US Open 2023: Maria Sakkari loses in first round, complains about smell of marijuana, weed, grand slam curse

The Sun reports the eighth seed lost to World No. 71 Rebeka Masarova in two sets after complaining about the smell of marijuana during the match.

Sakkari brought the odour to the umpire’s attention as she led 4-1 in the first set.

“The smell, oh my gosh,” she said. “I think it’s from the park.”

The Greek star eventually fell 6-4 6-4, crashing out in the first round of a grand slam tournament for the third time in a row.

But she didn’t want to use the foul smell as an excuse.

“It wasn’t the smell that affected the score in any way,” she said.

“It was just a comment because it was smelling quite a lot – but it has nothing to do with the match.

She added: “Sometimes you smell food, sometimes you smell cigarettes, sometimes you smell weed.

“I mean, it’s something we cannot control because we’re in an open space. There’s a park behind. People can do whatever they…