John McEnroe had to leave in the middle of the BBC’s Wimbledon broadcast (Image: BBC)
The BBC’s coverage of men’s semi-final day at Wimbledon descended into chaos as John McEnroe was forced to walk out mid-programme – and not for the first time. Earlier in the tournament, the retired American ace had to leave the BBC’s commentary box to go and call a match for American broadcasters.
And the same happened again while McEnroe was in the studio to debrief British wildcard Arthur Fery’s defeat to No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev. McEnroe sat alongside Clare Balding and fellow retired stars Andre Agassi and Tim Henman, but had to leave in the middle of the broadcast.
It wasn’t the only issue, as Agassi swore live on air while discussing seven-time former champion Novak Djokovic – something that wasn’t picked up by his fellow pundits or Balding. McEnroe was already running down the clock while Agassi was previewing Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner.
“I’d like to hear what his perspective is on the next match coming up,” McEnroe said, turning to Agassi. The eight-time Major champion replied: “I appreciate it John, normally you like giving your perspective!”
Agassi went on to discuss the Djokovic vs Sinner match-up and explained how the Serbian superstar could beat his young Italian rival. “I don’t know how much of an answer you want,” the 56-year-old told McEnroe, who was still hanging around.
“He’s got to go!” Clare Balding exclaimed, but McEnroe insisted: “No, no. I want to hear the end of this.” So Agassi continued his analysis, noting that Djokovic seemed to be keeping his cards close to his chest regarding any physical setbacks.
John McEnroe asked Andre Agassi for his insight on the second men’s semi-final (Image: BBC)
“I’ve also seen Novak do a lot of b****ing over his career about his body and certain situations, but you always feel like he’s thrown a bag of tricks at you. Now, I actually feel like he’s somewhat hiding some things that he’s feeling,” Agassi explained, though nobody picked up on the expletive.
“So when he’s down, behind in the point, somebody has a shot to take over, I see him doing a little bit more of that early guessing and he’s kind of choosing and picking wisely where he burns his fuel. All that is not going to play well in the long term.”
After Agassi had finally finished his analysis, McEnroe stood up, ready to walk out. And Balding wanted to make sure that he didn’t suddenly run across the studio. “Andre, good to see you, as always. Pleasure,” the seven-time Grand Slam champion said.
“John has got to go, and while you do, let’s have a look at what Zverev did so well against Fery,” Balding said, trying to move the conversation along. Agassi argued that McEnroe had asked for his insight on Djokovic vs Zverev, and the BBC presenter replied: “I know he did want the answer, but I’m just letting him go so he doesn’t walk right in front of the camera!”
McEnroe left the studio while replays of Zverev vs Fery were shown, and Agassi eventually headed to the commentary box for the second semi-final.
EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy