Jannik Sinner has broken his silence on the brazen fan who tried to steal from his bag at the US Open, as he praised security at the tournament for doing a ‘great job.’
Following his round of 16 win over Alexander Bublik on Monday, the Italian was posing for selfies with fans courtside when an unidentified man leant over and tried to unzip Sinner’s bag without him noticing.
A security guard then realized what was going on and swatted the man’s hand away.
And while the fan didn’t appear to take off with any of Sinner’s belongings, the world No. 1 was seemingly taken aback by the incident.
‘No, I haven’t experienced. You know, it was – I checked straight away if he took something, because you know, I don’t have only racquets there. I have my phone. I have my wallet,’ he said on Wednesday after defeating Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals.
‘But, I feel like the security is doing great job. Especially on court, there are lots of security. I believe especially the big tournaments they make amazing job to feel us safe. So even new things happen like this, they make great job. No, it’s all fine.’
Jannik Sinner said he had not before experienced a fan trying to steal out of his bag
A US Open fan was caught trying to open and steal something from Sinner’s bag on Monday
Sinner paused for a selfie and the fan made his move, only for the security guard to notice
While the man was asked to leave the US Open grounds afterwards (play had finished for the day anyways), he was stunningly not punished further by the USTA, as officials confirmed to the Daily Mail earlier this week.
It is understood that US Open officials believed a warning was sufficient punishment for him to not try anything similar in the future.
Nonetheless, fans on social media called for the fan to be banned. And it’s not the first bizarre fan incident that has happened this year at the tournament.
Last week, a man attracted fury when he stole a player’s cap that player Kamil Majchrzak was intended for a young fan.
The man was later revealed to be Polish millionaire Piotr Szczerek, and he went on to issue a groveling apology and give the hat back to the child.
Sinner moved into the last four with a dominant win over fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti
Earlier in the tournament, a man identified as a Polish millionaire stole a hat meant for a young fan
18-year-old Russian star Mirra Andreeva also appeared to be startled on Monday when a man started shouting her name from the stands.
In a clip which has gone viral on social media, the man could be seen leaning over a barricade and shouting Andreeva’s name from close proximity.
The teenager eventually turned around, the man uttered something else and Andreeva was visibly bemused by the interaction.
Sinner moved on against Musetti with a dominant 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory on Wednesday.
He will face Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime for a spot in the final.
If he can advance as expected, he will face either Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz in the championship match.
