Australian Open 2020: Elliot Benchetrit denies disrespect shown to ball girl after banana request
Elliot Benchetrit said, 'The bananas are very hard to peel here because they don’t have a stem. I asked the ball kid nicely because she had already peeled one for me at the beginning of the match'

-
Elliot Benchetrit denied having showed a lack of respect to a ball girl at the Australian Open after asking her to peel a banana for him during a qualifications match
-
The umpire told Benchetrit the girl did not have to do this for him, but the player had an explanation for the unusual request.
-
The umpire intervened and told me: ‘She’s not your slave, you cannot ask her that’. He said ‘Slave’!
French player Elliot Benchetrit on Tuesday denied having showed a lack of respect to a ball girl at the Australian Open after asking her to peel a banana for him during a qualifications match last weekend.

Representational image. Reuters
The umpire told Benchetrit the girl did not have to do this for him, but the player had an explanation for the unusual request.
“I had put some powder on my hands to stop sweating,” Benchetrit told reporters after his 6-2 6-0 6-3 defeat in the first round in Melbourne against Japan’s Yuichi Sugita.
“The bananas are very hard to peel here because they don’t have a stem. I asked the ball kid nicely because she had already peeled one for me at the beginning of the match,” he explained.
“The umpire intervened and told me: ‘She’s not your slave, you cannot ask her that’. He said ‘Slave’!”
also read

Wimbledon 2022: Djokovic hopes to cut Nadal's lead, Serena returns and so do capacity crowds
Wimbledon 2022 gets underway on 27 June brimming with talking points: player bans, Djokovic chasing Nadal, Serena's return, local hopes and full capacity crowds.

Wimbledon 2022: Novak Djokovic racks up 80th win at SW19 as Carlos Alcaraz fights back
Novak Djokovic became the first player to win 80 matches at all four Grand Slams as he made a successful start to his Wimbledon title defence.

Wimbledon 2022: 'The Queue' returns three years later after COVID-19 hiatus
The All England Club said Monday there were 431 tents at the park overnight and that 2,808 cards were distributed by 7 a.m.