Now Mac lays into his Beeb colleague

THE ever controversial John McEnroe has sparked another rumpus inside BBC Sport over comments made on the Wimbledon highlights show about his BBC colleague Rishi Persad.

McEnroe was scathing about top broadcaster Persad asking Rafa Nadal after his epic five-set defeat by Gilles Muller whether he would be coming back to Wimbledon next year. A disdainful McEnroe followed that up by criticising reporters for always asking ‘stupid questions’.

Presenter Clare Balding was taken aback by pundit McEnroe’s onslaught at the media. She countered: ‘It’s all our fault then.’

It is understood Balding and the BBC tennis production team have been wholly supportive of the highly-respected Persad — but nobody would have reprimanded the untouchable McEnroe.

Persad had only queried Nadal coming back to SW19 having been in the Press conference before his TV interview, in which Nadal had been surprisingly evasive about his future.

GREG RUSEDSKI soon became upset working as a BBC tennis pundit at Wimbledon because he spent most of his time on the outside courts. He is far more content with life at Eurosport, for whom he covers all four Grand Slams.

ROYAL Bank of Scotland, whose corporate hospitality spending at Wimbledon has been under intense scrutiny since the bank was kept afloat by the Government, have not renewed their lavish Court No 1 entertainment suite. It is being used as a store room this year ahead of building work that will affect the hospitality arrangements.