Wars of words as French Open press room heats up

PARIS: Outside the French Open press room this week, it was a sweltering 30 degrees Celsius.

Inside it was a veritable blast furnace as players and media argued back and forth over Kosovo and Ukraine and Russia.

Not to mention sexism and allegations of domestic abuse.

Novak Djokovic admitted that it was impossible for him to have "a drama-free Grand Slam".

As soon as he scrawled "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia" on a TV camera lens in a controversial response to escalating ethnic tensions in the Balkans country, Djokovic again found himself in the cross-hairs.

The French sports minister said his comments were "not appropriate" while the Kosovo Olympic Committee demanded he be sanctioned.

"I would say it again," said a defiant Djokovic. "Of course I'm aware that a lot of people would disagree, but it is what it is. It's something that I stand for."

On his reaction to the criticism, he told a media conference after making the third round on Wednesday: "I have no more comment on that. I said what I needed to say."

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said the 22-time Grand Slam title winner was within his rights to say what he did, explaining to AFP that "political statements" are not prohibited.

Djokovic's fellow Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka got involved in a feisty exchange with a Ukrainian journalist over her association with Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko.

"How is it possible that the potential World No 1 supports a dictator?," asked the reporter.

"NEXT QUESTION, PLEASE"

"I have no comments to you, so thank you for your question," said Sabalenka, a Belarusian, but the journalist would not be cowed.

"You keep saying that nobody supports war, nobody, but can you speak for yourself and say: 'I, Aryna Sabalenka, flatly condemn the fact that Belarus is attacking Ukraine with missiles, and I want it to stop?'"

"I've got no comments to you," repeated Sabalenka.

"So you basically support everything because you cannot speak up? You're not a small person, Aryna. You can ... "

He was cut off mid-question by a press conference moderator eager to shift the conversation towards forehands and backhands rather than bloody military conflicts.

"She's made it clear that she's not going to answer. Next question. Thank you."

That interrogation followed Sabalenka's second-round match.

Her opener on Sunday (May 28) had been against Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk who was roundly booed for not shaking the hand of the Belarusian.

Kostyuk said she had no respect for Sabalenka for not individually denouncing the role of Belarus in the war.

"I feel like journalists should change the questions that you ask," said Kostyuk.

"You should ask them who would they want to win the war because if you ask this question, I'm not so sure these people will say that they want Ukraine to win."

Kostyuk bristled when one reporter suggested Sabalenka was caught between a rock and a hard place.

"I don't know why it's a difficult situation for her. She might be World No 1 after this tournament. If you check the statistics in Russia, there is 80 per cent or 85 per cent of people who support this war.

"SEND SOME MESSAGE"

"Just by speaking out, I think she can just send some message."

Away from European military and political crisis, Brazil's Thiago Seyboth Wild faced down questions over his private life.

In 2021, he was reportedly investigated for abuse of a former girlfriend. He denied the allegations, describing them as "fabricated and vengeful".

After stunning world No 2 Daniil Medvedev and obliged to perform a rare, mandatory press conference, the world No 172 blasted a questioner who wanted to know if the case was moving forward.

"I don't think it's a subject we should talk about it right here. I don't think it's a question you should be making to anybody. I don't think it comes to you to decide whether it's a place to be spoken of or not," said the 23-year-old.

The French Open has routinely faced down allegations over sexism when it comes to scheduling at the tournament.

Under a major new TV deal, night matches have been introduced but in 2022 only one of the 10 night sessions featured a women's singles match.

This year, all five late sessions have featured a men's singles match.

"It's their tournament. They do as they please," said former runner-up Sloane Stephens wearily.