Wimbledon

Agreed - I don't know if he has a regular gig with US TV or just pops up now and then but yes he's very good.

Problem is the BBC group of former players is very 80's/early 90's heavy - McEnroe, Becker, Navratilova, Cash, Austin, Lloyd, Castle(if you can call him a player), Durie, Croft, Sam Smith. 

Now some of them are better and more knowledgeable than others, usually linked to whether they regularly commentate or just turn up for Wimbledon/the other slams but they are increasingly out of touch with the modern game.

In the past the BBC has phased out older stars - the likes of Ann Jones & Virginia Wade have long gone even though they are still with us but the list of mid 90's onwards players is very short - Chanda Rubin (who's excellent), Davenport some years, Henman, Clijsters and well that's about it. But then the Becker/McEnroe level players of later decades don't seem as interested at hanging around the game as the older players do. It probably doesn't help that, since they understandably mostly hire people who have English as a first language, Britain & Australia weren't producing many top players over that period and even the US was having a bit of a lull outside a few big stars (Sampras, Agassi, the Williams) most of whom are unlikely to want to move into commentator roles.  

Pam Shriver used to do Wimbledon on BBC but I think she is ESPN now. Tracey Austin has been on it for years as she stopped playing when she was very young.

Ginny Wade did the analysis for years and so did Anne Jones but either stepped down or were phased out.

With the BBC covering all courts they must be using a lot more commentators and co-commentators unless they just go with one commentator.

The likes of McEnroe also double up on US TV.

Ironically one of the commentators is Oliver Reed's brother Simon who has done tennis commentary for years. The thought of Ollie at Wimbledon would have been interesting.

Put the telly on and watch Gauf, definition of tough.

Oh my Lord Webber! Goooooooo Gauff! 

Glad I'm not her poor mother!

I doubt he cares in the slightest - they are clearly both just doing it for a bit of fun! They are at the stage of their respective careers where they can basically do what they please, so the fact they are playing at all says a lot about how much both of them are simply enjoying playing.

The Gauff match was excellent theatre - turned it on when she was on the brink of defeat and then was hooked until the end! I suspect Halep will beat her on Monday but she should get another outing on Centre Court at least for her efforts today. And she's playing mixed doubles tomorrow!

Its a bit of a dull party unfortunately.

But I now cant call this match anything else!

I am also watching Dan Evans at the moment who is playing very well. It would be great to see him win and face Nadal in the next round. Jo Konta played a great match and lovely to see a Brit through to the 2nd week in the ladies draw

They do take requests from foreign broadcasters into account though the BBC usually want Murray on late as well.

In the mixed doubles case tonight it had to be late as Andy and Serena had already played a match today.

Such a shame for Dan to lose, what an epic 5 set match! He must have been so disappointed, I’ve never seen a player leave the court so quickly! Hopefully he can take away the positives and keep going with his climb up the rankings. It was interesting to hear during the commentary that he’d been invited by Roger Federer to train with him.

Coco; Oh No!

Konta, what a waste of space! Choker.

Exactly! I think Jo did really well getting as far as she did. Tennis can only have one winner who lifts the trophy but that does not take away from the achievements or hard work of everyone who plays.