Andre Agassi slammed the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage, claiming people are “watching for tennis” and not the members of the Royal Box during the semi-final clash between Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz. The pair were meeting in the first of the gentlemen’s singles matches on a scorching Friday afternoon at Wimbledon.
Alcaraz got off to a typically strong start, taking the first set 6-4, but Fritz, aiming to reach just his second Grand Slam final, fought back. The 27-year-old edged the second set, beating Alcaraz 7-5.
But the tiff came during a break between sets two and three, with the camera operators on Centre Court opting to pick out a selection of famous faces in the Royal Box. Andrew Castle, who was leading the BBC‘s coverage, accompanied the shots by explaining who each person was – something Agassi wasn’t best pleased with.
Speaking as a co-commentator for the BBC, Agassi said: “I can’t keep up with all of this.” To which Castle jokingly replied: “Let’s test you. This is Andre Agassi and this is guess the Royal Box member. Let’s go and find someone else.”
Having none of it, Agassi continued on his rant, adding: “No, don’t torture me. Let me finish my point,” before returning the conversation to tennis with analysis of Fritz’s serve.
The back and forth continued thereafter, with Castle saying, tongue in cheek: “That’s brilliant. Well there’s Nick Clegg, our former prime minister.” By which point the American tennis star’s patience had disappeared, as Agassi said: “People are watching for tennis, not for this.”
An invitation to the Royal Box doesn’t come easily, with spaces often reserved for the rich and famous. Those lucky enough to be asked don’t have to pay for a ticket and are given lunch before play starts, followed by tea and drinks at the close of play.
Members of the British royal family are often handed invites, as are politicians and popular culture figures, such as music stars and sportspeople. The Royal Box holds 74 people and was originally installed all the way back in 1922, when the southern stand at Centre Court was built.
For Friday’s semi-final, actors Rami Malik and Benedict Cumberbatch were invited, along with Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. Elsewhere, Anna Wintour and Tom Ford were also in attendance, as was Bjorn Borg, a winner of five Wimbledon singles titles.