2 days Ago By Jim White
No one can have been surprised when Nick Kyrgios was announced as a member of the BBC commentary team for this year’s Wimbledon . After all, anyone who has ever seen him in action will know he has been auditioning for the role throughout his career. His on-court appearances have invariably been soundtracked by a constant gurning churn of mutterings, invariably involving some complicated conspiracy of which he was the central victim.
He has railed against umpires, against his own coaches, against anyone in the crowd who had enjoyed a touch too much of the local hospitality. This is a tennis player who simply could not shut up. Nick Kyrgios and John McEnroe at Wimbledon ahead of the 2024 tournament.
Credit: Getty Images So it came as a considerable surprise that, now charged with providing some legitimate commentary, the 29-year-old professional Aussie bad boy proved to be quiet, thoughtful, deferential, the unostentatious opposite of his on-court demeanour. Less the serial narcissist, more the seasoned observer. And one entirely on message.
Asked early on in his first engagement commentating on Carlos Alcaraz’s opening match, if he would rather win Wimbledon or the Australian Open, he appeared to have been scripted by the All England Club PR department. “A hundred per cent Wimbledon,” he said. “Wimbledon is the greatest tennis event ever.
If you win here you are tennis royalty forever.” Not that he ever has. But then, as was evident by Tim Henman, sitting alongside.
