NEW YORK — Even whereas she was rolling on the courtroom, Maria Sakkari was bothered by the odor of one thing off it.

“It was weed,” Sakkari mentioned.

The No. 8 seed from Greece was eradicated from the U.S. Open within the first spherical Monday with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Rebeka Masarova, a match she appeared in command of till she talked about the odor towards the chair umpire throughout a changeover.

Sakkari was main 4-1 within the first set on Court 17 at that time.

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

Sakkari, a semifinalist on the U.S. Open two years in the past, mentioned the odor of marijuana didn’t have an effect on her whereas enjoying. She had practiced on the identical courtroom Sunday and already had seen it then.

PHOTOS: Marijuana odor bothers Maria Sakkari throughout her loss within the US Open's first spherical

“You don’t really think about it, because all you care is just to win the match,” Sakkari mentioned. “I smelled it, but that was it. Like, it wasn’t something that I paid attention to.”

Nick Kyrgios complained about smelling marijuana throughout a match final 12 months, saying afterward he's asthmatic and the odor most likely wasn’t good for him when he was working round.

But Sakkari mentioned it didn’t trigger any issues whereas competing in what grew to become her third straight first-round exit in a Grand Slam event.

“Sometimes you smell food, sometimes you smell cigarettes, sometimes you smell weed,” Sakkari mentioned. “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 want.”

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