28-year-old Maria Sakkari is a prominent name amongst the professional tennis players. Ranked as high as ?World No. 3? by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Sakkari has been making attempts since 2015 to build up her reputation and leave a permanent mark on her sport.

Having recently faced defeat during a highly coveted tournament, Sakkari?s unusual claim made in the aftermath has caught the attention of an NBA legend.

2004 NBA MVP highlights Maria Sakkari’s ‘weed’ comment online

?drgrayfang?, an Instagram account with over 2.2 Million followers, recently uploaded a post. Featuring a picture of Greek Tennis player Maria Sakkari, it highlighted the player?s complaint about ?a strong weed smell? being emitted during her match at the U.S. Open. During her match against Rebeka Masarova, Sakkari claimed to have felt the smell when she was leading 4-1 in the first set of the game.

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

The player claimed to have felt the same odour during a practice session prior to the match. While it didn?t affect her ability to perform on the tennis court, it may have caused some level of hindrance or distraction.

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The post caught the attention of former Boston Celtics player Kevin Garnett. Being an ardent social media user, he shared it on his Instagram story with his 1 Million followers.

The 47-year-old also attached a laughing emoji to the story, highlighting his reaction to the reportedly bizarre claim made by Sakkari.

Maria Sakkari expresses her wish to take a break

Maria Sakkari?s ?Marijuana? rant comes only hours after the player made her third straight first-round exit in a Grand Slam tournament. While she had a good start, she couldn?t match the prowess of her opponent. She was eventually defeated through a 6-4, 6-4 score in favor of the Spanish world No. 71 player, Masarova.

During a post-game press conference, the tennis player could be seen trying her best to hold back tears. The effort was of no avail and she was left inconsolable by the end.

?These are the matches that I have to win. I cannot lose these matches; there have been too many for my level this year, and it?s unfortunate,? Sakkari said during a discussion with Eurosport.

The 2019 WTA title holder also expressed her wish to leave her troubles temporarily behind by considering to take a break.

?It?s very uncertain, I don?t know what I am going to do, whether I am going to take a break or not.?

The following tournament may not have gone as expected for the player. Tennis fans hope that she continues to keep the faith and not give up during the prime of her career.

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