Fritz plays down Netflix curse at Australian Open: "I didn't know it was a thing, like I'm going to lose my first round because I'm in the Netflix show"

Taylor Fritz overcame some minor nerves in his first match at the Australian Open to reach the second round of the event with a win over Basilashvili.

The American looked comfortable in the match for the most part but lost as set midway through. The match also featured a break until the roof was closed due to extreme heat and that break actually gave Fritz a chance to regroup a bit and ultimately, it did him good. He spoke about it after the match:

“It gave me a chance to regroup a little bit. I came out, it’s the first match, first Slam of the year, it’s my first time being a Top 8 seed. I came out a little nervous but kind of regrouped. I felt like maybe closing the roof wasn’t the best for me because I wanted it to be a little bit faster on the court. I felt like it slowed everything down. I did a good job regrouping, just relaxing a bit and just playing a lot more solid.”

He was also asked about the 'Netlix curse' which is how tennis fans have called the odd thing going on at the event. All the players featured in the new show either withdrew or lost in the first round:

“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.”