Tennis players can be particularly superstitious, so it does not bode well that there is one thing that links a whole bunch of withdrawals and upsets from this year's Australian Open.

In a continuation of what has famously been dubbed the 'Netflix curse' on social media, Taylor Fritz followed fellow 'Break Point' documentary co-stars Matteo Berrettini and Casper Ruud out of the 2023 Australian Open yesterday.

In the women's draw, Tunisian star Ons Jabeur, the second seed, dropped out in the second round as well after being featured in the same series, which follows emerging stars behind the scenes as the sport moves on from a golden era.

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.

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.

Matteo Berrettini was the first casualty of those who played, losing an epic first-round tie against three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray.

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.

American Taylor Fritz had rubbished suggestions of a curse after beating Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round, saying: "I noticed people pulling out of the tournament, but I didn't know it was a thing. I'm not going to lose my first-round match because I'm in the Netflix show."

He was right, but unfortunately, the world No. 9 became the latest chip to fall yesterday, going down against home hope Alexei Popyrin in front of an estatic Rod Laver Arena crowd in the second round.