On Sunday night, just moments after he won his 24th grand slam title at the US Open, Djokovic paid tribute to the late NBA star, Kobe Bryant, by wearing a shirt with a picture of himself and Bryant on it, along with the words “Mamba Forever.”
In an interview with US Open Tennis, he shared that he had thought of making the shirt seven days prior to his win at the tournament:
“I thought of doing this t-shirt, you know, eventually, if I get a chance to win the tournament. It was 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.”
On the back of the shirt, which was printed in purple, was No. 24. And, aside from the fact that he had just claimed his “24th win”, the number proved to be more significant for him as this was one of the numbers that Bryant had worn during his career.
“I thought, 24 is the jersey he wore when he became a legend of the Lakers and world basketball,” Djokovic said. “So I thought it could be a nice, symbolic thing to acknowledge him.”
Djokovic: Kobe a close friend
“Kobe was a close friend,” Djokovic said. “We chatted a lot about the winner’s mentality when I was struggling with the injury and trying to make my comeback, work my way back to the top of the game. He was one of the people that I rely on the most. He was always there for any kind of counsel, advice, any kind of support in a most friendly way.”
Novak shares the idea behind his tribute to Kobe 🗣 pic.twitter.com/aFd7xStqVx
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 11, 2023
On Sunday at Flushing Meadows, Djokovic defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Novak Djokovic has now won a total of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, equaling the record set by Margaret Court, who had 13 wins in the amateur era and 11 wins in the Open era, for the most major singles titles in tennis history.
With his recent triumphs at the Australian Open and French Open, Djokovic has also become the first man to win three majors in a single season.
At 36 years old, Djokovic had broken records that no other man in tennis history had ever done. And he has no plans to retire from the sport anytime soon, so fans will get to see more of the champion in the upcoming years.
“Eventually one day I will leave tennis in about 23, 24 years,” he joked. “And there are going to be new young players coming up. Until then, I guess you’ll see me a bit more.”
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The photo above is from a YouTube screen grab