Eugenie Bouchard experienced an amusing moment during the BBC's live coverage of Wimbledon on Saturday night when commentator Andrew Castle jokingly told her she was 'fired'. Bouchard was providing courtside analysis of Grigor Dimitrov's third-round match against Matteo Berrettini on Centre Court.
The former tennis star, who joined the BBC for the first time to work on the 2026 Championships, found herself in an awkward spot when Berrettini launched into a heated tirade at his box late in the second set. Castle asked Bouchard, 'Do you speak Italian?' The 2014 ladies singles finalist replied, 'I do not but I see a lot going back and forth between Berrettini and his box, which is right behind me. Unfortunately only English and French I can do for you guys.'
Castle responded, 'I don't know, it's the Italian we're looking for Genie.' Bouchard teased, 'Is that it, am I fired?' Laughter rippled across both sides of the court as Castle declared, 'That's it, thank you for coming, you're fired.' Bouchard rounded off with, 'It was a good run, thank you for having me anyway. I'll just see myself out.'
Henman Comes to Bouchard's Defence
Castle was on the verge of wrapping up the exchange with 'goodbye, enjoy your dinner' when former British number one Tim Henman stepped in to come to Bouchard's defence, saying, 'Don't do that.' Henman's intervention added to the light-hearted atmosphere.
Dimitrov Remains Focused
Dimitrov, a firm crowd favourite at SW19, has captured the hearts of fans throughout last year's tournament. The Bulgarian endured a heartbreaking pectoral injury while two sets ahead of eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the fourth round, forcing him to retire in gut-wrenching fashion. Yet he is refusing to let that dark memory cloud his focus this time around.
Dimitrov said, 'I think when I say I've suffered through my career with minor injuries, big injury, what happened last year and all that, why am I here if I'm not putting everything on the line again? If I don't have that, then there's not going to be a point for me to be competing anymore sort of on the biggest stage of our sport, here at Wimbledon. Again, anything can happen. I can get injured again. You can slip. You might have an off day. Those things are just as vital, they're there. But you have to, like, push yourself mentally to stay as fresh as possible, aware as possible, and really dig down and ask yourself the questions, what you really want, and how do you want to go about doing your business.'
Dimitrov will face Arthur Fery in the round of 16 on Monday, a match that promises to be a test of his resilience.
