At the end of Rafael Nadal’s epic five-set win over Denis Shapovalov in Rod Laver Arena, the 22-year-old Canadian had clearly had enough, slamming down his racquet.Watch Tennis Live with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. Live Coverage of ATP + WTA Tour Tournaments including Every Finals Match. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial >Having fought back from two sets down, it was a devastating loss for Shapovalov as Nadal secured yet another Australian Open semi-final berth.But while players normally clean up after themselves, the young Canadian left the racquet where it lay. And an Aussie Open ballkid appeared to nab a brilliant souvenir for her trouble.Running across court, the ballkid picked up the racquet and joining a fellow ballkid, she shrugged her shoulders and made her way off the court.The commentators saw it and said: “I’ll pick it up, I’ll take it home with me”.One fan tweeted: “The ball girl who picked up the broken racquet and shrugged is an icon”. Broadcaster Carrie Dunn replied: “The side-eye to the other ballkid was art.”Tasked with standing for long hot Melbourne days, ballkids deserve everything they can get their hands on.With plenty of rules regarding what ballkids can and can’t do, lets hope she gets to keep it.But it’s hard to pile on Shapovalov either, who earlier in the match, had a fierce battle with the umpire over the amount of leeway he was affording Nadal on the service clock.The issue at the centre of the drama was the service clock and the rule that the receiver needs to be ready at the reasonable pace of the server, which is a time of about 12 to 15 seconds.However, the server cannot serve until the receiver is ready.In the first game of the second set, Shapovalov was ready to serve, but Nadal was not.Nadal has long been criticised for his quirks and superstitions making him one of the slower servers on the tour, including a 2019 outburst from Aussie Nick Kyrgios, who was penalised for time-wasting despite serving within the allotted time at the Cincinnati Masters of that year.“Started the clock so long ago and he’s still not ready to play. You’ve got to call him,” the Canadian raged at the umpire.He then walked back to serve and when Rafa still wasn’t ready, he added: “He’s not ready to play.”Bernardes replied: “You’re not ready either.”Shapovalov: “What do you mean I’m not ready to play?”Bernardes: “Because you’re coming to talk to me.”Shapovalov: “Are you kidding me? You guys are all corrupt.”And it wasn’t all as the Canadian believed Nadal was also being given extra time on his serve, despite a shot clock having not gone off.Pointing to the clock, he said: “You have eight seconds to play, what do you want? Why are you looking at me like I need to watch, you have the shot clock for this.”Nadal then came to mid-court as the experienced star looked to cool down the situation.After the match, Shapovalov was still fuming.When asked if the likes of Nadal gets preferential treatment, Shapovalov said: “Of course. 100 per cent he does. 100 per cent.”“They are legends of the game but when you step on the court it should be equal for everyone,” he added.
