That small moment tells you everything you need to know about the man Netflix is banking on to bring big numbers to its latest sports documentary. Is Kyrgios - to quote Monty Python - really the messiah or just a very naughty boy?
It’s a question the series tries to answer in episode one,The Maverick (sadly,no mention of Goose),as it attempts to use Kyrgios as its drawcard.Break Point is trying to replicate the success of Formula One hitDrive to Survive,which managed to turn a group of overpaid racing car drivers intomust-watch TV. Heck,it even made you feel sorry for some of them,as they crashed cars,hiked mountains and reflected on the end of multimillion-dollar racing contracts from the privacy of their Norwegian sauna retreat.
Kyrgios,though,is a different beast. Those Formula 1 drivers aren’t exactly personality plus - the real appeal inDrive to Survive comes from the alpha dog team principals (#totowolff4eva) - but Kyrgios is all personality and then some. He’s well aware of this,of course,tweeting at the end of last year:“Haha so after all this,all the media,journalism saying how bad I am for the sport,disrespecting the game&just a pure villain,I am going to be the number 1 episode on Netflix … to grow our fan base,basically trying to put tennis on the map again.”
He’s right - that’s exactly what tennis is hoping for:a new generation of fans captivated by these young guns jostling to take their place among the sports’ greats. But what if this new generation isn’t quite as captivating as its members think they are? Talented. Yes. Good-looking and marketable? Yes. But are they Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal? Nope. Or even,gulp,Novak Djokovic? Thankfully,no.
And that’s the main problem withBreak Point. Early on,the producers said the big three on the men’s side - Federer,Nadal and Djokovic - would not be featured. And it’s true,they are not. They are not interviewed by Netflix or followed,but they hauntBreak Point like the Ghosts of Tennis Past. Forever on the edges,reminding you of what’s lost as you wonder about the future.