Television’s efforts to bring every last cough and spit of a match into the living room of the viewer is laudable; they mostly do it exceedingly well. However, with live interviews at halftime and straight after fulltime, they are sucking on a lemon of prodigious sourness.
Or rather the viewers are. What’s happened at the Australian Open is that someone in Channel 9’s hierarchy decided the interviews needed to be jazzed up. None of this boring “Yes, my forehand was going well today” stuff. Let’s get some banter going, some personality, some interplay.
I’m not entirely sure that’s what sparked Tony Jones’ bizarre chanting of insults to Djokovic’s admittedly irritating supporters – but ending it by saying Djokovic was “overrated” and “kick him out” was always going to earn a professional kick in the pants. Djokovic’s resulting ban on post-match interviews was followed by Shelton’s “shock” at the broadcasters’ mockery and lack of respect. I didn’t see John Fitzgerald’s weird 3am interview with 19-year-old Learner Tien where the former Aussie veteran told him 19-year-olds weren’t supposed to be that good – a statement that left Tien speechless – and that “I know where you live”.
But I did have the misfortune to see Roger Rasheed’s similarly off-beam interview with Shelton, which included a feeble attempt at a joke about France’s Gael Monfils – whom Shelton had just beaten – being Shelton’s dad. Shelton snapped back: “Was that a black joke?” as his real father (also black) was standing nearby.
Let’s face it – if it’s so dull that it has to be replaced by misfiring comedy schtick, then surely it’s time it was quietly laid to rest. Jim Courier and John McEnroe can get away with it – but then both have earned their chops at the very top of tennis; player-turned-quality-commentators like McEnroe are few and far between.
It’s not just tennis, however. Rugby, football and cricket all do breathless interviews post-match and that most woeful waste of time – at halftime, where coaches are asked what they have to do to catch up or preserve their lead, provoking a masterclass in operating lips and vocal cords without actually managing to say anything.
That art form has been alive in rugby since the 1950s, especially visible in the old New Zealand Rugby Union of the 1970s and 80s, where rugby officials were congratulated by their peers when, after talking to the media, they had managed not to say anything worthwhile. You know, something that might interest the fans. Cue celebrations.
Sky recently introduced miking up a Black Caps player during international matches. While it was at least conversational, the overwhelming emotion was one of cringe: leave the poor bloke alone, he’s got a game to win.
The one sport that might get away with it is, surprisingly, golf. The long walk between shots is ideal for a player chat. Not that the resulting dialogue is anything startling either but, when it was pioneered in 2023 on the PGA Tour, they miked up Max Homa at the tournament, whose 2025 version is happening now – the Farmers Insurance Open. Homa is an engaging soul and chatted happily away – and went on to win the tournament, a result that seems to have loosened the player reticence you might think applies in a sport where mental strength and focus play such a big part.
Mostly, however, halftime and post-match interviews have about as much excitement and insight as the old university professor once overheard explaining something to an unfortunate student: “ … and thirteenthly …” To be fair, it isn’t just about the formulaic and pedestrian interview set-up and questions. Players must be able to entertain, too. Western Force and Wallaby winger Nick Cummins once explained his Honey Badger nickname to an interviewer, saying he’d seen a honey badger pinned underneath a male lion on TV.
“It [the badger] was the underdog obviously. But he’s on his back, clawing away, one, two and then bloody … the big fella got his canastas clawed off and he trotted round the corner and fell over and the badger gets back up – and I thought, ‘what an animal, it’s bloody … that’s impressive’.”
The only hope is that more will throw off the shackles and say something contentious or even outrageous. That Cummins interview was back in 2014. Don’t hold your breath.
