The event happened in this weekend's qualifying match between Elliott Benchetrit and Dmitrij Popko. During the last set, at a side change, Elliott Benchetrit asked a ball girl for help with a course. He wanted her to scale it to him.

Judge John Blom got angry and scolded the Frenchman.

- The judge told me that "she is not your slave, you cannot ask her for it," says Benchetrit. according to TT.

Have gone out of the main tournament

Benchetrit does not believe he has acted disrespectfully.

- I have a hard time understanding why the judge reacted in that way. I think it's amazing how that situation got so much attention on social media, says the 21-year-old.

- The bananas here are very difficult to scale because they lack stalk. I asked the ball girl kindly, as she had already peeled a course for me at the beginning of the match.

Benchetrit went to the main tournament in the Australian Open. Once there, he had to leave after three straight set losses against Japanese Yuichi Sugita.