Security at the ongoing Six Kings Slam event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, had to usher a seemingly overzealous fan away who had made their way to the court only to confront Jannik Sinner and poke him on the chest.
It wasn’t the only controversy at the tennis event, which sees six of the best players on the men’s circuit compete in a four-day tournament that sees every competitor earn $1.5 million in participation fees, with a total of $6 million awarded to the eventual winner.
On Wednesday, the 15th of October — the first day of the exhibition — Taylor Fritz breezed past Alexander Zverev in straight sets (6-3, 6-4) and Sinner outclassed Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets (6-2, 6-3), too.
Sinner’s match was not without drama, though.
Security Ushered a Tennis Fan Away
In footage you can see below, Sinner seemed ready and content to engage with a fan, however, that fan began poking and prodding the four-time major winner. It is unclear what was said. However, it’s clear that it was enough to see security manhandle the fan and remove them from the court.
The fan incident wasn’t the only controversy from the opening day of the Saudi exhibition. Following his straight sets victory over Tsitsipas, which sets up a semi-final showdown against one of the sport’s greatest players, Novak Djokovic, Sinner blasted the