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To Think Andrew Castle Ruins Wimbledon?

53 replies

EsmaCannonball · 08/07/2024 18:03

I know there's probably a thread on this every year but Wimbledon is one of the few sporting events I actually look forward to and there he is, squatting on all the big matches with his awful droning, flat voice, rambling on through all the points, drowning out the atmosphere with his endless, tedious Alan Partridge-esque asides, gifting us with his inane and insulting opinions.

He's the worst sports commentator ever. It's like being trapped at the bar of a mid-market wine lodge by a man who just has to bore you about every pothole and every temporary traffic light he encountered on the journey there. I've never encountered anyone who doesn't absolutely loathe him as a broadcaster and yet the BBC digs him up every year. I just know he'll be speaking over the men's final again. Can anyone explain why he is inflicted upon us?

OP posts:
LizzieW1969 · 08/07/2024 20:35

Also, what did he ever really achieve as a tennis player? The one thing I remember was him taking Matts Wilander to 5 sets before losing in 1986, in one of the early rounds. The media got ridiculously excited about him. Those were the days of the ‘plucky British loser’, when we used to get ridiculously excited by the performances of nearly men.

Other than that, I know he was the British number one for a time, in the days when that title didn’t really mean all that much (pre Henman and then obviously Murray).

So is it any wonder that he doesn’t have a whole lot to contribute really, unlike McEnroe, Pat Cash or even Henman?

EsmaCannonball · 08/07/2024 20:11

Yes, and he also spent about five minutes talking about golf!

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DollyBelle · 08/07/2024 20:07

Just watched the Zverev match and he gave chapter and verse of the recent court case. I’m not a huge fan of the player, but AC basically said that if we want to know more we can go and look it up!
While there is much controversy around this player, and I understand why, I don’t really want gossipy personal anecdotes in between key points.