Buyer opened case on item that was never paid

[shopkiger2]

Hi all,

I accepted an offer on an item on December 22nd. The buyer didn't pay or contact me so I opened an unpaid item case. The buyer messaged me on the 28th and said that he was having trouble with his account and would pay ASAP.  On the 30th I messaged him and asked if he was still having trouble with his account. He didn't respond so I waited til January 2nd and decided to  close the unpaid item case and relisted the item.

Today the buyer opened a case requesting the item.

The message I got from ebay:

You're buyer opened a request because their item hasn't arrived. It is important for you to respond as soon as possible. You can resolve your buyers request by providing tracking information or any additional shipping details. If you do not have tracking that shows delivery, please consider refunding your buyer.

After clicking "See request details" I am given the options to either, Message the buyer, add tracking details or refund the buyer.

I've never had anyone open a request like this for an item that was never paid for or that has had a closed unpaid item case. How does this work??