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A fervent Novak Djokovic fan nearly faced expulsion from Arthur Ashe on Sunday night for donning a Serbian flag. The ardent supporter was there to cheer on his idol - the tennis titan with an impressive net worth - against 19-year-old Learner Tien.

He consistently rallied behind Djokovic and occasionally stood up in support. However, it was the flag he had draped over himself that caught the attention of security. During the second set, a US Open security officer ordered him to remove the item. The fan responded by hurriedly explaining to the official that it was a Serbian flag.

Despite pointing towards the flag and Djokovic multiple times, the security member remained unimpressed. This incident followed Djokovic's identification of two US Open players who could pose a challenge to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Security informed the individual that flags were not permitted inside the stadium and that failure to comply could result in his removal. When the fan made one last attempt to argue his case, the security guard retorted: "I don't care, you can be Serbian outside." The response elicited laughter from nearby spectators.

The fan reluctantly put away the flag, although it briefly resurfaced between games when he took a quick photo with his friend. According to the official US Open website, flags, banners, or signs are among the prohibited items.

Additional banned items include tennis rackets, laser pointers and selfie sticks. More crucially, spectators risk ejection if they "engage in inconsiderate or otherwise inappropriate behaviour towards event staff, officials."

The supporter's disappointment didn't diminish his enthusiasm, however, as he went completely mad when Djokovic saved three break points while trailing 3-2 in the second set.

This came after an utterly commanding opening set from Djokovic, who swept to a 6-1 triumph in merely 24 minutes. The 38-year-old showed no signs of rustiness despite opting to bypass the Masters tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati.

"[I'm] cold in terms of the matches, official matches," Djokovic explained ahead of the US Open. "Obviously I didn't have any matches since Wimbledon. So it is the right term in a sense, but I have put in a lot of training in the last three, four weeks.

"I decided not to play because I wanted to spend more time with my family. And to be honest, I think I earned my right and have the luxury of kind of picking and choosing where I want to go and what I want to play."

Nevertheless, some of that match rustiness began to emerge during the second set as Tien raised his performance to trouble Djokovic. After a resolute service hold to secure a 5-4 advantage, Tien manufactured two set points against the Serbian icon in the subsequent game.

Djokovic was forced to dig deeper into his arsenal to navigate that precarious moment. The supporter with the flag, who had momentarily stepped away from his seat, reappeared shortly after Djokovic's crucial hold, triumphantly waving two beers.

Djokovic went on to win the match 6-1, 7-6, 6-2.