BBC DITCH WOEFUL WIMBLEDON SHOW

THE BBC appear to have consigned to history the controversial Top Gear-style daily review of Wimbledon this year and gone back to a more traditional highlights format. They have unveiled former champion Lleyton Hewitt as a major new addition to the commentary and analysis team, along with the former world No 1 Jim Courier and Annabel Croft. Most viewers will be relieved there will be no revival of Wimbledon 2Day, which was effectively pulled after a week last year due to an outcry from fans who wanted to see more action. Clare Balding will present a more conventional highlights show at 8.30pm, with two experts alongside her. Hewitt will give a contemporary feel to the team, having only retired in January, and appears to be a replacement for the sharpwitted Andy Roddick, who is unavailable. On an otherwise disappointing day for Brits at the Nottingham Open, Tara Moore took a step closer to the offer of a Wimbledon wildcard with a 6-2, 7-5 firstround defeat of Croatia’s Donna Vekic, and now faces American Christina McHale. But Laura Robson suffered another first-round defeat, this time to Portuguese qualifer Michele Larcher de Brito, going down 6-3, 7-5. Heather Watson went down to a disappointing defeat late in the day, losing 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 to Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova. Naomi Broady, who is assured of a Wimbledon place after a breakthrough year, suffered a 6-2, 6-1 defeat to Taipei’s SuWei Hsieh, while Freya Christie was beaten by Saisai Zheng, who faces Johanna Konta in the second round. Top seed Dan Evans beat American Alexander Sarkissian 6-2, 6-4 at the start of the Surbiton Challenger.