Break Point (2023–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - California Dreaming - full transcript

It's tough to be happy in tennis
because every single week everyone loses.

But one person.

You get used to losing.

It's pretty non-stop.

Minimum 30-something weeks
of the year traveling.

It kills you.

You just want to keep working,
keep improving.

And since all I'm thinking about
is just like...

doing absolutely everything
I possibly can do

to like deserve to belong
with these guys in the top ten.

I'm very excited for the next tournaments
because Indian Wells is going to be hot.



This is not working. Whoo!

Bye.

That winning feeling
is just the best feeling.

And the bigger the match
and the bigger the tournament,

the better that winning feeling is,
you know?

Let's settle into tennis Paradise.

It's Indian Wells.

Indian Wells is an iconic tournament.

Huge site in the middle of the desert.

It's a lot of wealth from the west coast
and celebrities and all that.

I'm gonna standardize the look.

There's much more money involved,
prestige and thrill.

The winner will net
over 1.2 million dollars.

It's a great tournament.
I just love to be there.



Excuse me. Can you...?

Who is this cat?

It's a pretty good litmus test
for the way the year might go.

It's probably the best tournament on tour.

One of the best moments of my career,
and it always will be like that.

Winning Indian Wells
can change entire careers.

It's a tournament that has always
been dominated by Grand Slam champions

The stars of the tour
are ready to battle it out

at a tournament known as the 5th Slam.

In the men's competition,

it's been 21 long years
since an American lifted the trophy.

Nadal!

And with Rafael Nadal

steaming through his most successful start

to the season ever,

2022 looks set to make it
another tough year

for homegrown talent.

- How you doing, Taylor?
- Good, how you doing?

I'm Taylor Fritz. I'm 24 years old.

I'm originally
from Rancho Santa Fe, California.

It's your home state tournament.
How special of a feeling is that?

It's so cool.

This is the one tournament
that choose to have big results at, so...

Um, it's just... It's so good.

Indian Wells is one of the most
important tournaments for me.

I came here as a kid.

My dad would take me.

Good shot.
Taylor, eighteen and a half months old.

My dad coached me pretty much
my whole life up until when I turned pro.

He worked me hard, and maybe at the time
I wasn't happy about it

and it caused, you know, friction with us.

But I know, in the end, he knew that
I'd be thankful for it all. And I am.

I remember one time we were
on center court and he said,

"You're going to win
this tournament one day."

You know, I want
to make my dad proud of me.

And also, I think in the US

we're used to always having someone
who's the best at everything.

Taylor, do you feel you can help get
tennis back to the level

when Agassi and Sampras
and everyone were playing?

I don't know
if I can get it back to that level.

But I can definitely, uh, just help.

Who is the best American male right now?

I mean, on paper, on ranking,
that would be me.

You're going to make me look
like a cocky asshole.

I've been moving up consistently
for the last couple years.

If you take Roger
and Rafa and Novak out of it,

I've beaten every other player.

But I've never won a major tournament.

This could be the year.
This is the year that I feel up for it.

When we started dating, I was ranked 24.

- Yeah.
- And then what was my low point?

- Forty one? Forty three, yeah.
- Forty two, forty three? Maybe.

It was hard to watch you
so stressed about your ranking,

but you also had a hard time
and would never talk to me about it.

But I knew how hard on yourself you were.

It's a process of top ten and top eight
and top five and top three and then, one.

You're on your way.

Taylor's really hard on himself sometimes,

but it's not
a super rewarding sport for most.

Who knows where I'd be right now

if we weren't together.

She's been with me
for the last two and a half years,

and they've been the best of my career.

We met on a dating app.

That's how everyone our age meets,
so I don't feel weird saying that anymore.

American Taylor Fritz at Indian Wells.

When we're at a tournament now,

she is trying to do whatever she can
to help me.

You know, I feel like, um,

what we've built is more like, uh,
almost like a team.

On the men's side,
Rafa might be the player to be,

but for the women
there's no clear favorite.

As world number one, Ash Barty,
stays away amid rumors of retirement.

Just who could take her place?

With Ash Barty's possible retirement,
it's a massive opportunity

for all the players here in Indian Wells.

I'm Maria Sakkari.

I'm from Greece.

And I want to, um,

I want to be number one in the world.

What's your worst fear?

Failure.

She's built like a Greek god.

She can run for days.

She can be more physical
than most players on tour.

She's one of the best players
in the world.

Maria... On the course she's so intense.

And then off the course
she's like the biggest teddy bear.

She's a true friend.

Maria hasn't won a big title.

And that has been the knock
on her career so far.

Hi, Mom.

- Would you like a coffee?
- Yes.

I'm excited to go.
It's just that I'm feeling a bit anxious.

I want to reach the finals.

You know that, Maria?

The most important thing
is to enjoy what you're doing.

Because if you're happy on court,
you'll perform better.

My mom was a professional tennis player.

She was the one who made tennis
in Greece an actual sport.

Maria has sacrificed
a lot from a young age.

Only her own demons or an injury

can keep her out from the tennis court.

Because tennis players
don't just lose to their opponents,

they lose to themselves.

This is big time.
This is Indian Wells.

Let's go. Let's fucking go.

Maria Sakkari!

Of course only half of these players

will move on after the first round.

Let's get into it.

Game. Frances Tiafoe.

Another straight set win.

Both men and women

are playing the best
of three sets to win the match.

It is stressful for all the seeds,
the opening round, just trying to get by.

Definitely nervous.

Incredible stuff.

Fritz moves on in the desert.

Her fans are happy.

Maria Sakkari is happy. She gets it done.

Come one, make
some noise everyone for Maria Sakkari.

It's hard for me even to put into words

how it feels when you hear
that game set match.

It's an addiction.

I'm sweating.

Gosh, I feel so good right now.

- I feel so good.
- Me, too.

Tom is probably
the youngest coach on the WTA Tour.

He's more than a coach to me.
He's my best friend.

There's a lot more to my job
than just time on the court.

I'm also talking to Maria
about her emotions, her psychology.

But at the end of the day,

the player is the one
that has to go out there and do it.

She has to believe in herself.

- Coffee time?
- Yes.

It's my sixth espresso today.

Do you think I'm the player
that drinks the most coffees on the tour?

- By far.
- I think it's a lot.

Okay, do you want to talk about the match?
Because it was quite good.

- Was it?
- I think so.

What do you think, honestly?

Even though
my tennis was not ten out of ten,

mentally,

I was eleven out of ten.

Mentally, you were fantastic.

I'm not trying to put you
into pressure to be perfect,

but you know, as the rounds go on,

you're playing really good players.

The margins are like that.

I want you to be disciplined.
In big moments, be disciplined.

I don't know. I feel like
I can trust myself and I do trust myself.

- Which is, I think, very good.
- That's good. You should trust yourself.

Maria's had a tough time.

She lost a few semis in a row.

In tennis, these things
weigh on your head.

And sometimes,
the closer you get to winning,

and then losing, it almost hurts more.

Here in Indian Wells,
the goal is to win the tournament.

Maria Sakkari.

That is outstanding.

I can be myself.
I can be Maria Sakkari.

Just doing what I love.

That ball goes long

and Maria Sakkari
is into the fourth round at Indian Wells.

Taylor Fritz is into
the Indian Wells quarterfinals.

He has had to work mighty hard.

And Maria Sakkari is
semifinal bound at Indian Wells.

When you're happy, you're enjoying
yourself and everything goes your way.

The American Taylor Fritz
moves himself a spot

in the semifinals at Indian Wells.

Can I get an omelet with bacon, ham,
and a little bit of cheese?

Yeah. Thank you.

No matter what your level is,

you're only as good as your mind lets you.

Your mind is what's going to drive

your ability to achieve
what you want to achieve on the court.

- What's up, Hollywood?
- What's up?

My name is Paul Annocone.

I've been fortunate enough
to coach a few of the all-time greats.

Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.

Now I've got the good fortune
of working with Taylor Fritz.

Good luck, Taylor.

Taylor Fritz
is one of the toughest,

most strong-willed players
I've ever been around.

That's probably his biggest asset.

It's also probably his biggest liability.

Semifinals Saturday
in Tennis Paradise. It's Indian Wells.

Taylor Fritz,
the last American in the draw.

The California boy.
He takes on Andrey Rublev.

To play even Nadal or Alcaraz.

Rublev.

He's on a 13-match win steak.

Maybe on paper I'm not the favorite.

But in my mind, I am.

He's from just
a couple of freeways away.

It's Taylor Fritz.

When I'm coaching Taylor Fritz,
I look at three categories.

Taylor Fritz to serve.

Physical talents is what you have.

The skill set.

The strength, the conditioning,
the mobility, the jumping.

A lot of that's God given.

And it is what it is.

Taylor Fritz.

Fritz. He's three games. Two down.

Good start. Good start.

The second category is the heart.

And that's the unconditional competing.

Can you play every point
like your life depends on it?

The first set
goes the way of the Californian.

He's hardly put
a foot wrong so far.

And then is the head.

The head is your ability to process

without letting the emotion overwhelm you.

Fritz.

Be careful there, Rublev.

Goodness me, my leg was hurting
just watching that.

Rublev. He just wants it so badly.

It's a passion.

Spills over into anger and rage.

Evidence of the frustration...

Fritz is still relaxed and he's only
a few points away from the final.

At the biggest moment
in your life...

It's only you.

It's dead silent.

Those three categories better be in line,
or else you're going to fail miserably.

Match point.

It is victory for Taylor Fritz.

He's done it in California.

What a special moment for the 24 year old.

He can hardly believe it.

It's the biggest final of his career.

I think Taylor was starting to believe,

"I can do this."

And he was starting to believe
that key component.

But still there are those times
when you have to grab him

when he comes off the match.

"That was terrible."
"I can't do this, I can't do that."

Good job, bro.

- Don't let him get...
- Proud of you. Good job.

- 2:30.
- Get on the bike.

I'll tell you...

2:30.

...playing someone who sat on the fence

and spun the shit out of the ball
for three hours,

made it impossible to hit a ball
for a set and a half.

Cool. Skip, jump on the bike.

All the decisions I made in the game

were actually the right decisions,
just bad execution.

We're not talking
about the result of the game,

we're just talking about the mindset.

And I'm saying, my mindset was good and...

Remember how you told me to tell you
when things aren't in a top-ten mentality?

- That isn't. I can promise you that.
- Okay.

We'll have to grab him
and say, "Taylor,

everybody comes up with great shots.

Everybody comes up
with head-scratchers that are bad."

That's life. That's tennis.

When you berate yourself
and don't stop and you get so uptight

and you beat the shit out of yourself,

it is really hard to the just focus
on the next point

and be clear, committed and confident.

You did a much better job
once you got composed.

You didn't play great today,
but you figured it out.

That's a sign of someone
who's going to win.

The methodology has to be
"Don't want it too bad."

Because self-imposed pressure is, to me,

the biggest catalyst to paralyze
your ability to maximize your talent.

I played, I think,
seven or eight semifinals last year.

And I was just struggling
because I could see the finish line

and then I wouldn't win the match.

My mind would go so far in a match
that I just couldn't close it out.

I was too excited.

I was nearly there.

But not there at the same time.

And there are a lot of losses
that hurt, even today,

like the one last year in Paris.

The chances of Maria Sakkari

have just ebbed away here.

Game, set, and match: Krejčíková.

Nothing
that Maria Sakkari could do today.

I lost that match
from being match point up.

I didn't know
how to handle that situation.

I couldn't sleep for three days.

I was just lying in bed
and trying to sleep,

but I was so nervous and so sad.

It was tough for me to handle.

And I told my coaches
that I want to retire from tennis.

And I retired for four days.

And then I was on a Greek island.

And I just called Tom and I said, "Okay,
when can we start practicing again?"

"Coming back from retirement."
That's how we've been calling it.

Paula versus Maria.

It's an incredibly
highly anticipated match.

Because these are two players
who have put themselves in the top ten,

had great starts to the season,
Paula's defending the title here.

I'm in a very good position.

I won the tournament last year.
I want to live that emotion again.

But when you play as a favorite,
it's tricky

because you're opening a place
with nothing to lose.

Ready. Play.

Bravo! Let's go!

Massive start here
from the Greek. Setting the tone.

She's playing brave,
but she's going after the ball.

Good play. It's a good play.

I'm in the zone.

Great job, Maria. Great job.

I've never seen her
hit the forehand that well.

Maria is playing lights-out tennis.

I just want Maria
to keep this mentality.

No way!

Game. Badosa.

She's going into that mode again.

Game. Badosa.

If she's starting to panic,

I'm the person she's going
to take out her frustration on.

I don't speak Greek, but she'll start
speaking in Greek it to me.

- She's asking if she's rushing.
- No, perfect.

Let's go, Maria.

I see her starting to glare at me.

Sakkari is starting to feel frustrated.

Oh-uh, this is not good.

Set. Badosa.

If she can get her head into a good place,
she could easily win this first set.

I need to try
and do something different

just to kind of maybe throw her off.

I remember standing up.

And Maria looked at me like,
"Why are you standing up?"

Set.

It just distracted her mind.

Come on, let's go! Let's go!

Keep the arm loose.
Keep the arm loose.

That is outstanding.

Point by point. Point by point.

Closing out these big matches.

It's sometimes been
so difficult for Sakkari.

Stay in the moment. Let's go.

Match point.

Sakkari serving for a place
in the biggest final of her career.

Few players deserve
moments like this more than Maria Sakkari.

Through to the biggest final
of her career.

An understandably emotional reaction

to a huge moment
against last year's winner.

Paula Badosa.

I couldn't defend the title.

I really wanted to feel the same emotions

I felt the last time.

She's a fighter.

Maria!

- Good job!
- Thank you.

I'm so proud of you, Maria.

All good. All good.

Some way
to serve it out as well, huh?

That was the best way
I've ever closed out a match.

That's it.
In Indian Wells, we have our final four.

Maria Sakkari will take on
the Grand Slam winning Iga Swiatek

and California kid, Taylor Fritz,
will face off against Rafael Nadal.

I play Rafa Nadal
in the finals of Indian Wells.

It's what you worked
your whole life to do.

I had only
played Rafa once before.

That would've been the other
biggest match of my life.

He got me pretty good.

Now it's different.

I can trust my game and play within myself

and not think I have to do
all this crazy stuff until I, you know,

think I have a chance at winning.

Good night.

One of the toughest things
about it

it's kind of convincing yourself
that you can beat this guy.

You can beat this guy that never gives up.

He literally comes back
from being down all the time.

Someone who's just going to fight
for every single point until the end.

Who's obviously been
in this situation a ton of times.

This is just another day for him.

It's the biggest match of my life.

P laying guys like Nadal,
you know... he can't get nervous.

He can't even afford to get nervous
for a second.

Um, he can't afford
to get, like, tight on a certain shot

because he's playing fucking Nadal.

It's crazy coming
to this tournament as a kid and then...

We were sitting here last night,
I was like, "I'm in the finals tomorrow."

I didn't even, you know...
It hasn't even fully, like, set in, so...

Uh...

I just got to kind take myself

out of that mindset and, you know,

I just came all this way so...

Just one more match to go.
I might as well win that last match.

Players will always want to get
a little bit of practice in

before their matches.

The practice the day of the match is
really the only time you're going to get

to work on the little details
that are going to make a difference.

Ouch!

Fuck.

- Where'd you feel it on, mate?
- That hurts so fucking bad.

A couple balls into the practice,

when I push off to move to the left,
it's the sharpest pain.

It's the right ankle.

Fuck.

It was just a sharp pain.

Like nine out of ten on the scale of...

It just hurt so bad.

I'm thinking like,

"That's it."

It's the biggest match of my life.

And I'm going to have to pull out.
I can't even play.

- We're sure you're going to do it.
- Yeah.

Finals day in Tennis Paradise.

PNB Paribas Open 2022.

I've achieved great things in tennis.

- Good luck tonight.
- Thank you.

I know that I can achieve
even better and bigger things.

Mentally I'm prepared to handle
the emotions going into a final.

Maria has a great run of form,

but Swiatek has played bigger finals.

She's played a Grand Slam final.

She's already won a WTA 1000.

And this is literally the biggest match
Maria has ever played in her life.

And back.

Good. Relax.

When serving, if you're with the wind,

you can use good kick serves,
it's going to bounce so high.

Against the wind,
I'd go more slice to bring it down.

Guys, this is sand in the air.

Yeah, I got it in my mouth.

For me, it's just a dream
coming true being here.

I can do it.

She comes to Indian Wells

at a career high ranking
of number six in the world.

From Greece, Maria Sakkari.

She's a Grand Slam champion.

She won Roland-Garros in 2020.

From Poland, Iga Swiatek.

Go, Maria. Let's go.

Long way to go, but...

What a start for the Greek.

Good job.

- Come on, let's go.
- Great job. Maria. Great job.

Sakkari leads. Two games to one.

Nice shot.

Nice shot.

Good legs there, Maria.

Game.

Swiatek.

Relax the arm.

Game. Swiatek.

Keep playing to the middle.
It's fine. You've got this.

- I went middle and she went on the line.
- Yeah?

- Fuck me!
- Keep making her go middle.

Keep going.

Keep trying.

Keep fighting for it.

Game and first set. Sakkari.

First set to Swiatek. Six-four.

I just want to cry.

But I was always a fighter.

That's what got me to where I am today.

Game. Swiatek.

Maria Sakkari needs to get back into it.

He just wouldn't rule her out.

Let's go. Let's go!

Maria has to fight for it.

Could be the greatest comeback ever.

Your heart starts beating faster.

She needs to stay strong mentally.

And then you struggle with your movement.

You struggle hitting the ball.

Play everything through
the middle of the court.

One more word
and I will break the racket.

It doesn't matter.
Every ball through the middle.

Advantage, Swiatek.

She's getting stuck.

What is happening to me?

Deuce.

Go to hell. Nothing goes in.

Dangerous territory here, Sakkari.

Anything we say now
is going to piss her off more.

When you want things so badly...

This is a mental capitulation.

...sometimes you just can't handle
the pressure.

It's like two little creatures
inside of me just fighting.

Championship point.

This is my final chance.

Game. Iga Swiatek.

Indian Wells has a new champion.

Congratulate you and may I present to you

your 2022 BNP Paribas Open
Women's Singles champion,

Iga Swiatek.

All the pressure I had
all these years... it just came out.

It was horrible.

I just want to cry.

It's embarrassing.

You're not yourself.

I was not the Maria I was
for the entire two weeks.

That emotional win against Paula
in the semifinals

just took away a lot of energy from me.

Even losing is part of the game.

We all learn

how to lose.

Unless you are

Roger, Rafa or Novak.

That's a different story.

The rest of us...

we're going to lose more than we win.

But we need to get
some extra strong stuff,

so the doctor is going to have
to prescribe it.

Yeah.

Anybody in there?

Is one of you gentlemen a doctor?

It's so painful.

- I know.
- That would be weird...

- It's deep in there.
- Yeah, painful.

So we can... Yeah.

Pain is like unmatched
to anything I've ever felt.

This is so fucking painful.

- More painful...
- Can you see where that bursa is?

The most pain I've experienced.

You may have a little fracture.
We're not... And then you...

You could cause more harm than good.

We could also just inject the bursa

and see if that takes away the pain.

Potential good versus potential harm.

If this is my son, playing this match...
What I do want him to do?

It's really hard for me to believe
that numbing it up is the right thing.

Anything I can do to just, like,
try to get on the court.

I'd much rather go out there and at least
try to play a game or two

than to just pull out
and not even take the court at all to try.

- You want to try, right?
- Yeah, of course.

This is good.

- I'll do whatever I can.
- Of course.

I've trained my whole life
for this moment.

If I pulled out,
I'd be thinking about this forever.

You can't see it, but you're hesitating.

This, to me, is a 60 percent showing
of what you can do.

Let me try. It's all I'm asking.
I'll pull the plug if it's not there.

You want to go out there
with 17,000 people...

- It's better than not going out there.
- No, not at all. Totally not.

I feel like I'm good enough right now
to give it a shot.

- Against him in this wind?
- Why the fuck not?

Would you be willing to walk on court,

play at 60 percent,
and then we get the diagnostics?

You made it worse and now you can't play
for maybe one or two months.

We're wasting time

because I need to get another injection
if I'm going to play.

Listening to Paul say

he cannot go out and play right now,

that is horrifying for me
because playing with a foot injury,

that could be career ending.

Do you know how many
of these I've rehabbed?

I've rehabbed 200 at least.

It will make it worse.

It will flare you up.

You will miss minimum one event,

possibly multiple events.

Everything we're doing is trying to be
in your best interest, you know that.

- I'm sorry I'm so stubborn.
- I know you're competitive.

I know I'm just fighting with you guys.

- That's what fucking makes you so good.
- I want to try.

I know.

It is finals day. Just two remain.

It promises to be such a great final,

but there's a lot of uncertainty
over Taylor Fritz.

Some injury concerns, in particular.

Nadal isn't without
his injury concerns either, is he?

Earlier in the week, it was the foot
was bothering him so much.

A southern
California native is through to the finals

it's American Taylor Fritz!

Come on, come on! Come on, Fritzy!

There hasn't been
an American champion

in Indian Wells since 2001.

That was Agassi.

A little bit of nerves is a good thing.

Two-time
Olympic gold medalist from Spain,

Rafael Nadal!

Rafa Nadal, looking
to make it 21 victories this season.

Undefeated this year.
Looking for a fourth title.

This is the biggest match
of Taylor Fritz's career.

And feels fit enough to start this match,
which is great news.

There's a difference
between "can play"

and feeling you can win the match.

But, if I pulled out,
it would bother me my whole life.

What a start.

I hope he's okay.

Holy shit. I can play.

First game. Fritz.

The way I feel right now,
I need to go for this.

Fantastic start for the American.

Good point there.

I'm playing Rafa.
I'm beating Rafa.

I have to stay in the moment.

I've got to fight it off.

- Come on!
- Game. Set. Fritz.

Good job, Taylor.

The twist
to this opening set is a set away

from becoming the Indian Wells champion.

I feel like I'm super close to winning.

Here we go. Come on.

For someone like Rafa
who is known to just come back

from these crazy matches.

He wins matches from a set down.

Brilliant from Nadal.

Amazing how Fritz got there.

How long do numbing shots last?

I don't know.

The more sliding he does,
the more he could irritate it.

Game. Nadal.

So, here we go.
Slightly different feel to this now.

Incredible reactions from Taylor Fritz.

How did he win that point?

This is your match.

You can win.

What a response!
Fritz threw everything at Nadal.

He's still found a way.

It's Rafa. I've got to accept
he's going to win some crazy Rafa points.

Game. Nadal. Second set. Tie break.

A tie break to settle the second set.

The first two of seven.

It's going to be a dog fight.

Levels things up
in this second set break up.

What a tie break this is.

Brilliant. He's got himself back in front.

Championship point.

Championship point.

He's against the wind, so it's not
going to come super-fast at me.

As long as I make my first serve,
he's going to play it a bit safer.

I'm nervous.

And I know that he knows that I'm nervous.

Maybe I can break the pattern
of what I'm doing.

Go for the shot
that he's going to expect least.

Go.

Taylor Fritz is the king in California.

He wins his very first
Masters 1000 trophy.

He ends Nadal's run.

It is the day he will remember
for the rest of his life.

Let's go!

Nothing in the whole world
can beat that feeling

of, like, winning.

The men's singles champion: Taylor Fritz.

Winning this tournament is just
one of those crazy childhood dreams

that you really never think's
going to happen so, thank you.

Taylor Fritz has arrived in the big time.

I've never seen my dad cry
from being happy.

He's so proud of me.

He told me I was going to win
this tournament when I was a kid.

For all the late nights and the long days
when we were on the tennis court.

We did it.

I won Indian Wells.

I've been dreaming all my life
to win this tournament.

My dream has always been considered
as one of the biggest on tour.

Being a favorite at your home tournament,

expectations are so much higher.

Paula Badosa.

Of course I feel
all that pressure.

Fuck.

Ons Jabeur, the trailblazer from Tunisia.

No cameras, please. No cameras.

I'm a dreamer.
My dream is to win a major title.

I need to help my wife.
Her dream is my dream.

People would say, "You cannot do it."

So I need to believe even more in myself.