Number 24! For Novak Djokovic (36) more than just a number!
The tennis icon continues to expand his status as the best player of all time! On Sunday evening (local time) the Serb defeated world number three Daniil Medvedev (27) in the final of the US Open 6:4, 7:6 (7:5), 6:3.
After match point, however, it was impossible to see whether he had won a first-round match or one of the four most important tennis finals; he did not celebrate. Only after shaking hands at the net with Medvedev did Djokovic throw away his racket and go to his knees, crouching on the ground for several seconds. Then he ran to the stands, where daughter Tara was waiting as the first well-wisher.
Which pictures Our hero trainer’s moment of tears
It is his 24th title at a Grand Slam tournament. This brings him level with the Australian Margaret Court (81). Both now jointly lead the list of the most successful tennis professionals in the world. Accordingly, he put on a T-shirt: “Mamba forever”, it said and showed him the basketball star Kobe Bryant († 41), who died in an accident.
Djokovic: “The idea of making the shirt came a week ago. Kobe was a close friend. We talked a lot about winning mentality. After injuries he was always there for me and supported me. His death hit me hard. 24 was his number when he became a basketball legend. Hence this t-shirt.”
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Djokovic had repeatedly appreciated the Mamba mentality that was attributed to Bryant and often spoke about it. Medvedev now felt this once again. “I don’t know when you’ll want to slow down a bit. I have 20 titles, you have 24 Grand Slams. I hope we play a few more finals,” said the Russian towards Djokovic.
On Monday he will also take over the top spot in the world rankings from Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (20). Here too, no one has been at the top for as long as Djokovic, a whopping 389 weeks so far. Djokovic is chasing one record after another. He never managed to win a real Grand Slam, all four majors in one calendar year.
He is the first man to win three Grand Slam tournaments in a calendar year for the fourth time. Only at Wimbledon did he fail in the final against Alcaraz.
He started the game against Medvedev very dominantly and quickly led 3-0. He then served out the set before apparently suffering health problems in the second. After a rally, he sank to the ground and was sometimes unable to walk very well.
The t-shirt that shows Novak Djokovic with Kobe Bryant
He repeatedly tapped his thighs with the tennis racket and then had his team bring him pills from the box. However, this did not affect the quality of the game. High-class rallies weren’t necessarily the order of the day, but when they occurred, they brought the 24,000 spectators at Arthur Ashe Stadium out of their seats.
Medvedev was now better in the game and demanded everything from Djokovic. However, the Russian missed the set point, which could have given the game a different direction. He appeared fitter than his opponent at the time, but it was he who called the medical timeout after the second set, which Djokovic won in a tie break.
Novak Djokovic’s first well-wisher was daughter Tara
The third round then began very unfavorably for Medvedev in front of superstars such as singer Justin Timberlake (42) and actors Leonardo di Caprio (48), Eva Longoria (48) and Charlize Theron (48). In the third game he slipped and fell on his shoulder. Djokovic rushed to him, but he was able to continue.
He also had to give up his serve, which already smelled like a preliminary decision. But the world No. 3, who won the New York final in three sets against Djokovic two years ago, fought back and got the break again.
Social media star Kylie Jenner (399 million followers on Instagram) with friend and actor Timothée Chalamet at the finale
However, the now record champion struck back and converted his first match point to make it 6:3 after 3:17 hours. It is his fourth success at the US Open after 2011, 2015 and 2018.
Djokovic: “I’m living my childhood dream. We came out of the war in the 90s, went through a lot, my parents sacrificed so much so that I could do this very expensive sport. My parents, my wife, my children, this is your trophy as it is mine.”
Fair loser: Daniil Medvedev with record champion Novak Djokovic
And the journey is obviously not over yet. “I wanted to win Wimbledon and be the best in the world when I was seven, eight years old. I never thought I’d be standing here talking about 24 Grand Slam titles. But why not accept it when presented to you.”
A clear declaration of war…