Novak Djokovic dedicated his 24th career singles Grand Slam title to the late Kobe Bryant after beating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in the US Open final.
Bryant wore the No 24 jersey during his career in the NBA, and built a close friendship with Djokovic before sadly passing away. After beating Medvedev the Serbian put on a pre-made t-shirt which read "Mamba Forever" and also had a picture of Djokovic and Kobe together.
"I thought of doing this t-shirt eventually if I got the chance to win," Djokovic said when explaining the situation. "I didn't share it with anyone. Kobe was a close friend, we chatted a lot about the winners mentality.
"When I was struggling with injury he was one of the people I relied on the most. He was always there for advice and support in the most friendly way. What happened a few years ago hurt me deeply.
"I thought 24, the jersey he wore as a legend, it would be a nice way to acknowledge him here." The Serbian is now tied with Margaret Court for the most Grand Slam wins and moves one ahead of Serena Williams (23) for the most in the Open Era with his latest success.
The final was a repeat of the 2021 US Open final, where Medvedev beat Djokovic in straight sets to stop him from winning every major that year and become the first player to accomplish the feat since Steffi Graf in 1988. Djokovic flipped the script two years later, beating Medvedev 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 to create history.
It was a stunning comeback tournament from the 36-year-old after he was forced to miss the 2022 competition due to his vaccination status. Medvedev stunned Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal, beating the No. 1 seed 7-6(3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, to book his place in Sunday's final.
Alcaraz went into the tournament as the reigning champion, the No. 1 player in the world and was the favourite to repeat his success. But even after a colossal win Djokovic proved too much for the Russian and outclassed him in every set.
Medvedev missed a huge opportunity to level the match during a second-set tiebreak, and it was inevitable that Djokovic would go on to win from that moment. Djokovic only dropped two sets throughout the entire competition, and they were both in the same match as fellow Serbian Laslo Djere put him on the brink of elimination.
Djokovic found himself down 2-0 to Djere in the third round but then failed to drop another set for the remainder of the tournament. He went on to beat Borna Gojo, and Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton and then Medvedev in straight sets, and will now focus his attention on a historic year in 2024.
Djokovic won three of the four majors this year for only the fourth time in his career, but he needs just one more to move clear of every other athlete that has stood before him. Medvedev remains on just one Grand Slam win, which was achieved against Djokovic two years ago.
He continues to be one of the best players on hard court on the ATP Tour, and the five major finals he's reached since turning pro in 2014 have all been on that surface. The Russian faced some tough tests on his route to the final, beating Andrey Rublev, Alex de Minaur, and then Alcaraz before facing Djokovic.
But he had no gas left in the tank for the ultimate test against one of the greatest players of all time. Djokovic won his first Grand Slam back in 2008, as he lifted the Australian Open for the first time. It remains his most successful major as he's won it 10 times, and it could be where he sets the new all-time record next year.
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