Roger Federer calls on tennis players to respect ballboys and ballgirls

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Tennis players need to respect ball boys and ball girls, Roger Federer said in the wake of a row following Fernando Verdasco’s rant over a sweaty towel.

Verdasco was cast as a villain on social media last week after appearing to berate a ballboy for not bringing his towel quickly enough during a semi-final defeat at the Shenzen Open. A video of the Spanish world No 30 impatiently gesticulating and appearing to rant at the youngster swiftly circulated on social media, leading to a raft of criticism from fans and pundits.