The Serena Williams vs. Dominic Thiem Roland Garros press conference tiff is now a pop culture flash point.
Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg and Hall of Famer John McEnroe have publicly supported Williams in the face of criticism the 23-time Grand Slam champion behaved like a selfish diva bumping Thiem from the Roland Garros main interview room following her third-round upset loss on Saturday night.
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In his Eurosport Show The Commissioner of Tennis, McEnroe ripped the media for coverage he says has "blown out of proportion" a "ridiculous incident."
In case you missed it, 2018 Roland Garros runner-up Thiem was conducting his post-match press conference in the main interview room when Williams requested to do press immediately following her third-round upset loss to Sofia Kenin.
An angry Thiem called Williams "a bad personality" for cutting short his press conference to hold her own. French publication L'Equipe called the tiff "a surrealistic scene."
"It's really rude," Williams said of the move.
"It's a joke I have to leave the room because she's coming," Thiem said according to L'Equipe.
McEnroe blamed organizers for not accomodating Williams' request that she hold her post-match presser in a smaller interview room rather than usurp Thiem's time.
"Serena Williams had actually asked for a smaller room so that she could be done with it," McEnroe said. "But somehow the organizers insisted she hold the press conference in the main interview room, where Thiem was at the time. A smaller room was available because that's where Thiem ended up."
A champion of Serena's caliber is rarely placed in a small interview room at Grand Slams because of the number of journalists her pressers draw, particularly after an upset loss, and for safety and security issues.
It's not feasible to place a superstar in a small room where the sheer number of attendees could create cramped conditions with a lot of people squeezing into a small space.
Asked his view of the incident, Roger Federer backed Thiem saying priority should be given to the player still in the tournament rather than the player who was bounced from the tournament.
"I don't know what went wrong, but something went wrong for this to happen," Federer said after his victory over Leonardo Mayer. "I think there is, with all the players, always a way to go that the one who is still in the tournament gets priority. Anyway, that's how I see it.
"If I would have lost today against Mayer, I would let Mayer go first or decide when he wants to go to press as he's got a next match. My next match is far, far away. So that's just the way you go about it.
"Now, there must have sure been a misunderstanding or maybe they should have kept Serena still in the locker room, not waiting here in the press center. I don't know exactly what happened. I understand Dominic's frustration."
Whoopi Goldberg suggested Serena's star power—and the global news of the three-time champion's upset—should take priority during this discussion of the incident on The View.
“Listen man, don’t nobody know who you are! You may be big in the tennis world but this is a big deal that she was out this early," Goldberg said of Thiem on The View. "People want to know what’s happening, how she doing — and I don’t think she actually wanted to talk to anybody about losing. ‘Oh yes, let’s talk about my loss so early in the French Open’, I don’t think that was her plan! Don’t blame her! Stop being a bonehead, don’t blame her.”
Attorney Sunny Hostin took Federer to task for taking Thiem's side.
“I was surprised Roger Federer came out and also was defending Thiem’s position and saying this is unfair," Hostin said. "He should know better. Serena is the queen."
While debate ensues on TV and social media, Thiem said he's received an apology and has moved on.
"Yeah, I had an apology," Thiem said. "I mean, I don't know who's fault it was exactly. It was just a very, very strange thing. I mean, it never happened to me before, something like that. I mean, I'm easy-going. Of course it was strange the first few minutes, but I have forgotten it now. That's it for me."
Asked if he felt Serena's behavior was out of line, Thiem said he's not sure where the fault lies. After seeing several social media posts about the imbroglio, Thiem said he just wants to focus on the tournament.
"I don't know if it was her mistake or if it was only the mistake of the officials, but I don't know if she saw me or if she saw that somebody's in the room," Thiem said. "So if she would have seen me, then it would be nicer from her to wait. But, I mean, it's also understandable, in a sort of way.
"She lost and everything. So I think it was a little bit mistake of her, mistake of the officials, but as I said, it's forgotten. It was a funny thing, strange thing, which made a big round in all the social networks, but, well, now I don't put any attention on it anymore."
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