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In a sense, its only fitting.
Expectations swell and swell and swell, only for us to watch the player slam face-first into a wall.
The resulting effect can be repetitive, but then again, such is the nature of sport.
(Though hes beenlooking mortal lately, crashing out early in this years Australian Open.)
Will their time ever come?
Maybe, maybe not.
For the women, defeat looms more dynamically.
Even the successes thataredocumented onscreen tend to feel a little painful.
Similarly, the fourth episode culminates with Ons Jabeurs victory at another precursor tournament, the Madrid Open.
One might wonder whyBreak Pointdoesnt spend much time on the major winners.
Still, theres something piercing and true about the bleak ignobility on display.
Unless you are Roger, Rafa, or Novak, thats a different story.
The rest of us, were going to lose more than we win.
But what about the more common but no less majestic experience of just being in the struggle?
Theres almost a zenlike quality to its portraits of failure: tennis as a divine slog.
Most who play will fail, but theres beauty in that.
Glory be to the losers.
