Balls And Barker (Wimbledon)

Member Name: stoffy

Product:	Wimbledon
Date:	07/07/03 (192 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good varied coverage, excellent interactive option on digital

Disadvantages: too many commentators not worth their salt

Another year, another Wimbledon. Henmaniacs are spending another year pondering what might have been after a disappointing exit. Just as last year, the Williams sisters bagged just under a million pound between them by bludgeoning anyone who dared stand in their way. And Sue Barker once again managed to detract attention from her difficulties in pronouncing the name of anyone within a thousand miles of the Iron Curtain by looking radiant in a variety of pastel-coloured suits.

Like the Chelsea Flower Show, Big Brother and repeats of 'Murder She Wrote', you know it's summer when you hear the opening bars of Beeb's brassy Wimbledon theme music constantly playing on channels one and two.

With solid coverage from 12 until 8.30pm every day of the two weeks, it's also one of the most widely covered sporting events on television, wrecking the usual diet of daytime dramas and soaps. As well as BBC1 and BBC2, viewers on interactive have the privilege of being able to see up to 5 games at any one time, which means that the usually dodgy selection of match-ups that the Beeb choose to show as their lead game can be bypassed for something altogether more entertaining. In terms of depth of coverage, it really can't be faulted.

Sue Barker has been the anchorwoman for almost 10 years now. A former tennis pro and French Open winner, she never quite managed to play the final on Centre Court, although has certainly improved with age and deserves her role a Queen Bee at BBC Sport, despite the likes of Clare Balding and Hazel Irving snapping at her heels.

Apart from Cliff Richard's former beau, pretty much anyone who's ever worn a towelette headband was payrolled by the BBC to give their two cents this year. From the American twangs of John McEnroe and Tracy Austin to the plummy Middle-England tones of Virginia Wade and Sam Smith via the barely intelligible Eastern European accented Jana Novotna and Natasha Zverev
a, it seems that a career wrecked by a gammy hamstring is a more appropriate qualification for becoming BBC commentator than verbal dexterity. Whilst the quality was undoubtedly watered down as a result of having so many observers, at least it meant that there was a bit of variety and that we didn't have to listen to too many of Mac's anecdotes.

This year maybe lacked the fireworks of previous years on the court. Henman's exit left sent the men's singles, already by this stage lacking crowd-pleasers Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt, into an anti-climax that it never really recovered from. That said, 21-year old Roger Federer executed his three-dimensional game superbly in his final matches and was a deserved winner and a tonic for Swiss fans who are now missing Martina Hingis in the women's game.

The ladies singles also lacked a bit of sparkle as an apathetic crowd failed to get into the second consecutive all-Williams final. Serena was once again dominant and ensured that the treasured plate remained chez Williams for yet another year. Much attention was paid to Maria Sharapova, who has stolen Anna Kournikova's crown as tabloid-media favourite, although her defeat in the fourth round to her much superior countrywoman Svetlana Kuznetsova demonstrated that good T & A doesn't necessary get you game, set and match outside of the grubby red-tops.

Perhaps the highlight of all the finals was to see Martina Navratilova, at 46, win a record-equalling 20th title in the mixed doubles with her partner Leander Paes. When her opponent Anastacia Rodionova was born, Martina already had almost a decade's experience on the green lawns of SW19 and half a dozen titles under her belt. Inspiring stuff.

British players haemorrhaged out of the draw on the first few days once again, leading to yet more questions about why the British system has failed to produce a player of any note since Tim Henman. Still no answers
have been given, and the lack of success in the junior singles doesn't augur well for the near-future either.

Whilst it's unfair to criticise the Beeb for the on-court action, maybe they should have been a bit more cautious in allowing Greg Rusedski's four-letter outburst go out live and uncensored to a tea-time audience. It's not CD:UK, you know? The hawk-eye camera that was much-lauded prior to the tournament helped to settle to the 'did chalk fly up?' debate in an accurate way, but seemed a bit gimmicky.

Tennis is unusual in that it's a sport that is only ever been seen on the BBC on terrestrial television. Whereas most other sports have been switched back and forth between the 5 major players over the years, Wimbledon and its preceding grasscourt tournaments have been jewels in the crown of the channels repertoire. However, it does have some opposition in terms of Eurosport which covers action throughout the rest of the year. However, Eurosport's incessant ad breaks can make watching a game immensely frustrating, and some of the punditry can be frustratingly tiresome.

Inevitably anti-sports people are now relieved that the tournament is now over and can return to normal. However, I for one will miss the grunting, tears and temper-tantrums that have gone on over the last fourteen days. Roll on next year...

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