Novak Djokovic beats Daniil Medvedev to win US Open 2023, unveils T-shirt featuring Kobe Bryant
Novak Djokovic recently defeated Daniil Medvedev at the US Open final 2023 on 10 September, Sunday at Flushing Meadows. Djokovic equaled Margaret Court’s previous record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles at the Open era.
Novak Djokovic missed from the previous season of the US open considering the tournament officials’ demand for all the foreign players to be vaccinated after the coronavirus pandemic. Novak Djokovic has also beaten to get ahead of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s record of 22 and 20 Men’s Slam singles titles.
“I never imagined I would be here talking about 24 Slams but the last couple of years I realized I had a shot at history and why not grab it if it’s presented”, said Novak Djokovic after beating Daniil Medvedev.
Novak Djokovic on his friendship with Kobe Bryant
After winning the U.S. Open, Novak Djokovic unveiled his T-shirt, featuring him and the late basketball legendary player Kobe Bryant. The T-shirt was captioned with Kobe Bryant’s favourite number 24 – with the text “Mamba Forever”, which Bryant often used. Djokovic further discussed his friendship with Kobe Bryant, and how his and his daughter’s death affected him.
“I thought of doing this T-shirt if I won the tournament about seven days ago. I didn’t share it with anyone up to a few days ago when I asked my people to help me out to make these shirts. Kobe was a close friend. We chatted a lot about the winner’s mentality. When I was struggling with an injury and trying to make my comeback to the top of the game”, said Novak Djokovic.
“Kobe was one of the people that I relied on the most. He was always there for any kind of advice or support in a friendly way. What happened with him and his daughter passing hurt me deeply. I thought 24 is the jersey he wore when he became a legend of Lakers and world basketball, so I felt it could be a nice symbolic thing to acknowledge him for all the things he’s done”, concluded Novak Djokovic.
