Netflix Documentary Break Point Useful tool to promote tennis, say featured players

World number four Casper Ruud would like to see Netflix’s tennis documentary series Break Point look more at the competition on the court, but Maria Sakkari was happy to have opened up on the show.

“Hopefully next season we’ll have a bit more actinon ground and maybe not so many other things,” said Ruud, whose run to the 2022 Roland-Garros final was featured in a episode.

Ruud said he made a conscious decision not to reveal too much of his personal life in front of the cameras.

But he said the show (Break Point) captured the ups and downs players face – including a defiant moment at Roland Garros when the field crew, fearing the rain, didn’t let him warm up before his semi-final.

“I was pretty angry,” he said. “They said it was supposed to rain, it wasn’t raining when we got to the court. It was kind of the hiccups and the argument going on.

“I don’t know if it was good or not, but Netflix was there to catch it all. I was getting more and more frustrated because they just refused us to play even though it wasn’t raining.

“I almost forgot it happened because it was a big week for me, a big tournament. I reached my first final at a Grand Slam, and that little hiccup wasn’t what I was looking for. was thinking, you know, when the show was gonna come out.

“But it was also kind of funny to see what can happen to us sometimes. It’s not always a smooth ride.”

He would have liked to see more of the tension he felt against two Scandinavian opponents, including his comeback from two sets to one in the third round against a Finnish opponent.

Greece’s Sakkari, whose run to the 2022 Indian Wells WTA Finals was covered in an episode, spoke about the struggles on the mental side of the game and said she thought it was right to open up.

“I just felt like if I do it, I want to do it the right way,” Sakkari said. “I don’t want to hide anything. I don’t want to pretend.”

She said the producers “have a kind of charisma or a way of making you feel, in a good way, like we’re friends, so you have a friendly conversation.

“Then once you get to know them a bit more, you open up and feel comfortable talking about your emotions and how you’re feeling on tour.

“I just didn’t feel like there was a reason for me to hide and not be transparent and honest about how I felt last year because it was very difficult. .

“I’m very happy that a lot of people actually liked it, and I got really good feedback.”

Upper profiles

Both Sakkari and Ruud said being on the show, which has been confirmed for another season, has raised their profile.

Ruud recalled a woman at a grocery store in Florida, where he was training last month, telling her that she and her husband had watched him the night before on the show.

“I wasn’t, overnight, a global superstar or anything, but I guess other people around the world have seen the show.

“It’s positive for us if more people know and are interested in tennis.”

Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime said he thought the impact was more noticeable in the United States.

“While going to dinner or to the grocery store, a lot more people recognize me and other players,” he said. “They say, ‘I just watched your episode and loved it.