BBC Hits Back Over Complaints That Wimbledon Commentary 'Favoured Novak Djokovic'
ATPThursday, 27 July 2023 at 00:00
The BBC revealed it has received complaints about its coverage of the 2023 Wimbledon final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
In the thrilling Wimbledon finale between 23-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic and 20-year-old Alcaraz, the match reached boiling point as the game entered its fifth set. At one point, the moment was too much for Djokovic as he trailed Alcaraz in the deep stages of the final set, leading the Serbian to smash his racket against the net post.
However, following the final, the BBC shared that some viewers had complained about how commentator Andrew Castle turned Djokovic's heated moment into a positive. But, the broadcasting organisation quickly responded with an official statement, stating that Castle's observations were fair and usual due to the context of the match.
"There was no intention to condone Djokovic’s behaviour when hitting the net post with his racket. Instead, 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”. We recognise how these comments came across to some however, and we’ve shared this with the programme team."
Moreover, the BBC also stated that it received further complaints about favoritism for Djokovic over Alcaraz. Again, the company hit back and supported Castle for his balanced approach to the commentary.
"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."
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