Dan Evans has criticized new tennis documentary on Netflix by slamming the ‘predictable’ cast and saying much of the footage is ‘produced’ by the likes of Stefanos Tsitspas and his ‘tennis dad’ coach
- Dan Evans slams new Netflix tennis documentary ‘Break Point’ and its cast
- Claims that the featured players are ‘predictable’ and that the show is ‘made up’
- The series focuses on younger sports players and will air next month
- The sport hopes to gain the same kind of success as Drive to Survive had for F1
Dan Evans has hit out at new Netflix tennis documentary Break Point by criticizing its cast for ‘acting’ and saying ‘It’s not for me’.
The new Drive To Survive-style series is set to hit the streaming network on January 13, but instead of focusing on the game’s leading lights like Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the documentary follows the games’ younger stars and features Stefanos Tsitsipas, Taylor Fritz and Paula Badosa.
However, Evans criticized the series by calling it ‘predictable’ and saying it would introduce characters that fans would not be interested in watching, such as the ‘tennis Dad’. A reference to Tsitsipas’ father, Apostolos, who taught him.
Dan Evans won’t watch Netflix’s new tennis documentary and says its cast is too predictable
‘You can pick who they pick,’ the world No 27 told The Times ahead of this week’s Battle of the Brits tournament.
‘It’s very predictable. ‘You want to hear what Rafa had to say when he had to leave Wimbledon. We need to listen to Tsitsipas and a tennis dad. There’s always a tennis dad out there, right?’
The series follows the players from last year’s Australian Open to the French Open, but the British number two won’t be able to watch it, as he believes everything is scripted.
‘It’s not for me. It all works, you can see it. Let’s go.’
Stefanos Tsitsipas and his ‘tennis dad’ are just two of the people who will be featured in the new series
Evans believes the documentary should include heavy hitters like Rafael Nadal (right)
The first teaser trailer for the series was released last week and as well as Tsitsipas, Fritz and Badosa, the documentary also features Felix Auger-Aliassime, Matteo Berrettini, Ons Jabeur, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Nick Kyrgios, Casper Ruud, Aryna Sabalenka, Maria Sakkari , Sloane Stephens, Iga Swiatek, Frances Tiafoe and Ajla Tomljanovic.
The sport expects the show to be a similar success to Drive to Survive, which centers on F1. According to a report published by Nielsen Sports in March last year, 77% of F1’s annual growth was driven by those aged 16-35, something attributed to the popularity of Drive to Survive.
The 32-year-old believes there should be a more straightforward approach to tennis and earlier this year spoke out against Leon Smith after his Davis Cup call to drop him from the doubles match in favor of Joe Salisbury.
Evans is now set to take on Salisbury in Aberdeen this week to take on the Scotland side led by Andy and Jamie Muarry, but insists there are no hard feelings.
Addition: “It’s not personal,” Evans said. “If someone told me to go to court I would not refuse. Not his [Salisbury’s] decision not to put himself in court. He was told to go to court and it would be strange if he thought he wasn’t the best person to do the job. He is a competitor. That’s what he has to do, to compete.’
Evans will be part of the Battle of the Brits tournament taking place in Aberdeen this month
