Tennis From Paris • Thiem And Serena | Off Court Mixed Up Doubles • French Open Wrap • And Liverpool Wins

Spectators watch as Rafael Nadal of Spain plays Juan Ignacio Londero of Argentina during their men’s round of 16 match during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 02 June 2019. EPA-EFE/SRDJAN SUKI

 

 

By Alix Ramsay

 

We did warn you it was going to happen: radio silence from Roland Garros on June 1. The reason? Liverpool were in the Champions League final and we had other things to do.

 

To be more precise: Liverpool were winning the Champions League final, beating Spurs 2-0 and we were delirious. OK, the first goal was a very soft penalty, the whole match was not particularly good but the second goal – good old Divock Origi – was a decent strike. And we won. Our sixth European title. You’ll never walk alone…

 

While we were otherwise engaged, a major ruck was brewing back at the tennis. Serena Williams lost to Sofia Kenin. So far, so simple (Serena was hopeless and young Sofia went for her chances). But then, as any viewer of Twitter will have seen on Saturday night, Serena blew a gasket.

 

Storming in for her post-match media commitments, the 23-time grand slam champion made it perfectly clear that if she could not do her press conference now, she would not do one at all. No matter that Dominic Thiem (who won on Saturday and is higher ranked than Ms W) was due in to the main room. No matter that everyone has to wait their turn to do press. No matter that there was a schedule. Thiem was dumped out of the main room and off to the boon docks of Room Two.

 

Or he was until he sat down to answer questions and someone told him that Juan Martin del Potro was now due in Room Two. Sorry, Domi, you’re going to have move again.

 

Now, Thiem is probably one of the politest, quietest mega-talents you are likely to find on the men’s tour and yet this second affront was more than he could bear. He was having none of it. He got up, marched out of Room Two and into the main room – Serena or no Serena.

 

“I leave also then. I’m not standing around. I can also do what I want,” he fumed.

 

It was all hugely unnecessary and, unlike some of the suggestions on social media that it was a feminist victory ‘female player gets priority over male player’, it was just Serena being plain rude. Yes, she was angry that she had lost, yes she wanted to get out of Roland Garros as soon as was humanly possible and, yes, the media was not at the top of her list of priorities, but she was bang out of order. Thiem had done nothing to annoy or offend her and yet she was treating him – and anyone else involved in the situation – like dirt. And that ain’t polite.

 

So unpleasant was the mess created by Serena (and the people who draw up the interview schedules cannot be blamed for any part of it; they were just doing their jobs as best they could) that Guy Forget, the tournament director at Roland Garros, apologised personally to Thiem after the whole affair was over.

 

The only upside for Serena was that she did manage to leave some sort of mark on the French Open this year, albeit not the mark she would have liked.

 

Against Kenin, two things became very clear: Serena is not fit enough to move properly and that terrifying aura of invincibility that used to get her through the trickier moments on court is now cracked and peeling.

 

Kenin had nothing to lose, that is true, but no amount of roars, fist pumps or long, hard stares from the former world No.1 was going to scare her. Kenin stuck to the game plan and Serena was going home.

 

Well, she might be going home. We don’t know and neither does she. She has now played six and a half matches in the last four months. A combination of knee problems and illness have forced her to withdraw mid-tournament in Indian Wells, Miami and Rome while she and her poorly knee never made it to Madrid at all.

 

When she came back from maternity leave last year, she went on to reach the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open. But before she set off on that summer run, she had camped out at Patrick Mouratoglou’s academy for weeks and trained and trained and trained. Mouratoglou was not sure when she began whether Serena still had the will and the motivation to put in the work and get back on the road. And then she started to practice with an intensity he had not seen in her before. His boss was back.

 

This year, though, no one knows about Serena’s state of mind – is she still as motivated or is she merely raging at the dying of the light? – but it seems plain that her body has had enough. Not even a living legend can expect to put together a challenge at a grand slam without playing any matches in the run up. Not at the age of 37.

 

Fair enough, Roger Federer came back from a six month break and won the Australian Open in 2017 but by the time he returned to the tour, he did not have a single ache or pain. Serena is not in that fortunate position.

 

She may or may not play a grass court event before Wimbledon, she has not decided. Then again, when she was asked about that, the only decision she had had time to make was that she was not going to wait for Thiem to finish his press conference. But playing extra events is not Serena’s way. And yet if she wants that elusive 24th major trophy, she may just have to change her habits. And that is only if her ailing knee will allow her to.