26 July 2023 , 15:20
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The BBC have responded to criticism of their coverage of the Wimbledon Men's final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
The final on Centre Court was one for the ages, as the two best players on earth went toe to toe in a five-set thriller. Alcaraz was the eventual winner, lifting his first title in SW19 and ending Djokovic’s dominance of the event in the process.
During the final set of the blockbuster showpiece, Djokovic was given a code violation for smashing his racket against the net - denting a pole in the process. The capacity crowd loudly booed the incident inside the stadium, while the watching nation similarly condemned his actions.
However, there were a portion of viewers clearly perturbed by the way the incident was analysed by the BBC commentary team. The corporation have confirmed they have received complaints following the broadcast, with an assertion that the likes of lead commentator, Andrew Castle, condoned his actions.
Castle said live on air that it was "understandable how upset Djokovic would be" after being broken in the deciding set, leading to viewers reaching out to make their feelings known. But in a statement via they have argued that it was made clear the Serb’s actions were rightly punished.
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The statement from the BBC reads: "We’ve received complaints from people who felt our commentary favoured Novak Djokovic and/or condoned his behaviour after hitting the net post with his racket.”
Novak Djokovic was fined and given a code violation for the incident (BBC)“While Andrew Castle highlighted that Djokovic’s anger and frustration was 'understandable' at such a crucial point in the match, it was also made clear that this behaviour is wrong, and that Djokovic rightly received a conduct violation for it.
"Andrew also highlighted that such behaviour can be dangerous, looking back at a similar instance with Djokovic, stating; 'Disqualified at the US Open in 2020 after unintentionally hitting a line judge. That was a dangerous moment for a lot of reasons'.
It adds: "We recognise how these comments came across to some, however, and we’ve shared this with the programme team.
"Throughout the final, our team shared their analysis and praise for both players. They praised Alcaraz for such performances at such a young age, for the variety in his game, and Andrew did include particular praise of Alcaraz’s game too."
Nick Kyrgios slammed the BBC's Andrew Castle (Getty Images)Castle has been a mainstay of BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon, and along with the likes of Tim Henman and John McEnroe, he is regularly given the high-profile matches. For the 2023 final, he was alongside Henman and former Wimbledon semi-finalist Todd Woobridge.
One very notable complaint of the commentary came from last year’s finalists Nick Kyrgios. The outspoken Aussie, who missed this year’s tournament through injury, gave his own scathing verdict during the Alcaraz vs Djokovic classic.
"Whoever is the clown next to Woodbridge in that commentator box needs to just not speak -spoiling the match big time,” he tweeted.