French Open

Becker, Cash back Thiem in row with Serena

2019-06-03 13:44

Cape Town - Tennis legends Boris Becker and Pat Cash have come out in support of Dominic Thiem in his row with Serena Williams, as the press conference controversy rumbles on.

After her defeat to Sofia Kenin on Saturday, Williams forced Thiem to end his press conference prematurely, insisting she wanted to take his seat in the media room, with French Open officials bowing to the demands of the 23-time Grand Slam champion and forcing Thiem to make way.

Former French Open finalist Thiem has been highly critical of Williams' behaviour, and said her refusal to wait for her turn in the interview room reflected badly on the American.

"It shows a bad personality in my opinion," declared Thiem. "I am 100 percent sure Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal would never do something like that."

Becker has expressed his sympathy with Thiem, as he suggested Williams was wrong to assert her influence in such a forceful manner.

"I am with Dominic Thiem on this one," declared Becker. "He is a Roland-Garros finalist. He's mature and one of the main players on the men's tour and if he's giving an interview in a press conference and he hasn't finished then everyone else has to wait, including Serena Williams.

"I think it was unfortunate for the organisers to put both players in this situation - they should know Dominic Thiem is having a press conference, when he's finished it's Serena's turn. It was awkward for the players and poor organisation."

Becker's fellow Eurosport expert Pat Cash agreed with those sentiments as he stated: "The way Dominic Thiem reacted was 100% spot on, good on him.

"Everyone has screwed up there, he's not some junior, he's a guy that got to the French Open final last year, semi-final the year before, he's top 10, he's one of the favourites here. For Serena to say, "I'm going in no matter what..." or the organisers to decide to move Thiem on was really wrong, really disrespectful."

 

Read News24’s Comments Policy

Live Video Streaming
Video Highlights
Sport Talk
Breaking News

Vote

Which is your favourite Grand Slam of the year?

Men
Women
Love 2 Meet
Sport24 on Twitter

Follow Sport24 news on Twitter

Featured

The 2018/19 Absa Premiership season is in full swing. Will Mamelodi Sundowns retain their title? Or can one of Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Wits, SuperSport United - or another team perhaps - snatch glory from the Brazilians? Be sure to visit Sport24 for all the latest news!

Latest blogs
 

Twitter Follow Sport24 on Twitter

Facebook "Like" Sport24's Facebook page

WIN Enter and win with Sport24!

BlackBerry Stay in the loop on your BlackBerry

RSS Feeds Sport news delivered really simply.

 
There are new stories on the homepage. Click here to see them.