The Polish tennis star the whole world is talking about. How did giveaway at the US Open go viral?

Polish tennis player Kamil Majchrzak was unaware of the scandal he would cause at the US Open.... At least, he probably would never have guessed it would come from his cap.

After his surprise victory on Thursday against the ninth-ranked Russian tennis star Karen Khachanov, the Pole approached the fans who were waiting eagerly for his autograph.

As he signed pictures, balls and the usual paraphernalia, he stretched out to give his cap to a boy who was standing by the railing. However, while handing over the headgear, Majchrzak turned his gaze to another fan, at which point the cap was snatched from the boy's hands by a man standing next to him. He then quickly tucked the cap into the bag of a woman beside him.

The barefaced cheek of the move, captured on worldwide television, set social media alight and triggered a wave of memorable memes.

Turns out the cap-snatcher was a Polish businessman who was very quickly identified by internet users. His fake accounts, from which untrue statements were published, also started circulating on the web.

In an interview with the New York Post, Majchrzak confirmed the identity of the man who took the boy's cap, and he's hardly an unknown: Piotr Szczerek, is a sponsor of the Polish tennis federation and the head of the Drogbruk company.

According to the New York Post, citing the Spanish daily sports paper MARCA, the Polish businessman deactivated his social media accounts "after the incident caused widespread fury".

Szczerek was criticised on a Polish job portal, where he was called a "common thief" or a "primitive fraudster".

Happy ending

All's well that ends well it seems because as a result of the storm, the scandal was brought to Majchrzak's attention and he duly met with the boy later to give him another cap in person; and record the moment for posterity.

In an interview with the Polish Press Agency (PAP), Majchrzak explained how he found the boy.

"His name is Brock. His mother wrote to me on Instagram. I met him and his brother. Brock got a cape and his brother got a terry (towel) They also both received a T-shirt each. I hope they had a nicer day with these souvenirs. I also hope they continue to be on the courts and watch the matches. You have to spread goodness in the world because there is less and less of it," - he told PAP.

Majchrzak has already dropped out of the tournament through injury, but the memory of his good deed at this year's US Open will certainly stay with us for longer.