When the Six Kings Slam defending champion, Jannik Sinner, landed in Riyadh, he saw a flurry of fans waiting at the airport, cheering his name as he made his way through the terminal. With so much excitement for the promising young champion, the Italian couldn’t help but take a moment for selfies and autographs before he exited for his hotel. While the love was visible for world No. 2, it once crossed a line, literally a security line, as Sinner bested his first opponent, Stefanos Tsitsipas, in a 6-2, 6-3 win.

After his first win on Wednesday night, Sinner moved on to his customary on-court interview. Later, as he began packing up his things to exit, a young fan casually walked to him. The Italian looked puzzled but greeted him with a warm handshake and a smile as the fan tried to start a conversation.

It quickly became clear that the fan was fixated on Sinner’s Nike jacket for a memento. The gestures were frantic and pointed as the Italian tried to make what was being said to him. The pair spoke for several more seconds, and before the conversation could be clarified, security stepped in. They caught the fan and escorted him off the court, leaving everyone, including Jannik Sinner, scratching their heads.

The Italian star has learned to expect the unexpected.

Back at the US Open in the Round of 16, after a straight-sets victory over Alexander Bublik, Sinner approached a fan to hand over his towel. It seemed like a typical post-match gesture. But while his back was turned, another fan was caught on camera trying to unzip Sinner’s tennis bag, trying to find a souvenir for himself. Thankfully, a nearby security guard stopped the attempt just in time, and the tennis star left the court immediately.

“No, I haven’t experienced. I checked straight away if he took something,” Sinner said when asked about such incidents before and what he did after leaving the tunnel. “Because I don’t have only racquets there. I have my phone and my wallet. I don’t know. But I feel like security is doing a great job, especially on court, there are lots of security, and especially in the big tournaments they make amazing job to make us safe. New things happen like this, they make great job. It’s all fine.”

Of course, not all of Sinner’s fans are that extreme. Some are downright delightful. For example, take the “Carrot Boys.” A group of six diehard supporters who dress as carrots at his matches when the group of Italian fans noticed Sinner eating a carrot in Vienna. They adopted it as their symbol, and it stuck.

It’s not to say other players haven’t been caught in such erratic fan behavior.

In the US Open, Kamil Majchrzak also had such fan incident after his match. Then, Piotr Szczerek, a Polish chief executive of a paving firm, was caught on camera taking the cap of the tennis star, which was clearly intended for a young fan. Szczerek handed the cap to his partner, and she quickly stuffed it into her bag, leaving the child who should have taken it home looking crestfallen. In his defense, he did reveal on his social media account that he had returned the cap to the young fan later.

Jannik Sinner will likely appreciate the fan support even more as he prepares for a high-stakes match in the semifinals against Novak Djokovic at the Six Kings Slam this Thursday.

Jannik Sinner on facing Novak Djokovic again

Yet again, Sinner will face Djokovic in what promises to be a marquee matchup. The Italian is optimistic about the encounter, hoping it will live up to the hype and give fans a thrilling show in Riyadh. In his on-court interview, Sinner said, “We all hope it’s a good match. This is all we hope for.

“We know each other very well… we’ve played many, many times. It’s great to share the court again with Novak. Especially here in front of you guys. We’ll just try to play the best possible tennis we can. We’ll just see how it goes. Mostly, we are here to enjoy. To bring tennis here. All we hope is that you guys enjoy. That’s why we’re here.”

Statistically, Sinner comes into the match with confidence. He has won his last six matches against Djokovic, not counting last year’s Six Kings Slam semifinal, which does not count toward official head-to-head records. Overall, Sinner has won seven of his last eight competitive matches with Djokovic since losing to him in the 2023 Wimbledon semifinals. This season alone, Sinner has beaten Djokovic in both the French Open semifinal and the Wimbledon semifinal.

Even though the Six Kings Slam result will not officially affect the head-to-head tally, it promises to be a popcorn-worthy contest! Will you tune in?