12 July,2017 08:32 AM IST | London | AFP
Wimbledon stars came under fire on yesterday for their treatment of ballboys after Rafael Nadal was derided for handing rubbish to one youngster to deposit in a bin right beside him
France's Adrian Mannarino was fined for shoulder-barging a ballboy recently. Pic/AFP
Wimbledon stars came under fire on yesterday for their treatment of ballboys after Rafael Nadal was derided for handing rubbish to one youngster to deposit in a bin right beside him.
Earlier in the tournament, French player Adrian Mannarino was fined $9,000 for shoulder-barging a ballboy. Nadal, comfortably one of the most popular players on the tour, was filmed during his five-set defeat to Gilles Muller on Monday asking a ballboy to drop a drinks lid into the courtside litter bin - which was right next to his chair.
The youngster performed the task uncomplainingly but that didn't prevent the online community taking offence. "Ah seriously.. Nadal the bin is right beside you..put your own litter into it," tweeted one viewer. Another fumed: "What a lazy lad! Big fan Rafa, but you can't reach for the bin which is just two inches away from you?'
Mannarino, meanwhile, was docked a point for "unsportsmanlike conduct" for shoulder-barging a ballboy in his second-round victory over Japan's Yuichi Sugita.
"Do you think I'm not behaving well with the ballboys?" asked the Frenchman.
"Something wrong happened during the second match, but it was not on purpose. I didn't see the ballboy, the ballboy didn't see me, so I think everyone made such a big deal out of nothing. I never had any problem with any ballboys before."
