I say read, I actually listened to it as an audiobook while training for a half-marathon, and it was just as good. But I now realised it could have been 100 times better: because it wasn’t read by Agassi himself.
It suggests he arrived in SW19 for finals weekend and a deal was quickly done to get him into a commentary booth – and it was easy to remember why.
But it is not the accent that draws you in, it is the texture to Agassi’s voice. There is a hint of smoke, a trace of gravel and a satisfying timbre to his voice that makes you think he’d make reading out the phone book compelling.
Nostradamian analysis
As laidback as Agassi sounds though, he is not just aimlessly shooting the shit at a bar. Despite not working in tennis full-time since coaching Novak Djokovic in 2018, the American still has an incredible ability to read the game.
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Fritz promptly misses a first serve, and Agassi sounds the charge.
Alcaraz promptly does, catching Fritz on the baseline with a deep return at his feet, winning the point.
It’s Tony Romo-esque stuff. When the Dallas Cowboys quarterback retired, he was quickly ushered into the commentary box, and for the first year, listening to him commentate on American football was like being in the huddle itself, so often did he exactly call what was going to happen. It didn’t feel legal.
You compare that to Andrew Castle, who along with Tim Henman kept Agassi company in the box. Castle retired in 1992 and had a career-high ranking of No 80 in the world. He is an experienced “safe pair of hands” in a commentary box for the BBC – and it is important to pitch Wimbledon coverage to fans who only watch tennis once a year.
Agassi was a surprise arrival in the BBC commentary box (Photo: Getty)
“He was going to leave that ball, I think!” Castle cried in disbelief when Alcaraz made yet another implausible drop volley.
Castle realised. “Oh! You’re right!”
‘Mad as box of frogs’
And when Agassi isn’t predicting the future or explaining greatness, he’s turning out phrases that might be meat and drink to a Las Vegas club pro, but provide welcome respite from the Home Counties charm of Henman and Castle.
“A clunker” is how Agassi described one of Alcaraz’s signature drops in concentration. After another amazing stretch volley, he added: “For those of you at home, Alcaraz is only 6ft tall – but he covers the court like an octopus.” On Fritz’s up and down form, he came out with the pithy observation that “the most under-rated weapon in tennis is short-term memory loss”.
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Castle and Henman thought so too, begging him to come back for the final. He promised he would be trying to get a seat on court, but would have to think about whether one in the commentary box would be comfortable.
Viewers will desperately hope he says yes.
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