Following his record 24th Grand Slam victory at the US Open, Novak Djokovic gave tribute to Kobe Bryant. In three sets 6-3 7-6 6-3, the Serbian equaled Margaret Court’s fifty-year record by defeating Daniil Medvedev.
Right after the win, Djokovic unveiled his shirt in honor of the renowned basketball star who passed away in a helicopter crash in 2020.
Djokovic expressed his feelings about Bryant and stated: “I thought about doing this t-shirt a few days ago. I didn’t share it with anybody. Kobe was a close friend of mine, we chatted a lot, about the winner’s mentality. When I was struggling with an injury and working my way back. He was one of the people I relied on the most.”
He further added: “He would always give me any counsel, advice… In a friendly way. What happened, his passing, it hurt me deeply. I thought 24, the jersey he wore to become a Lakers legend. It could be a nice symbolic thing to do for him. What he’s done, not just on the basketball court, his resilience, and fighting spirit, lives on forever, I felt it today.”
Novak Djokovic in 2023
LWWWWWWLWW Ranked no.1, Novak played his last match on the 10th of September when he defeated world no.3 Daniil Medvedev 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3 in the final of the U.S. Open to win his 96th career title.
At present, during this year the Serbian achieved an overall 45-5 match record. Novak clinched 5 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open, French Open, Cincinnati and U.S. Open. The Serbian was the runner-up in Wimbledon.
