming episodes must be worried about their fate in Wimbledon.