Jannik Sinner made light work of Novak Djokovic in the Shanghai finals. As odd as it may sound, that’s exactly what happened. The Italian raced to the title with a straight-set victory over the Serb maestro and such has been his form that the result hardly surprised anyone. Despite his stellar success this season – clinching two Grand Slams in Melbourne and New York, Sinner has been on a roller-coaster. The ongoing doping saga has put him under the microscope and has drawn him immense criticism. At Shanghai Masters though, things took a U-turn for the World No. 1, for a change.

In what was a blockbuster of a final earlier today, one fan in particular stole the spotlight by showcasing a true fangirl moment for the Italian. Catching everyone’s attention, an avid Chinese supporter of Sinner hilariously rocked the stadium with a banner cleverly noting that she loved the Italian over her husband.

Her support of the World No. 1, in turn, drew fans’ attention. Subsequently, the tennis community took to their social media to express their surprise at witnessing a flip-side sighting – Sinner’s adorable fan-following in Shanghai.

Fans post chucklesome reaction to Jannik Sinner’s awe-inspiring moment in Shanghai

One fan took to their official X handle and iterated that the Chinese supporter was a “huge fan” of Jannik Sinner. That’s justified. The Italian star has mustered a heavy following based on his nascent journey on the tour. Furthermore, Sinner shuffled the ATP rankings in his favor earlier this season at the French Open, wherein he was declared the first Italian to become World No. 1 since the introduction of computerized rankings in 1973.

Another fan amusingly relished the moment in Shanghai and sarcastically stated: “The husband will be happy!”. One tennis fan lamented their hard luck and rhetorically added, “I regret that I no longer have a husband, so I can’t make this sign”.

Let’s not kid ourselves. Sinner’s on-court demeanor, although intimidating, has left fans oozing with his mysterious persona. Struggling to decrypt his curious character, fans often go out of their way to partake in bizarre activities, hoping to grip his attention. Later, more fans started to chime in and heap praises on the Chinese spectator by labeling her a “queen” and saying she represented every fangirl’s wishes in Shanghai citing, “Girl is all of us”.

However, those wishes hardly matter to Sinner anymore than just a “fangirl”. The Italian has been in a loving relationship with WTA star Anna Kalinskaya since this year – with the duo regularly breaking barriers by supporting each other from the stands during their showdowns.

Last year, the Italian superstar was all smiles when he walked out on the court hand-in-hand with a young fan for his match against Holger Rune(at ATP Finals tournament). While this tradition isn’t new to the sport, the mere excitement on the kid’s face showcased volumes.

For those unaware, all eyes rested on Sinner during his New York campaign after he avoided his doping ban. However, on the flip side, his doping scandal was the reason behind his flare-up with fans. The World No. 1 twice tested positive for the banned anabolic, Clostebol, while contesting at the Indian Wells earlier this year. With the controversy behind his intentional involvement gaining traction, notable players Nick Kyrgios and Denis Shapavalov also voiced their disapproval of an Independent Tribunal’s ‘no guilt or negligence’ verdict of the Italian.

Fans have finally started supporting Sinner and not weighing his standing based on a few unfortunate incidents he countered this season. This was evident in Shanghai. A huge uproar from spectators supporting Sinner was witnessed at the Asian hardcourt event.

With a finalist run at the China Open and now a title in Shanghai, it is only a matter of time before they sideline such tense issues. Aiming to rectify his lost touch with fans, the 23-year-old will likely focus on maintaining his impressive marksmanship against the sport’s most formidable players and, with it, have fans backing him in no time!