Maria Sakkari, US Open’s Eighth Seed, Voices Displeasure Over ‘Weed’ Smoke Drifting from Crowd During Upset Loss; Spain’s Carballes Baena Shocks No. 4 Seed Holger Rune

The US Open, known for its lively spectators and close proximity to LaGuardia Airport, has introduced a new distraction for tennis players: the smell of marijuana.

Eighth-seeded Maria Sakkari was defeated by Spaniard Rebeka Masarova with a score of 6-4, 6-4. Sakkari later complained about the smell of marijuana during her loss.

‘The smell, oh my gosh,’ exclaimed Sakkari to the chair umpire in the first set. ‘It was weed.’

Although recreational use of marijuana has been legalized in New York State since 2022, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a smoke-free facility, meaning anyone caught smoking is subject to ejection. USTA spokespeople did not respond immediately to DailyMail.com’s request for further information.

Sakkari’s experience with second-hand smoke was not the only upset on the first day in Queens. Fourth-seeded Holger Rune also suffered an unexpected defeat.

Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena, ranked 63rd, defeated Rune 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, marking his first-ever victory against a top-10 player. Rune, a 20-year-old Dane, had previously reached the quarterfinals of the French Open and Wimbledon, propelling him into the top five.

On the women’s side, defending champion Iga Swiatek, ranked number one, swiftly defeated Swede Rebecca Peterson 6-0, 6-1 in just 58 minutes.

American Frances Tiafoe, the tenth seed, easily secured a victory against wild-card countryman Learner Tien with a score of 6-2, 7-5, 6-1. Tiafoe, a 25-year-old from Maryland, reached the semifinals of last year’s U.S. Open.

Dominic Thiem, the unseeded 2020 champion, defeated 25th-seeded Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan with a score of 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Thiem, an Austrian player who had previously lost seven consecutive Grand Slam matches since the 2021 Australian Open, will next face American Ben Shelton, who won against Argentine Pedro Cachin in four sets.

Upcoming matches include Coco Gauff on the women’s side and Novak Djokovic on the men’s side.

Teenager Coco Gauff from Florida will face Laura Siegemund of Germany, who previously won the women’s doubles title in New York three years ago. Gauff was the singles runner-up at the French Open and doubles runner-up in 2022.

The main stadium will host the 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, who will play against Alexandre Muller of France, making his U.S. Open debut. Djokovic missed the event last year due to travel restrictions as an unvaccinated foreign

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