McEnroe gives the BBC new balls

Times, they are a changing. Where once the BBC fostered an institutionalised format to their coverage of the Wimbledon fortnight, a staid, predictable, reverential treatment of the tournament and the All England club, it has been supplanted by a more modern approach.

The mellifluous tones of the late Dan Maskell inspire pleasant memories for many avid fans. Finding a replacement had been difficult, until an inspired executive at the Beeb courted John Patrick McEnroe and persuaded the former tennis legend to join Auntie's ranks for the fortnight.

The trendy musical backbeat that accompanies snippets of action, the more diverse commentary styles manifest in the presence of former champions like Jana Novotna and Pat Cash behind the microphone and a more whimsical and less awed attitude to the championships illustrate the change in the BBC's mindset.

However, McEnroe's presence in the commentary box is the most important aspect of the new format. The brash, straight-talking New Yorker could not offer a greater contrast with the Maskell era, yet for the younger legion of fans and those slightly older who recall McEnroe's playing days, it is his voice that has increased the entertainment quotient.

It is ironic that a man who in his playing days forced the BBC to closely monitor all courtside microphones, fingers poised over the bleep button fearing the stream of expletives that would scandalise a nation, is now the golden voice of the network's tennis coverage.

McEnroe's attitude has matured over the years from the rebellious, sullen, perfectionist who relished a tilt at authority, be it line judge or umpire right up to those who controlled the game. While the baggage of his playing days is firmly behind him, he has retained a forthright manner of expression that elevates his commentary above those with whom he shares a microphone.

His knowledge, insight, humour and candour offer a compelling package. He avoids clichΘs, and doesn't seek refuge in tennis speak, because his assessments are blunt. A shot isn't poor, it's crap. A player isn't having an off day; he's playing like a lemon.

McEnroe speaks his mind and if it's not PC then fine; it doesn't stop him from saying it.

Unfortunately for the BBC the quality of the American's commentary serves to highlight the banality of others. On Saturday, prior to the start of play, Sue Barker, Pam Shriver and John Lloyd sat in the studio chewing the fat over that's days playing schedule and looking back at the action of the first week. It was dreadfully tedious and superficial.

A certain partiality towards British players is accepted, but Barker's and Lloyd's reluctance to allow the discussion to stay from the Brits for long was irritating. There were no British players in action that day, yet the most that the triumvirate could muster was to gloss over impending matches featuring Australians Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter.

Barker's style is very much soft focus, supplemented by a sense of humour. When asked to be more than simply a conduit, linking the upcoming play, she suffers. Her interviews are too fawning. Lloyd's presence in the commentary box beside McEnroe later that day was superfluous.

The day's coverage enjoyed a huge fillip through an interview with Goran Ivanisevic in the house that he rents for Wimbledon. The angle was the manner in which the Croatian had grabbed all the headlines in the newspapers following his victory over young American Andy Roddick.

Ivanisevic is a hugely entertaining interviewee, self deprecating and glorying in his eccentricity. He admitted to watching the Teletubies, "but just for seven or eight minutes because otherwise I get too excited".

He faces Rusedski next and the Croatian conceded: "It's not going to be entertaining unless you have a short attention span. I mean, serve ... return, maybe not return. I mean there won't be too many rallies ... one return here and there should decide it."

Given that Ivanisevic served 41 aces in his last match and Rusedski holds the record for the fastest serve ever timed, it represented a pretty accurate assessment.

The Croatian has the personality and knowledge that could some day, with a little prescience from a BBC executive, allow him to emulate McEnroe and swap the tennis racquet for a microphone. For now, though, McEnroe reigns supreme.