‘What the hell?’ Dominic Thiem fumes at being kicked out of press conference for Serena Williams

World No. 4 Dominic Thiem was understandably furious as he was booted out of the main press conference room at Roland Garros in order to make way for Serena Williams.. Thiem was midway through the German-speaking section of his press conference when he was told he had to leave the main interview room and switch to a smaller one in order to accommodate Williams following her straight sets defeat to Sofia Kenin. The Austrian fourth seed, who had earlier beaten Pablo Cuevas, was visibly fuming when he arrived in interview room two and decided to cut his own media commitments short in an act of protest. ‘I don’t really get it, seriously,’ said Thiem. ‘I mean, what the hell?

‘No but it’s a joke. What’s my point of that? I have to leave the room because she’s coming. ‘Well I’ll leave also then. I can also do whatever I want.’ Williams is one of the most powerful players on the tennis scene and is often accommodated for at any costs. But it’s entirely understandable that Thiem was furious at this perceived lack of respect, particularly for such a highly ranked player.

While Williams flopped in her 6-2 7-5 loss at the hands of her compatriot Kenin, Thiem continued his march into the last-16. Thiem is considered to be one of the top contenders for the title at Roland Garros and the third most likely man to lift the trophy behind veteran champions Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. It was suggested by one reporter that this was a ‘sort of victory for feminism’ but that idea was shot down quickly by former Australian world No. 53 Sam Groth.

‘Not a victory for feminism,’ he moaned. ‘Wait your turn for the press room like everyone else. ‘Thiem, still in the draw having won, would have agreed to a press time and has a round of 16 match to prepare for, Serena just has her jet on the tarmac!’ It does seem somewhat astonishing that Williams couldn’t wait a matter of minutes for Thiem to finish his own media duties but the 23-time Grand Slam champion has a lot of sway over tournament organisers.