Dominic Thiem accused Serena Williams of showing “bad personality” after he was asked to interrupt a post-match news conference to make room for the American following her French Open defeat.
The Austrian fourth seed was talking to the media after his third-round win on Saturday and Williams, who had just lost in straight sets to compatriot Sofia Kenin, was pushing organisers to give her a room right away.
“Put me in another room, a smaller one, but now,” she said, without asking to be directed to the main room where Thiem was speaking.
Organisers made Thiem move out and the Austrian was fuming at being treated like “a junior”.
“It’s a joke,” the 25-year-old Thiem told the ATP press officers after being told he had to go to another room.
“I have to leave the room because she’s coming. What the hell, I don’t care. I can also do whatever I want.”
On Sunday, speaking to Eurosport Germany, Thiem added: “Actually, I wasn’t angry or frustrated. Maybe for a couple of minutes or so.
“It is just the principle. It doesn’t matter, if it is me who sits in there. I still made a wrong statement. I said that I am not a junior anymore.
“But even if a junior is in there, every player has to wait. It is a matter of course. It also shows a bad personality in my opinion. I am a 100 percent sure (Roger) Federer or (Rafael) Nadal would never do something like that.”
