French Open: Eklat - Dominic Thiem angry with Serena Williams and the ITF
Dominic Thiem actually had a good Saturday at the French Open 2019. Until Serena Williams appeared on the scene.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jun 01, 2019, 10:48 pm
At 8:28 p.m. it suddenly said: Everyone out of the large interview room in the press center. And "all" meant the journalists and, of course, Dominic Thiem at the forefront. No more questions. The reason? After leaving Sofia Kenin, Serena Williams was in a hurry to address her final words to the reporters. The organizers and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) met the wishes of the 23-time Grand Slam winner. What angered Thiem. "I'm no longer a junior," said the Austrian loudly enough.
And that's not all: Thiem was first redirected to Interview Room 2. Juan Martin del Potro was announced there for half past eight. The Austrian number one also had to leave the podium in this room, as a moderator of the broadcasting TV station Eurosport reported. In any case, there was no longer a conversation with the Austrian for Eurosport. The round of 16 left the press center rumbling. Whether Serena Williams or the ITF, which takes care of the interviews, was responsible for this uncomfortable situation - it no longer mattered.
Basically, the procedure for the questions in English at the press conference is for the writing guild in the national language. The latter were almost complete at Thiem. If kept very short. As a rule, short conversations with the radio or TV stations then follow.