'Netflix Curse' updated: Ons Jabeur latest victim to follow Taylor Fritz, Matteo Berrettini and others out of Australian Open 2023
Ons Jabeur has followed fellow Break Point documentary co-stars Taylor Fritz, Matteo Berrettini and Casper Ruud out of the 2023 Australian Open, in an extension of what has famously been dubbed the 'Netflix curse' on social media.
Break Point, a 10-part docuseries focussing on the lives of as many top professional tennis players in 2022, debuted on the streaming platform to largely mix responses from fans and critics alike.
Among those featured in the series, which follows one player's journey per episode, are top 10 stars Casper Ruud, Taylor Fritz and Maria Sakkari as well as the likes of Matteo Berrettini, Paula Badosa, Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis.
In an interesting turn of events, however, several players featured in the documentary have underperformed at the 2023 Australian Open -- the first Grand Slam to be held since its release.
While three players - Badosa, Kyrgios and fellow Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic - picked up injuries in the lead-up to the Slam that resulted in them withdrawing their names, a few others have suffered shock exits in the early stages of the tournament.
Matteo Berrettini was the first casualty of the lot, losing an epic first-round encounter against three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray. The Italian battled to level a two-set disadvatage in the marathon tussle, only to go and lose the match in a winner-takes-all super tiebreaker. Even his 31 aces could not help Berrettini sail over the line.
Casper Ruud was the next to fall as he went out in four sets against American youngster Jenson Brooksby in the second round in the second-biggest upset of the tournament ranking-wise.
Update: 5 out, 5 left
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World No. 9 and a member of the United Cup-winning American team Taylor Fritz has now become the latest chip to fall. He went down fighting against home hope Alexei Popyrin in front of an estatic Rod Laver Arena crowd in the second round.
The win marked the biggest victory of Popyrin's career, who had never beaten a top 10 player prior to this. For Fritz, meanwhile, it came as the second straight early exit at a Grand Slam, as he had also lost in the first round of the US Open four months ago.
Ons Jabeur, meanwhile, contested the final match of the day on Rod Laver Arena, taking on the unseeded Marketa Vondrousova. Despite taking the second set 7-5, it was a below par performance from the Tunisian on all fronts, as she only won two other games across the other two sets, falling 1-6, 7-5, 1-6 in miserable fashion.
Matteo Berrettini to slide in rankings, Taylor Fritz may keep Top-10 billing after Australian Open
The early loss at the Australian Open would have been even more disheartening for Matteo Berrettini, who was defending points from his semifinal showing at last year's tournament.
The Italian was ranked inside the top 20 at the start of the tournament with 2,490 ranking points, but the loss is set to take a toll on his position. He will drop 710 ranking points, and will at best be ranked at No. 21 by the end of the tournament.
With Taylor Fritz not having to defend too many ranking points at this year's Australian Open, however, the American may just retain his spot in the top 10 of the world rankings. He is currently ranked at No. 9 with 3,545 points and had a fourth-round exit at Melbourne Park last year.