There has, at least, been the odd throwback to an old pre-tournament narrative.
The absence of a second opinion found Tyldesley struggling to answer his own questions and highlighted the extent to which, for the armchair audience, the tournament has developed a narrative driven largely by the "expert" ex-players.
It is particularly strong in tournament history, with long narratives and breakdowns of every tournament since the first, in 1930.
She adds a compelling narrative to the tournament, her injury woes of recent years having her believing for a time that she might never return to the top, writes James Lawton in The Independent.
Argentina were solid rather than spectacular, which is Sabella's way, but it still felt rather anti-climactic given both the potential of their forward line and the narrative of the tournament so far.
This was a long way from being another thriller at this tournament of thrilling matches and the narrative was shaped instead by traditional German virtues, chief among them control, discipline and that age-old tournament know-how.
Prioritizing a sellable soundtrack — and a veiled plug for this year's World Cup soccer tournament — over an original and engaging narrative might not have been the intent, but it sure feels that way".
For all of its slain giants, underdog victories, last-minute winners, VAR microdramas, Balkan catharsis and Japanese cleaning parties, the tournament is yet to gather any coherent narrative force, the feel of stars aligning.
He occasionally loses the thread of the narrative, particularly during some of the tournaments and matches.
The other three premier category tournaments — Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid — all come during the heart of the season, with Grand Slam tournaments still to be played and the main narrative of the year still to be written.
