Eugenie Bouchard has her fair share of fans but 22-year-old Jeffrey Kinder has got to be the biggest - and most extreme.
Kinder was spotted in the crowd at the ASB Classic supporting Bouchard as the former Wimbledon finalist bowed out to No. 2 seeded Julia Goerges 6-3 3-6 6-7 in a thrilling quarter-final match.
Sporting a red and white Canadian cap while holding a massive homemade banner which read "win or lose, Genie forever," Kinder quickly went viral on social media.
Speaking to The Herald after the match, Kinder revealed the extreme lengths he had gone to in order to catch a glimpse of his tennis hero, admitting that he even waited outside her hotel last week in hopes to see her arrive before the tournament.
And just two days before departing his hometown in Sydney, Kinder said he had spent more than 20 hours designing and making the giant red banner.
It's not the first time that Kinder has gone to crazy lengths to get close to the Canadian tennis star.
First spotting her on the court at Hobart in 2013, Kinder said he has been a fan and followed her tennis career ever since.
"From that moment on I thought she could be a good player in the future and a year later she made it to the Wimbledon final," he said.
"Hopefully she can get back to the very top."
Eugenie Bouchard during the ASB Classic Quarter Finals. Photo / Photosport
Bouchard thanked her fans for their support after her quarterfinal matchup, giving Kinder a particular shoutout.
"It's really special to see them wearing t-shirts that say my name on it and specifically one fan who I gave a hug to after doubles today," she said.
"His name is Jeffrey and he's actually from Sydney and he travels to almost all of my tournaments in this area of the world, so I just appreciate his support so much.
"It's amazing. Tennis is so universal so it's really cool for people to watch and enjoy it, it's an honour."
Despite spooking some of the security guards at the event, Bouchard wanted to show her appreciation to her superfan.
"All the security guards were freaking out. I was like 'I just wanted to give you a hug'," she said.
"He travelled here, and he's here alone and he's just watching my matches all day long. He watched like five hours of tennis today. I don't know, when I see someone make an effort like that it's really special.
"If I was a kid would I ever think someone would fly to go see me play tennis like this - life is crazy. I just like to give back. My fans know that I love them and I care about them, so I wanna spend as much time as I can with them."
Bouchard ended her season last year with an impressive semifinals run at the Luxembourg Open in October, which included a win against Carla Suarez-Navarro. Bouchard lost to Goerges in that tournament, and the same happened again in Auckland, but there were plenty of positives to take from the clash.
Goerges, ranked No. 14 in the world, praised Bouchard following Friday's three-set win, saying she thinks there's more to come from the former No. 5 ranked Canadian.
"She's working hard and we know that she's capable of playing great tennis, so I expected a tough match," Goerges said.
"Everybody can play tennis, but what we saw today, I think she's developed totally in the right direction … I'm pretty sure she's going to go right up the rankings again."
