A now-viral fan and player interaction at the U.S. Open has garnered as much attention online as the hard-fought wins and upsets on the iconic tennis courts at New York's Billie Jean King Tennis Center.
Polish tennis star Kamil Majchrzak reunited with a young fan over the weekend to make things right after he found out a man snatched his match-worn hat from the child's hands.
Majchrzak was signing autographs on Court 11 on Thursday after an impressive five set victory over No. 9 seed Karen Khachanov, when cameras captured him hold up his hat to give a boy -- Brock -- in the stands.
The garment intended for Brock was instead swiped by a man who was later identified as millionaire and CEO of a Polish paving company, Piotr Szczerek.
Majchrzak took to social media after seeing the video himself and enlisted the internet to "help me find the kid from my match," he wrote on his Instagram story.
The pair were successfully reintroduced on Saturday before Majchrzak's final match, as documented on his Instagram, in which Brock received a fresh cap and additional gifted merchandise.
"Hello World, Together with Brock we wish you a great day!" he wrote alongside their photo.
The U.S. Open run for Majchrzak, who previously reached the third round in 2019, came to an end on Saturday after he was forced to retire during the third round match against Leandro Riedi.
Szczerek has since "unequivocally" apologized to Brock, his family, fans and Majchrzak over the exchange, which initially sent social media users ablaze in the comment sections from spectators upset by the behavior.
"I made a serious mistake. In the midst of emotion, amidst the crowd's celebration after the victory, I was convinced that the tennis player was passing the cap to me -- for my sons, who had previously asked for autographs," he wrote.
"This mistaken belief caused me to instinctively reach out. Today I know that I did something that looked like deliberately taking a souvenir from a child. It wasn't my intention, but that doesn't change the fact that I hurt the boy and disappointed the fans," Szczerek added.
