CNN
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And then there was none. Felix Auger-Aliassime’s fourth-round defeat at the Australian Open means none of the stars of Netflix’s new tennis documentary ‘Break Point’ have made it to week two in Melbourne.
Such a poor performance from the show’s stars led to talk of a “Netflix curse” as player after player crashed out of the tournament.
Canada’s Auger-Aliassime was last in line but the sixth seed lost 6-4 3-6 6-7 (2-7) 6-7 (3-7) to Czech outsider Jiri Lehecka.
The first five episodes of the documentary, which focuses on the next generation of tennis stars, aired earlier this month.
Its aim is to introduce the world to young talent in the sport, those who should emerge from the shadows of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic (and, at the time of filming, Roger Federer and Serena Williams as they had not yet retired ) .
Maria Sakkari, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Matteo Berrettini, Ons Jabeur, Thanasi Kokkinakis were all eliminated from the first grand slam of the year – which started on January 16 – while Nick Kyrgios, Ajla Tomljanovic and Paula Badosa withdrew before the start of the tournament due to injuries.
This means that none of the players on the show, who have all been in the world top 10 at some point in their careers, have reached the quarter-finals.
Speaking earlier this week, Auger-Aliassime laughed as he talked about a so-called curse.
“I found it funny,” he told reporters. “I don’t know; I don’t think it’s related.
“Maybe the players who lost maybe feel like it’s connected, somehow. I don’t think they do. I don’t think it’s related, anyway. It’s funny how things work out sometimes.
The “NetflixCurse” hashtag is trending on Twitter, with many users writing that “the Netflix curse is now over” following the release of The Canadian.
Earlier this week Netflix’s UK and Irish Twitter account tweeted: “To clarify: this is purely a coincidence,” in response to a tweet about the so-called curse.
